Dean Delivers Final Sermon at St Paul's Cathedral

|TOP|Reverend Dr John Moses delivered his last sermon on Wednesday at St Paul's Cathedral in London before his retirement as Dean in August.

Around 2,000 people, including Baroness Thatcher, attended the service.

During his 10 years as Dean of St Paul's, Dr Moses has led many services for important occasions such as the Asian tsunami and the 7 July bombings.

The theme of his last sermon was "Be Thankful" as he told the congregation: "How could I fail to be thankful in such a place, at such a time. That is not too difficult."

In addition, the Dean condemned traditionalists in the Anglican church for conducting a "witch-hunt" against homosexuals.

"The thought that anybody should be shown the door by the Church, I just find deeply offensive," said the Very Reverend Dr John Moses.

He added that the Anglican church must adapt to global conditions.

|AD|"It has to be recognised that we live in different cultural contexts, and pastoral questions which are deeply sensitive might have different solutions in different places," said Dr Moses, one of the most influential members of the Church of England.

"What I do know is that I don't find the truth by slamming the door on the debate. I do not actually want to know about people's sexual orientation, if I am honest, I take people on trust."

The Anglican Communion has been bitterly rowing over the issue of homosexual and women bishops, and in recent weeks, the Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams, has faced the issue of how to deal with a split church.

He suggested the communion, which is the loose network of individual Anglican Churches around the world, could be divided into "associated" and "constituent" provinces.

Dr. Moses did not comment on the issue of women bishops during the service but said seeing the acceptance of women as priests at his own cathedral had "mattered a great deal" to him.