Church of England supports blessings for same-sex couples in narrow vote

Archbishop abstains as Church of England approves trial blessings for same-sex unions by 1 vote

The Church of England (COE) is introducing special services meant to allow blessings for same-sex couples — without the approval of the Archbishop of Canterbury. An amendment put forward to establish a trial run of non-matrimonial religious services for homosexual couples passed the COE parliament by just a single vote. "I recognise there remain divisions within the Church of England over these questions," Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby —…

Church of England supports blessings for same-sex couples in narrow vote

The Church of England's governing body has narrowly voted to back special services to bless same-sex couples on a trial basis but, underlining deep divisions on the topic, Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby said he had abstained.

Church of England supports blessings for same-sex couples in narrow vote

The Church of England’s governing body has voted to back special services to bless same-sex couples on a trial basis. The CoE — central to the entire Anglican Communion of 85 million believers across 165 countries — does not allow same-sex marriage, standing by its teaching that marriage is between a man and a woman. But the church has been wrestling with ways to make people in the LGBTQ community feel more welcome, and it apologized in January …