from Christian Today
The Bishop of Winchester has defended the recent decision of the House of Bishops to pause plans to introduce standalone same-sex blessing services.
The House of Bishops said after a meeting in October that introducing the services would require two thirds majorities in all three houses of the General Synod, its parliamentary body, while changing Church law to allow clergy to enter into same-sex unions would require simple majorities.
The announcement does not change current guidelines that permit the ‘Prayers of Love and Faith’ to be used as part of existing services.
The bishops reached their decision after reviewing detailed theological and legal advice which suggested that the Church of England would be open to legal challenge unless it followed due process on the matter.
The House of Bishops will make a final decision on the future of standalone same-sex blessings when it meets again on December 16 but Bishop Philip Mounstephen said the theological and legal advice made clear that any changes will need to be “done properly according to the norms of our governance”.
Addressing a recent meeting of the Winchester Diocesan Synod, Bishop Philip Mounstephen said that questions over how such changes could be made without changing the official doctrine of the Church of England – which upholds marriage between a man and woman – proved to be “the game changer”.
He said the theological and legal advice had brought the House of Bishops “face to face with the sheer constitutional difficulty of making such changes”.