CANTERBURY, England (RNS) The Church of England on Friday (Jan. 4) confirmed that it has dropped its prohibition on gay clergy in civil partnerships becoming bishops — but only if they agree to remain celibate.
Speaking on behalf of the Church’s House of Bishops, Bishop of Norwich Graham Jones said in a statement: “The House of Bishops has confirmed that clergy in civil partnerships, and living in accordance with the teaching of the Church on human sexuality, can be considered as candidates for the episcopate. There had been a moratorium on such candidates for the past year and a half while the working party completed its task.”
Jones added that the bishops agreed it would be “unjust” to exclude gay men from becoming bishops if they were otherwise “seeking to live fully in conformity with the Church’s teaching on sexual ethics or other areas of personal life and discipline.”
Although the bishops approved the change on Dec. 20, it wasn’t noticed until Friday when the BBC’s religious affairs correspondent, Robert Pigott, read it in a report published in the Church Times.
The move represents a major shift for the mother church of the worldwide Anglican Communion, which had already weathered a major schism when Anglicanism’s American branch, the Episcopal Church, consecrated openly gay Bishop V. Gene Robinson in New Hampshire in 2003.
Evangelical Anglicans said that they would fight the move to let gay clergy become bishops.
Rod Thomas, chairman of the conservative group Reform, told the BBC that the idea of appointing people in civil partnerships as bishops had not been agreed on or debated by the wider church.
“That would be a major change in church doctrine and therefore not something that can be slipped out in the news,” he said. “It is something that has got to be considered by the General Synod.”
The governing General Synod has already proven itself reluctant to make major changes to who can become a bishop; delegates narrowly defeated a proposal last November to allow women bishops, a decision that sparked widespread anger from the public and British government.
The issue of gay bishops has split the Church of England since 2003 amid a row over gay cleric Jeffrey John becoming the Bishop of Reading, about 58 miles west of London.
Presently, John is dean of St. Albans Cathedral in Hertfordshire and is registered in a same-sex civil partnership with his longtime partner. Under the new rules, he would be eligible to become a bishop as long as he maintains his commitment to celibacy.
KRE/AMB END GRUNDY
5 Comments
Church of England rules gay men in civil partnerships can become bishops « just telling it as it is
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Charles Lezenby
I am a little confused. Please help me along. If a gay man in some type of legal union and is committed to a partner, is he allowed to have sex with his partner? If no then is a straight man in a married legal union, and committed to a partner, they must also remain celebate also-correct. I read this as if you are saying married gays cannot have sex and married straights can! Makes no sense and is wrong in the eyes of Jesus Christ. Please reply.
Mr. Mansuri
I am a Muslim student of Islam and like to study in various religion. As I believe, a man, weak in sexual relationship called gay. Gay are only from male society, never from female. If gay marry to a female and enter into sexual relationship with her, that is permissible but gay enter into a male or marry with him that call homosexual and it is forbidden, punishment is death.
Read Genesis 19:24, Leviticus 18:22-24, 20:13, 1-Cor.6:9-10, 1-Timothy 1:9-10, Romans 1:26-31, Jude 1:7.
But with sadness heart have to say a Christian country America made many lows against the bible and from those marriage man with man and woman with woman, reason of such lows criminal and innocent people of America suffering heavy punishment from God like storm, flood, earthquick etc.. Who are responsible murder of innocent: government, ministry and churches who allow to do so, or people who knowingly keep mum? God bless America.
Church of England OK’s (celibate) gay bishops
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[...] last week, the Church of England announced that it will permit gay clergy in civil partnerships to become bishops – as long as they [...]