A Church of England parish has made a five-figure pay-out to a man who said he had been subjected to an exorcism to rid him of his homosexuality.

Matthew Drapper, 37, was a volunteer at St Thomas Philadelphia, a joint Anglican-Baptist congregation in Sheffield, which is a registered charity.

Mr Drapper told The Times that during an ‘Encounter with God’ weekend at the church in 2014, he was told that he was possessed by demons because of his sexual orientation. He said an exorcism was performed on him by a married couple who were prayer leaders. During this, he said he was instructed to “break agreements with Hollywood and the media” that led him into an ungodly lifestyle:

“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 said that the trauma had left him so “deeply distressed and vulnerable” that he had considered taking his own life. He also said the experience had caused him to lose his Christian faith and he left the church two years later.

He made a formal complaint to St Thomas Philadelphia in 2019, which was under Diocese of Sheffield safeguarding rules.

A review of the case conducted by the charity Barnardos upheld Mr Drapper’s claims that the prayer session was a form of exorcism with the intention of changing his sexual identity.

St Thomas Philadelphia  said it “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.”

After the review’s findings Mr 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 case is believed to be the first ever payment of damages in respect of harm caused by conversion or exorcism practices.

Some religious groups oppose any ban on conversion therapy and warn that it would infringe on traditional religious teachings.

However, the Church of England says the practice has "no place in the modern world".