Church of England draws up guidelines for ‘new reality’ of gay marriage

Church offers prayers after same-sex weddings – but bans gay priests from marrying

By John Bingham, Religious Affairs Editor

Church of England draws up guidelines for ‘new reality’ of gay marriage but liberal campaigners dismiss arrangements as ‘dog’s breakfast’

Gay couples who get married will be able to ask for special prayers in the Church of England after their wedding, the bishops have agreed.


But priests who are themselves in same-sex relationships or even civil partnerships will be banned from getting married when it becomes legally possible next month.


The blanket prohibition opens up the prospect of an embarrassing rebellion from gay and lesbian clergy who choose to tie the knot.

It would force local bishops to bring lengthy disciplinary measures to effectively have them defrocked for getting married.

It is understood the Church is already bracing itself for “martyrs” prepared to challenge the rules.

The ban, contained in new “pastoral guidance” from the Church of England, comes despite rules which allow those in civil partnerships to become priests and even bishops – as long as they claim to be celibate.

But the guidelines, announced by the House of Bishops ahead of the coming into force of the Same-Sex Marriage Act next month, also state that non-clergy who get married to someone of the same sex will be free to continue to receive communion within the Church of England.

Although the Church will not be carrying out same-sex weddings, the new guidance also invites newlywed gay couples to ask their local priest for special prayers which will be seen as informal endorsements of their marriage.

The main stipulation is that the priest must not refer to it as a service of “blessing” – a term which is deeply divisive in the Church of England for theological reasons.

They must also have some form of “pastoral discussion” with the couple about why they do not accept the official church teaching which still maintains that marriage is between a man and woman.

But the new guidance makes clear that gay newly-weds must not be subject to intrusive “questioning” about their private lives.

At the same time the guidelines make clear that it will not be “appropriate conduct” for anyone in holy orders – deacons, priests or bishops – to enter a same-sex marriage.

Lay members who do so will also be barred from ordination.

Last night one leading liberal campaigner described the new arrangements as a “dog’s breakfast” which enshrined “dishonesty and hypocrisy” within the Church.

But the deal, reached in a meeting of bishops behind closed doors, will also anger traditionalists who see any endorsement of gay marriage as a major departure from what they see as the teaching of the Bible.

Copies of the guidelines were last night sent to bishops and archbishops in other Anglican churches around the world, many of whom have already publicly accused the Church of England of drifting away from Biblical orthodoxy.

In a joint letter accompanying the guidelines, the Archbishop of Canterbury, the Most Rev Justin Welby, and the Archbishop of York, Dr John Sentamu, acknowledged that there are deep divisions in the Church of England – including between bishops – over the issue.

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Bishops' gay marriage guidance to clergy is based on false premises

The challenge that gay marriage presents to the Church is not unprecedented


SIR – The House of Bishops of the Church of England has recently issued pastoral guidance which states that nobody in a same-sex marriage will be accepted for ordination and that existing clergy will be disciplined if they enter a same-sex marriage. In justifying these announcements, it says: “There will, for the first time, be a divergence between the… definition of marriage in England as enshrined in law and the doctrine of marriage held by the Church of England.”

They have forgotten their history. The Church of England enforced a view of marriage as indissoluble long after civil law allowed remarriage of divorcees. During this period a king was forced to abdicate because he wanted to marry a divorcee, and Princess Margaret could not marry the man of her choice because he was a divorcee. It was not until 2002 that the Church formally accommodated remarriage of a divorced person.

The bishops believe that the challenge that gay marriage presents to the Church is unprecedented. They will not be able to reason their way to truthful guidance for the present by starting from false premises about the past.


Professor Iain McLean
Nuffield College, University of Oxford 

Professor Diarmaid MacCulloch
St Cross College, University of Oxford 

Professor Linda Woodhead
Lancaster University


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