Anglican gay marriage
Church of England backs services for gay couples
BBC News
Gay couples will be able to have distinct services of blessing in Church of England parishes for the first day.
The services, while not formal weddings, will be able to include the wearing of rings, prayers, confetti and a blessing from the priest.
The amendment to back the services on a trial basis passed the Church's parliament by one vote.
The Church of England's official teaching is that marriage is only between one man and one woman.
Earlier this year, bishops refused to back a alter in teaching which would have allowed priests to marry same-sex couples, but said they would grant prayers of blessings for people in gay relationships as part of wider services.
It had been idea approval for standalone services might not come for well over a year from now.
But Wednesday's vote, which passed narrowly in the General Synod, the Church's legislative body, means distinct services of blessing could now be allowed, rather t
What’s going on? This is the questions that I contain been asked hour and time again this week as news of the split within the Australian Anglican Church reached Anglicans and non-Anglicans alike. The creation of the Diocese of the Southern Cross, led by those that oppose the blessing of same-sex marriages, has caused confusion and distress across the Church and beyond.
Let me elucidate its complicated backstory, and perhaps dispel some of the confusion — if not the distress.
Divisions over same-sex marriage
Earlier this year I was part of the editorial committee for the revision of the Principles of Canon Regulation Common to the Churches of the Anglican Communion. Now in its second edition, the Principles have been described as a fifth “instrument of unity” in the Anglican Communion. However, despite their best actions the committee were unable to discover a common doctrine in relation to who may join whom. The committee therefore took the unusual step of inserting a declaration on their reasoning for the removal of the concept from the revision. The statement reads:
As stated in the
Sexuality and Identity: A Pastoral Remark from the College of Bishops
January
Preamble
The Bishops of the Anglican Church in North America (ACNA) offer this pastoral statement to the Church after prayer, learning, careful listening to disparate voices, and a collaborative process involving contributions from across the Province. As a result of this process, we have become even more acutely aware of the power we all need to live faithfully in Jesus Christ as He redeems the whole of our identity, including our sexuality.
The College of Bishops asked for the formation of this statement in January of after we heard reports of varied application among ACNA leaders regarding the use of language about sexual identity, especially within provincial events. We recognize there are a multiplicity of realities in our current national, political, and global circumstances into which an episcopal voice could be presented. In the midst of this tragic pandemic, we desire to carry on to minister the Gospel into all aspects of our usual life that have been distorted by sin such as racism, p
A recent poll conducted by The Times of London indicates that a majority of Church of England clergy now favor gay marriage. The figures ( percent in favor, percent opposed) show a significant switch from Back then, in the aftermath of the legalization of gay civil marriage in the U.K., only 39 percent were in favor and 51 percent were opposed. There are numerous lessons here.
First, the old battle lines between conservative and liberal Christians have changed. In the past, it was the affirmation or denial of the supernatural claims of the Bible, supremely that of Jesus’s bodily resurrection, that divided churches. Today, it is questions of morality, specifically sexual morality, that are the points of contention. And these are of more significance for the broader life of the church within society. To affirm the resurrection might hold made you look love a benighted fool, but societies generally tolerate benighted fools. To oppose our current Western cultural regime, where sexual identity is key to personal value, is to deny the humanity of fellow citizens. The world sees that a