"Through the generousity of a number of chaps I know who have access to various trusts, I was able to secure the money to supply Renew with a number of white flags," Bishop Rod explains, "But not only that, when I mentioned my plan to Justin over our morning kippers, he managed to secure an extra £2k to make sure that the flags were durable enough to last through the coming 12 months.

But in the past few years its current Bishop Primus, John Fenwick, has been introducing Anglo-Catholic practices into the FCE, especially in its northern diocese. Convocation, which is supposed to be the governing body of the FCE, does not seem to have been doing much to stop this ironic departure from the FCE's founding convictions.

For decades, the church has been divided over how to deal with LGBT issues and rights, and the House of Bishops is set to approve the final LLF document in March.

However it emerged on Tuesday during a Synod debate that little progress has since been made. The admission sparked frustration from all corners of the Church who share diametrically opposed views on LGBT rights.

Archbishop John Sentamu had previously seemed relaxed about it. In 2011 he was asked what he thought of the choices made by Prince William and Kate Middleton, who lived together on and off for seven years before they were married. He said he fully understood that some people want to, er, "test whether the milk is good before they buy the cow." But now, according to the new guidelines, he believes the royal couple were "falling short of God's purposes for human beings."