Some clerics say their church remains homophobic and others vow to defy the bishops, with the eight-year LLF process stopped dead by new legal and theological guidance.
Stand-alone services for the blessing of same-sex unions and permission for clergy to enter civil same-sex marriages will now require action by General Synod, which will likely take years.
The Church of England’s bishops pushed back key decisions on same-sex liturgies and clergy discipline for nearly a year. Dense theological papers show work is being done.
The Rev. Canon Chris Ahrends: “It’s time for a form of ‘civil disobedience’ within the church — call it ‘ecclesiastical disobedience’ — by clergy of conscience.”
Just as the Church of England has created blessings for same-sex couples that are not wedding rites, the Church of England Evangelical Council has created “spiritual overseers.”
The dean and the cathedral’s governing chapel approved these blessings unanimously, and consulted with the Archbishop of Canterbury and Bishop Rose Hudson-Wilkin of Dover.
Remarkably for this genre of prayers, the 15 drafts released by the archbishop reflect not only proposed blessings, but also a prayer of reservations and prayers that focus more on the divided nature of the Anglican Church of Southern Africa.
