He is a senior Church of England cleric and Queen’s chaplain who has written guides to marital harmony.But the Reverend Canon Andrew Clitherow’s own affairs of the heart are causing quite a stir in his parish.
He has divorced his second wife, Rebekah, and taken a third bride, Nicola, a glamorous soprano.
His congregation is in uproar and so is the local bishop. For Canon Clitherow, 60, is said to have assured the diocese there was no one else involved when he split from the second Mrs Clitherow last year.
Now, less than a year later, the father of four has married Nicola Howard, 44, who has sung worldwide and released several albums. She has moved into the sprawling Georgian vicarage with him.
Although he is still at home, the Canon is no longer performing any church duties and is said to be on ‘sick leave’.
Parishioners say his latest marriage to the mother of three is yet another episode in a bizarre clerical soap opera which began last year and is ruining the reputation of the church.
Canon Clitherow was first married to Elizabeth in 1982 and the couple have two children.
He left her and married his second wife Rebekah in 2002, ten years after meeting her while she was still a pupil at Rossall public school, where he was working as a choirmaster and chaplain.
They also had two children together and appeared to be blissfully happy.
But he stunned the congregation at St Cuthbert’s Parish Church in Lytham St Annes last March when he admitted he and Rebekah had separated after nine years of marriage and were to divorce.
Rumours began to circulate that he had been having a torrid affair with another woman, an unnamed member of his church choir.
But he assured the Bishop of Blackburn, the Right Reverend Nicholas Reade, this was not the case and he was not in a relationship with anyone else.
He caused further consternation by initially announcing he was leaving the parish after officiating at an Easter Sunday service last year.
Since then, he has been on sick leave citing ‘stress’, and is refusing to quit the vicarage. But church elders have threatened action under church law to remove him and allow a new vicar to take over.
Parishioners say the church has been left rudderless and the congregation has dwindled.
But the final straw was when his flock heard he had married Miss Howard – who was formerly married to Canadian-born opera singer Emilio Roman – in a register office over Christmas.
One senior parishioner at St Cuthbert’s said: ‘It seems we have not been told the full truth.’
Another said: ‘The diocese has got to take some very firm steps because the situation is appalling. It has been allowed to go on far too long and someone needs to bring it to an end. It is a farce.’
Another worshipper added: ‘The parish has gone from a normal place to a hotbed of gossip and intrigue. No one likes the idea of what has gone on and it has unsettled many people, especially the older churchgoers, who like to see the church as a moral compass. What is worse is there has been a deafening silence from the diocese, which does not appear to have taken on our concerns.’
Canon Clitherow has written books on marriage including Creative Love In Tough Times and Desire And Love And The Rule Of St Benedict.
He also wrote a popular weekly column, Face To Faith, for a national newspaper.
The position of Queen’s chaplain is a rare honour which is bestowed on those with a long and distinguished service in the church.
Each of the 36 chaplains could at any point be called upon to minister to and support the sovereign. It is not thought Canon Clitherow has been called upon.
They are part of the Royal Ecclesiastical Household.
Area dean Peter Law Jones said: ‘The church is facing a significant challenge. There are a lot of good people at St Cuthbert’s that are working very hard to keep it going.
‘The simple legal situation is, as a divorcee, Canon Clitherow was perfectly at liberty to marry again. As it happens he has married Nicola. I think the official diocese line is, they are free agents and the church has always tried to be as understanding as it can be.’
A spokesman for the Blackburn Diocese said: ‘We are aware that Andrew has married again. He remains on sick leave.’