78-Year-Old Vicar Marries 24-Year-Old Male Model

Zayn Williams
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78-Year-Old Vicar Marries 24-Year-Old Male Model

A 78-year-old former clergyman went against Church of England teachings by marrying 24-year-old boyfriend Florin Marin

According to former priest Philip Clements, who came out publicly in 2007, the Church of England’s stance on gay marriage is idiotic.

Mr Clements said to Daily Mail: “It’s only when I retired from full time ministry 18 years ago that I could express myself, decided I had to be my true self.

“I enjoyed my work as a priest and lost myself in my work. I knew what was happening inside me but threw myself into my work.

“I didn’t let it worry me, but I realised something was nagging at me, I wanted more than I was having.

“I had some casual or brief relationships but not a sexual physical relationship as I knew the church’s stance. I had friends – of both sexes – but not intimate ones.

“There was nothing serious until I met Florin nearly two years ago. I was looking for somebody to have a close relationship with as this is what I wanted.

“I think it’s unnatural to keep denying it.”

Related: I’m Struggling With Being Christian & Gay

The couple married at the Ramsgate Registry Office on April 25 in front of two witnesses and TV crews.

Church of England clergy can enter into civil partnerships but same-sex marriage is not permitted.

“Is it a dream? It’s a special day,” Clements said after the ceremony.

In a Facebook post, Clements wrote: “My hope is that Florin and I are giving encouragement to gay Anglican clergy who want to enter into a closer union with same sex partners. It can only enrich ministry.

“I hope too that the Church of England may be moved to acknowledge the worth and validity of such telationdhips for the clergy who may be stressed and frustrated by present restrictions on their personal lives.”

Related: Gay Marriage: From Forbidden Fruit to Law of the Land

World Champion Athlete Shawn Barber Comes Out as Gay

Zayn Williams
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World Champion Athlete Shawn Barber Comes Out as Gay

Canadian pole vault world champion and olympian Shawn Barber came out as gay in a post on Facebook Monday.

“Gay and proud!” the 22 year old wrote in the post.

“Thank you to my parents for being such a great support. I continue to grow as a person and have a great support group.

“My parents are my greatest support and have helped me through a lot recently. To my friends, you are always my friends and I love you too!”

Related: Bisexual Pro Wrestler Proudly Shows Off His Boyfriend

Barber became the pole vault world champion in 2015 and currently ranks number 6 in the world.

He finished tenth last summer at the Olympics in Rio and set the NCAA indoor record in the pole vault at 5.19 meters while competing for the University of Akron.

This is an interview with Barber did in 2015 shortly after he won the World Championship:

Related: Gay Olympian Proposes to Boyfriend on Beach in Rio

Luke Evans Says Coming Out Gay Hasn’t Hurt His Career

Zayn Williams
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Luke Evans Says Coming Out Gay Hasn’t Hurt His Career

Actor Luke Evans, who came out 15 years ago, says that he doesn’t believe that his sexuality has held him back in his career.

The Welsh actor, who stars in the recent remake of Beauty and The Beast, says his sexuality wasn’t an issue when he was a stage actor on London’s West End. And it shouldn’t be an issue now that he’s fast becoming a Hollywood star.

“I don’t think about it. I don’t feel they’re connected,” he tells Jackal Magazine. “Talent, success, what you do in your personal life – I don’t see how one should have an effect on the other. I don’t think I’d be in this business if I felt that I was not being employed because of who I am in my personal life.”

Related: Colton Haynes Lashes Back Against Coming-Out Criticism

He’s not too happy about sharing a lot of information about his personal life, though.

“As an actor you have to keep some sort of enigma and mystery. There’s a dignity to keeping private. I’m trying to keep a bit of dignity to my private life and to protect the people in my life. Like my family. They don’t do press.

“They don’t do interviews. I don’t get photographed with them. Although everyone knows they’re my mum and dad in the Valleys. It’s the choice I’ve made.”

Evans also talked about his sexuality to the Guardian last year.

“I don’t blast it from the rooftops because I’m a very private person. And it doesn’t affect anything.

“But it’s life. This is who I am as Luke.”

Related: My Family Treats Me Badly After I Came Out

Young Russian Violinist Comes Out as Gay in Inspiring Video

Zayn Williams
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Young Russian Violinist Comes Out as Gay in Inspiring Video

A young Russian violinist has come out on YouTube and his story is both horrifying and incredibly inspiring.

