The event will be welcomed by gay rights campaigners, but it will refuel the bitter row over homosexuality that is threatening to tear apart the worldwide Anglican Church.

The private event was deliberately low-key to avoid media attention, and only a few witnesses were in attendance.

It is not thought that the civil ceremony was followed by any form of religious blessing, but it is understood that the couple wore clerical collars.

Members of the cathedral's congregation were informed about the union on Sunday, which gives Dr John and Mr Holmes almost the same legal rights as a married couple.

The news of the union will dismay conservatives, who believe that civil partnerships between gay priests, especially if they are as senior as a cathedral dean, profoundly undermine the sacrament of marriage.

It will also add to the discomfort the Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams, a close friend of Dr John, who is struggling to prevent the Anglicanism from disintegrating over homosexuality.

Dr John is not barred from entering a civil partnership under guidelines issued by the House of Bishops last year because he says that he and his partner no longer engage in sexual activity.

The guidelines said that clergy could enter into such unions if they assure their bishop that they are celibate.

But conservative leaders in Africa and Asia are certain to complain to Dr Williams that such a senior figure has taken advantage of the change in the law which, they argue, is unbiblical and weakens traditional Church teaching.

The Bishop of St Albans, the Rt Rev Christopher Herbert, said that he believed that civil partnerships were "a matter of justice, reflecting a society of difference and change".

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