DIVORCED couples who want to remarry in church will have to meet strict Church of England guidelines before being allowed to wed, the Daily Echo can reveal.

Breaking with centuries of tradition, the Church of England has published a series of pastoral criteria which couples have to meet before a priest will marry them.

A copy of these guidelines have been handed to the Daily Echo, and they could have huge implications on whether Prince Charles may one day wed Camilla Parker-Bowles.

The Bishop of Winchester, the Rt Rev Michael Scott-Joynt, has written to his clergy outlining the criteria, which follows a decision by the General Synod last year allowing divorcees the chance to remarry with the Church's blessing.

He writes: "The advice makes very clear that the decision as to whether or not to solemnise a marriage in such circumstances continues to rest with the parochial priest."

Clergy cannot be forced to marry divorced couples if it goes against their conscience.

The Rev Brian Pickett, vicar of St James Church in West End, is a remarried divorcee. He said: "Throughout my 27 years in the ministry I have always been prepared to marry divorcees.

"It does depend on the individual cases and I go into great details to establish where proper attention has been given to any children, whether wounds of the past have been healed before embarking on a new relationship, and how they see that, and their own behaviour in the sight of God."

For the full story, see Focus On Faith on pages 34 & 35 of today's Daily Echo.