23-year-old Artem Kolesov grew up in rural town just outside of Moscow, Russia, in a very Christian and homophobic household.

His parents were pastors and regularly stated that “gays should be destroyed” and other horrible things.

“During my entire childhood I heard from my parents and the church that homosexuality is a huge sin,” Kolesov says in a YouTube video.

This was devastating for Kolesov, who realised he was gay when he was only 5 years old.

“So I started praying in secret to God so that he would make me ‘normal’. In my family I often heard that all gays should be destroyed, that they should be bombed, and that if anyone in our family turns out to be gay, my family should kill them with their bare hands.”

Related: I’m Struggling With Being Christian & Gay

Kolesov explains that he was taught to hate gay people.

“I never heard anything good about gay people. All I knew was that gays are the people who everyone should hate,” he tells BuzzFeed News.

“I was scared because I knew that I was gay. I didn’t know anyone who I could talk to about it. It seemed that I was the only gay person in Russia.”

Kolesov was depressed and thinking about killing himself, constantly questioning how he could be Christian AND gay.

The young Russian catches a break

Fortunately things started turning around for the young Russian when he got a scholarship to study music in Canada. Finally he got to meet other young people like himself.

“The first time I met an openly gay person I started shaking because I know that I am just like him. I loathed myself and every LGBT person around me.”

Kolsesov now refuses to be scared anymore and wants to inspire other young people in Russia and around the world.

“For a long time, I thought that everything I went through was a curse, but now I know that it’s the biggest blessing I’ve ever received.

“We don’t come out for heterosexual people to know,” he says. “And we don’t come out for the ones who hate us to know.

“We shout and make as much noise as possible just so other people like us who are scared and can’t be themselves would know that they are not a mistake and they are not alone.

“When I was growing up I was isolated from the LGBT community,” he continues.

“Just hearing anything about LGBT people I realised that maybe if the Russian kids hear about my story maybe they could know that a lot of people are going through the same struggles.”

What an inspiring young man. Hopefully his message will reach many young people everywhere.

Related: Bisexual Pro Wrestler Proudly Shows Off His Boyfriend

1,100 Men Showed up at His Home for Sex

Hans Smines
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1,100 Men Showed up at His Home for Sex

A New York man is suing Grindr after more than a thousand men turn up looking for sex at his home and workplace, all due to an ex-lover creating fake profiles in his name.

Actor Matthew Herrick, 32, states in the lawsuit that the man he met on Grindr in 2015 created fake profiles using his images and then gave out both his home and work addresses to strangers.

In January, a Grindr visitor got into his apartment building and refused to leave. Herrick’s roommate confronted the guy in the hallway, said he was calling the cops, and the man lunged at the roommate, grabbed his phone and started wrestling with him, states TMZ.

Herrick claims the incidents have caused him ‘a constant state of hyper-vigilance, afraid that Grindr has been used to incite or seduce the wrong person – somebody who will make good on threats to attack or rape [me].’

Related: 5 Steps to Scoring the Hottest Guy You Know

He has logged 50 complaints to Grindr about the fake accounts and filed 14 police reports, all to no avail.

The fake Grindr profiles, which started appearing in October 2016, have Herrick’s photos and personal information, including false claims that he’s HIV positive.

CNN reports that at times as many as 16 strangers will show up looking for Herrick every day. Some of the men have even been told in advance not to stop if Herrick resists, ‘as part of an agreed upon rape fantasy or role play.’

‘My entire life has been stolen from me. My privacy has been taken from me. I’m humiliated daily,’ said Herrick to Wired. ‘It’s a living hell.’

Herrick says that he has reported the incidents to the police repeatedly.

In a statement to CNN, Grindr said it’s ‘committed to creating a safe environment through a system of digital and human screening tools, while also encouraging users to report suspicious and threatening activities. While we are constantly improving upon this process, it is important to remember that Grindr is an open platform. Grindr cooperates with law enforcement on a regular basis and does not condone abusive or violent behavior.’

Related: How to Make Him Fall for You

It’s certainly easy to see why Grindr users are interested in Herrick. He’s a very handsome man indeed. Let’s hope he gets to pick which men to meet in the future.

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