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”.
Bishop Mounstephen said there was “real clarity” and consensus among the bishops “across the normal dividing lines of theological conviction” about pausing plans for now.
He said that in addition to this, there had been a “real lack of appetite” for heading towards alternative episcopal oversight for traditionalist parishes unable to accept such services on grounds of conscience.
While the Church of England leadership has always maintained that no clergy would be forced to carry out such blessings, traditionalist clergy have said they would seek differentiated episcopal oversight.
Bishop Mounstephen said the advice showed how much “due process really does matter, and in the life of the Church we should never duck it”.
“It’s why the Canons and the Church Representation Rules are there, and we should use them and abide by them,” he said.
“They are there essentially to protect us. I’ve always felt that I can sleep easily if people disagree with decisions I have made, as long as they can’t say they were inappropriately taken.
“And in a fractious age I would plead with all of us to ensure that in our parishes and deaneries we do indeed abide by the norms of our governance. Cutting corners rarely ends well, as the story of LLF [Living in Love and Faith] demonstrates.”
He closed out his comments on the matter by saying that the LLF process had been “immensely pastorally damaging” and that trust in the bishops was “at a low ebb”.
Rev Canon John Dunnett, National Director of the Church of England Evangelical Council, noted that the House of Bishops may yet revisit implementing the proposals. Indeed, since October, liberal Anglicans have been putting pressure on the bishops to move ahead despite the formal advice.
Rev Dunnett has said he remains concerned about the direction of travel in the Church of England.
“It is helpful that the House of Bishops has acknowledged the significant theological and legal impediments to standalone services and clergy same sex marriage,” he said.
“At the same time, the update does not in any way indicate that the House has resolved not to progress things further or that no further change will be forthcoming.
“This therefore leaves many questions unanswered and concerns unresolved – whatever your view of Living in Love and Faith’.”
