The Primate of All Ireland, Archbishop Alan Harper, has called on Anglicans to revise their approach to the debate on homosexuality according to traditional Anglican methods.
In an address at the USPG: Anglicans in World Mission conference in Swanwick on Friday, Archbishop Harper said that the method of 'Scripture, Tradition and Reason' forged by 16th century theologian Richard Hooker should be applied to debates within the Anglican Communion today.
He argued that Anglicans need to distinguish between what he believes to be the direct Word of God and human interpretations within the body of Scripture.
"In particular, the crucial distinctions that Hooker makes between the whole body of Scripture and what may be identified as the Law of God needs swiftly to be recovered," he said.
Following Hooker's method, Archbishop Harper stated that reason should be applied to Romans Chapter 1, a crucial text in the homosexuality debate that he went on to describe as a "by-speech in the context of an historical narrative, and, as such, not a declaration of God's law".
"Furthermore, Paul, in his treatment of the issues, employs reason based upon the knowledge and presuppositions accessible to him in his day," he continues.
The Archbishop urged Anglicans not to cast aside science and human knowledge as tools to interpret terms in Scriptures such as "natural" and "unnatural".
He argued that the recovery of Hooker's method would inform a more mature discussion on controversial issues in the Anglican Communion.
"It is no exaggeration to say that the debate within Anglicanism on the place of homosexuality in human society and the relationship of homosexual acts to the law of God has become deeply visceral and that the quality of debate has suffered as a result," he said.
He concluded that science had yet to prove that homosexuality was genetic, but hinted that if such evidence were to emerge, the Church may be forced to rethink its position on same-sex relationships.
"If such comes to be shown, it will be necessary to acknowledge the full implications of that new aspect of the truth," said Archbishop Alan Harper.
A spokesperson for the Church of Ireland denied that Archbishop Harper was implying the approval of same-sex marriage.
"The Archbishop does not call for a particular outcome [in the debate on homosexuality]. The Archbishop's address draws no parallels between same sex relationships and marriage."
