A priest who was at the centre of a furore over homosexuality in the Church of England has entered a civil partnership with his long term partner, another male priest, gay activists said on Tuesday. Conservatives in the Church of England reacted to the news with dismay and said it would aggravate the row over homosexuality in the Anglican Communion, the loose federation of Anglican churches worldwide.Jeffrey John, dean of St Albans, entered into the civil partnership with Grant Hollings, a Church of England chaplain, in a ceremony at a register office in southern England last week, the activists told Reuters. Britain introduced the partnerships for same-sex couples last December, with the same legal rights as heterosexual marriage. They are widely referred to as "gay marriages" although the law does not call them that. John and Hollings have been together for many years and say their relationship is celibate. Under Church of England rules, clergy are allowed to declare themselves gay and enter a civil partnership, as long as they disavow practising gay sex.