A Christian conservative group wants the federal government to end grants to the National Cathedral over the church's recent decision to perform wedding ceremonies for gay and lesbian couples.

The church announced last month that it will be among the first Episcopal congregations to implement a new rite of marriage for gay members. However, the 106-year-old cathedral which has a storied history steeped in presidential tradition is not expected to hold a same-sex ceremony any time soon. The District of Columbia-based church only marries church members and has a lengthy waiting list.

The Faith and Freedom Coalition (FFC), which is headed by Ralph Reed, on Friday said the church was undermining the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) and should be cut off from its “Save America's Treasures Grants.”

“With this policy change, taxpayers are being asked to subsidize gay marriage ceremonies for a church that can readily access millions of their own funds,” the FFC wrote.

“Pro-family and pro-freedom Americans cannot sit idly by.”

“We believe the definition of 'marriage' to be the union of one man to one woman. If the National Cathedral wants to continue to receive taxpayer funding from Congress, they should respect Congressional action like the Defense of Marriage Act.”

Writing at Right Wing Watch, a project of People For the American Way, Brian Tashman noted the irony.

“That's right, the same FFC which believes [President] Obama is waging a 'war on religion' and trampling on 'religious liberty' wants the government to cut off its grants to a church due to its opposition to marriage equality,” he wrote.

(Related: Gary Hall, National Cathedral's dean, calls gay marriage a human rights issue.)