A gay man has been paid compensation from a Church of England parish after he was subjected to an “exorcism” to purge him of his homosexuality, it has been reported.
Matthew Drapper, 37, was a volunteer at St Thomas Philadelphia, a joint Anglican-Baptist congregation in Sheffield, in 2014 when he was invited to an “encounter God weekend” at the “contemporary, welcoming church”, the Times reported.
Drapper was told “sexual impurity” had allowed demons to enter his body and that an exorcism was to be performed. During the incident he was instructed to “break agreements with Hollywood and the media” that led him into an ungodly lifestyle.
He said he was left deeply distressed after the exorcism, which was conducted by a married couple who were “prayer leaders”. He felt so depressed and “empty” that he considered taking his own life.
Drapper told the Times: “Looking back it seems like something out of a horror movie – for someone to be standing over you saying they can see the demons leaving your body is quite terrifying. But when you are deeply tied into the church, as I was at that time, it is easy to believe anything they tell you.”
He left the church in 2016 and three years later made a formal complaint about the exorcism and requested an apology from St Thomas Philadelphia, which was supposed to operate under the safeguarding rules of the diocese of Sheffield.
St Thomas initially claimed there was no evidence to the complaint but after Drapper pursued the issue, in 2021 the church commissioned Barnardo’s to investigate.
Last year, the charity published its review, which found it was a “supported fact” that Drapper was subjected to a prayer session that “was in our view a form of exorcism”.
After publication of the review, Drapper made a legal claim against St Thomas Philadelphia which resulted in an out-of-court settlement and payment of a five-figure sum.
The Guardian has contacted St Thomas Philadelphia for comment.
After publication of the Barnardo’s report, the church said: “We have accepted the outcomes of the first investigation and are saddened that one of our community was not cared for in the way we would have liked. We sincerely apologised to them for this.”
