Church of England abandons proposals for same-sex blessing ceremonies

The Church of England's national assembly has formally abandoned proposals to deliver blessing ceremonies for same-sex couples in churches.

General Synod did vote to continue to look into the issue in the future, but bishops had already decided there were theological and legal barriers to having such ceremonies now.

There was emotional testimony from some gay Christians during the Synod debate and warnings that many liberals and LGBT people were abandoning the Church.

Church leaders apologised for the hurt caused to "both sides", with conservatives having also complained about a lack of clarity from bishops about traditional teaching about marriage and sexuality.

"This is not where I want us to be, nor where I hoped we would be three years ago. And I want to acknowledge that wherever you stand on the debate, I know that many of you are feeling angry and disappointed," said the Archbishop of York Stephen Cottrell at Synod on Thursday.

In early 2023 after 10 years of bitter debate, the Church of England finally decided that, unlike some other Anglican churches like the Scottish Episcopal Church, it would not support gay marriage.

Instead, it proposed church "blessings" for same-sex couples, a move that was endorsed by a Synod vote, and a process was set up to try to work out how stand-alone blessing ceremonies for gay couples could work.

But this Synod has marked the end of that process, the work on which is estimated to have cost £1.6m.

Apologising for the pain caused, the Archbishop of York put forward a proposal to set up a working group to continue discussing the issue.

"You have broken my heart. I cannot believe that we are here again, after all this time, with only this to offer," the Reverend Charlie Bączyk-Bell, a gay priest and member of Synod based in London, said.

Dr Bączyk-Bell said the process had been a "facetious charade" and it was a "false equivalence" to talk about hurt caused to those who had been theologically opposed to the idea of marriage equality.

"It is not the same to have your entire self debated, ripped apart, dissected, insulted, trampled on in this chamber and more widely as though it were a mere abstract question," he said.

Through tears, Dr Bączyk-Bell apologised to LGBTQ+ members of the Church of England affected "for what we continue to put you through" and "that we cannot celebrate you the way we should".

Although both gay marriage and stand-alone blessing ceremonies for same-sex couples are now off the table in the Church of England, blessing prayers for such couples that form part of ordinary Sunday church services have been allowed since 2023.

Additional reporting by Catherine Wyatt.