The Church of England has voted to back the blessing of same-sex marriages and civil partnerships in their most recent Synod (parliament) session. This means that Priests will have the option to bless gay couples in their church after they have formed a civil marriage or partnership. The BBC has reported that the first blessings could be in the summer.
While this is a step in the right direction for marriage equality within the Church, the Church's view of same-sex marriage will not change. After 5 years of consultation and debate, the Church resisted the calls to change and recognise the union of same-sex couples in January 2023.
Alison Hargreaves, Founder and Director of Guides for Brides, said: "Through our 28 years in the industry, we have seen marriage equality come on in leaps and bounds in the UK. While we recognise this news as a significant step in the right direction, there is still a long way to go and we look forward to the day LGBTQ couples feel that their marriages are fully recognised by the Church."
The news comes in the middle of the process to change marriage laws in England and Wales. The Law Commission put forward their recommendations in July 2022. If they are placed into law, this will allow couples to have much greater freedom of where they get married and what is included within their ceremony.
If accepted, the changes may include allowing some religious elements to be incorporated into the civil ceremony as long as it is clear that the ceremony is civil. So, Christian couples who are LGBTQ+ may be able to incorporate religious readings and hymns into their civil ceremonies in the future.
Key facts:
- Same-sex marriages became legal in England and Wales in 2013.
- In 2019, 219,850 marriages took place in England and Wales of which 3% were between same-sex couples.
- In 2019, 0.7% of same-sex marriages were religious.
For more information, please see the Church of England's press release.