C of e gay marriage
Factsheet: Sexuality timeline in the Church of England
The Church of England is locked in increasingly bitter internal debate over LGBTQ+ issues and same-sex marriage. This is the culmination of decades of wrangling and discussion, which began more than half a century ago, with no obvious resolution yet in sight
Introduction
In 2021, the Church of England published a describe on sexuality, marriage and LGBTQ+ issues. Living in Love and Faith is the fruit of three years’ work by committees of bishops, clergy, scientists, historians, theologians and others, including representatives from the LGBTQ+ community.
It did not propose any modify in the church’s official doctrines, but instead offered resources summarising the latest thinking on how the Bible, church tradition, and society understands flashpoints such as gay marriage or transgender rights. Living in Love and Faith marks the latest in a decades-long struggle within the CofE to decide how to respond to the rapidly changing social climate around sexuality.
1950s and 1960s
During the prolonged public debates about homosexuality, the church and its senior bishops, including Michael Ramsay, then Archbishop of Canterbury,
Will the Church of England split over same-sex marriage?
For more than two decades, Jay Greene and Rev Marion Clutterbuck have loyal themselves to each other and the Church of England.
Now retired, Marion still takes services in their local parish, supporting her congregation - and in turn, is supported by Jay.
But they can't commemorate their love by getting married in the church. A decade after queer marriage was legalised in England and Wales, the Church of England still refuses to allow homosexual couples to marry in a religious building.
There are signs of a move. In February, after six years of debate, the church voted to maneuver forward with plans to allow same-sex couples to receive a religious blessing after their civil marriage takes place elsewhere.
The church's fundamental doctrine of marriage - that it is between one man and one woman - remains unchanged. The blessing isn't the same as getting married, and the wording has yet to be decided, but some within the church see it as a step on the way to complete marriage equality.
In the alike debate, Synod members also voted to "lament and repent" the failure of the Church to welcome LGBTQIA+ people, and for the harm
Factsheet: Sexuality and the Church of England
by Dr Susannah Cornwall
The Church of England is in the midst of a complex and fraught internal debate over same-sex marriage and LGBT issues. Currently it bans gay weddings in churches, allows prayers of aid to same sex couples following a civil partnership or marriage and allows clergy to enter a civil partnership
What is the Church of England’s position on same-sex marriage?
The Church of England is the state church in England. The Church of England’s church law (Canon Law) is part of English law. Same-sex marriage was made legal in England and Wales by the passing of the Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Execute 2013.
The Church of England and Church in Wales sought exemption from the law, and as a result it is not legally possible for them to celebrate same-sex marriages. It would not be possible for them to legally celebrate same-sex marriages until such time as their Canon Law was changed.
The Church in Wales voted in September 2021 to offer prayers of blessing to couples in same-sex marriages. However, the Church in Wales can still not itself actions same-sex marriages.
Other religious groups can opt in to celebrati
The Church of England has taken its next sluggish step towards gay blessings after another tense debate at General Synod. A razor-thin majority approved the bishops’ latest plans.
What was just agreed?
The Church of England’s General Synod has voted in favour of the roadmap proposed by the Church’s governing Home of Bishops. This will see services of blessings for same-sex couples rolled out some time next year as part of a three-year trial.
The vote also signed off on the outline of a package designed to appease conservatives unhappy about queer blessings. This offers parishes unwilling to use the Prayers of Love and Faith (PLF) the opportunity to request a like-minded conservative bishop from elsewhere in the Church be appointed to oversee them, rather than their local bishop.
There was less progress on the third strand of the project, which is rewriting the rules on whether gay vicars can enter civil lgbtq+ marriages. The House of Bishops said they would decide on this prior next year after the Church’s theological advisory committee had finished a inform on the question.
Hang on, I thought they’d already done all this?
Well, caring of. The PLF were first proposed b
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