The surprise came in what followed.

First, the Internal Revenue Service began investigating whether All Saints, one of the largest Episcopal churches in the country, violated the prohibition against tax-exempt organizations intervening in election campaigns by supporting or opposing candidates. The church, which characterizes Regas' sermon as merely a discussion of moral values, found itself in the middle of a potentially expensive legal battle.

During his three-year training at Cranmer Hall, a theological college attached to the University of Durham, Nick discussed his concerns with tutors but found little comfort in their "blase attitudes". Fellow students, although often sympathetic to his orthodox views, did not want to incur the wrath of college authorities by speaking out.

Archbishop Finlay, who made headlines in the early 1990s for firing a priest for maintaining a homosexual relationship, has said in recent years that he has reached a new place in his understanding of homosexuality. He said he was not trying to make a statement or encourage other clergy to defy the church's marriage canon, which allows the sacrament for a man and a woman only. "I'll be quite clear that it wasn't done as a publicity stunt to make waves.

Since St. John's has never received a penny from the Episcopal Diocese of San Diego or the national Episcopal Church to purchase or maintain its property, St. John's volunteer board voted unanimously to continue to hold services at its current location.