Changes to marriage registration unnerve Church of England clergy
from Christian Today:
The Church of England has sought to reassure clergy of a seamless transition to a new system of registration for marriages coming into effect in England and Wales.
The new system being introduced by the Government affects church weddings and will replace the traditional registration of the marriage in the church register with a “marriage document” that the couple must sign at the ceremony and then present to the local register office within seven days. It has been reported that failure to do so will result in penalties of up to £1,000 for the couple.
No date has been set for the implementation of the new scheme but it caused a stir this week after the Faculty Office of the Archbishop of Canterbury released an update on the plans.
The Bishop of Truro, the Rt Rev Philip Mounstephen, suggested it was the first he had heard of the changes.
“All news to me. And rushed through ludicrously quickly,” he tweeted.
There have been concerns that the Church of England will struggle to train up its 20,000 clergy before the new scheme comes into effect.
See statement from the Church of England here
Related Posts
Tags
Share This
