“Where does the Church get its doctrine on marriage from?” asked General Synod member Daniel Matovu.
QUICK FACTS:
- The General Synod, the legislative body of the Church of England, officially recognized gay marriage by voting to allow priests to bless same-sex marriage.
- The measure was almost universally approved by the House of Bishops, who voted 36 to 4, with two members choosing not to vote.
- Two senior bishops, Justin Welby, the Archbishop of Canterbury, and Stephen Cottrell, the Archbishop of York, released a statement saying, “It has been a long road to get us to this point.”
- The archbishops celebrated the monumental shift but recognized that “deep differences” remain among some members of the Synod.
- “As Archbishops, we are committed to respecting the conscience of those for whom this goes too far and to ensure that they have all the reassurances they need in order to maintain the unity of the Church as this conversation continues,” the senior members said.
- Where some rejoice at the measure, General Synod member Daniel Matovu described the move as a “fiasco.”
- “Where does the Church get its doctrine on marriage from? It comes directly from God,” Matovu said. “The Bishops cannot see, apparently, that the draft prayers are out of sync with, inconsistent with, and undermine the doctrine of marriage as in Canon B:30. They should have gone to Specsavers, bless them.”
ANTI-LGBT VIEWS REPRESENT A “HATE CRIME”:
- A Church of English bishop was investigated by the police for an alleged hate crime after he condemned the LGBT ideology online.
- Bishop Sam Margrave requested the church reexamine its stance on raising the rainbow flag.
- While trying to be helpful, Margrave wound up receiving “death threats” and “threats from clergy.”
- Margrave posted on social media his beliefs that “queer theology builds on the work of pedophiles.”
- Archbishops Welby and Cottrell demanded Margrave apologize and to “refrain from making generalized allegations of the behavior of LGBTQI+ people.”
BACKGROUND:
- American Faith reported several other incidences of the Church of England’s progressive movements.
- The Church of England is preparing to launch a project on the “gendered language” of God, veering from traditional male pronouns when referring to God.
- The Church also failed to define what a “woman” is.
