Communications Officer Benjamin John breaks down what happened at Synod in the debate about clergy entering into same-sex civil marriages.
On Monday 8 July, the General Synod of the Church of England voted to proceed with blessings for same-sex couples and to explore allowing clergy to enter same-sex civil marriages and engage in homosexual sexual activity.
Significantly, the motion passed will allow standalone services of blessing for same sex ‘marriages’. These will look and feel exactly like weddings even though they will not be weddings in law.
The motion passed also in practice asks the Faith and Order Commission – which advises on theology and doctrine – if there is a way for clergy to be allowed to enter into same sex civil ‘marriages’ and be allowed to have homosexual intercourse. Currently, clergy are allowed to enter into same-sex civil partnerships, on the basis that they abstain from homosexual “sex”. This ‘discipline’ now looks set to be relaxed in 2025.
This motion in support of all these changes only narrowly passed in the final vote:
| For | Against | Abstain | |
| Bishops | 22 | 12 | 5 |
| Clergy | 99 | 88 | 2 |
| Laity | 95 | 91 | 2 |
The vote needed to be carried by a simple majority in each house. The laity vote was so close that if only two people had voted differently, the motion would have been lost. A helpful summary of the debate and speeches can be found here.
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In the debate Helen Lamb powerfully explained why we have opposed these changes:
Please believe me when I say it is a matter of obedience to God, of conviction that that is teaching that marriage is given to teach us something about Jesus and his bride. So please take us at our word that we’re not obstructing or delaying or playing games. We are seeking to obey God above all. And so our disagreements are profound and they matter profoundly to all of us.
