Church of England votes in support of blessings for same-sex couples in ‘tiny step forward’
No marriage equality, though - and priests needn't offer the blessing and "no one will be disadvantaged if they don't," said the Archbishop of York
The Church of England’s (CoE) legislative body has voted in favour of prayers of blessings for couples in same-sex marriages and unions.
However, the priest in question will still be able to opt-out of the blessing.
The news follows six years of consultation and an an eight-hour debate in the General Synod, the church’s national assembly, today [Thursday 9 February 2022].
The vote was passed by 250 votes to 181.
The change follows decades, if not centuries of debate over sexuality within the institution – which is sure to continue, as detractors criticised the absence of full marriage equality.
A vote on same-sex marriage was rejected, as was a vote on changing the Church’s teachings on LGBTQ issues.
“No-one has to offer these services”
The Archbishop of York, the Most Revd Stephen Cottrell, is quoted by the BBC as telling the Synod: “No-one has to offer these services. And no one will be disadvantaged if they don’t.”
Justin Welby, the Archbishop of Canterbury was also present at the General Synod vote on Thursday.
In a joint statement, the archbishops said: “It has been a long road to get us to this point.
“For the first time, the Church of England will publicly, unreservedly and joyfully welcome same-sex couples in church.
“The Church continues to have deep differences on these questions which go to the heart of our human identity.
“As Archbishops, we are committed to respecting the conscience of those for whom this goes too far and to ensure that they have all the reassurances they need in order to maintain the unity of the Church as this conversation continues.
“We hope that today’s thoughtful, prayerful debate marks a new beginning for the Church as we seek a way forward, listening to each other and most of all to God.
“Above all we continue to pray, as Jesus himself prayed, for the unity of his church and that we would love one another.”
The Synod also agreed to apologise for the harm the CoE has caused LGBTQ+ people.
“Breadcrumbs on which I fear many will choke”
On Instagram, British evangelical Anglican and LGBTQ equality campaigner Jayne Ozone called the move a “tiny step forward”.
“I am deeply disappointed by the way the conservatives have consistently sought to undermine those of us who sought to move towards a Church that could embrace a plurality of views on sexuality,” said Jayne.
“By continuing to tell LGBT+ people that they cannot hope to get married any time soon in their church or that their desire for sexual intimacy is sinful, we send a message to the nation that few will understand. More importantly it is a message that will continue to cause great harm to the LGBT community and put young LGBT+ lives at risk. The apology that the Synod insisted on keeping is totally meaningless.”
She furthermore continued: “For both these reasons I chose to abstain in the final vote as I did not want to block a tiny step forward that some will welcome.”
She finally added: “However, I personally will not be forced to eat breadcrumbs, on which I fear so many will choke.”