The Church of England's House of Bishops has announced it is bringing the Living in Love and Faith (LLF) process to a close.
LLF was launched by the Church of England in 2017 to explore questions of human identity, sexuality, relationships and marriage through study, listening and discernment. Ultimately it wanted to consider whether the Church should bless same-sex relationships and marriages, and permit clergy to be in same-sex unions.
The LLF process led to the creation of Prayers of Love and Faith - public prayers and blessings for same-sex couples as part of regular church services. These were approved by the Church of England's parliamentary body, the General Synod, in February 2023.
Following that vote, the bishops had been considering bespoke standalone services of blessing and new guidance for clergy in relation to same-sex unions but last October the bishops were forced to admit that they were not at liberty to introduce such changes without full formal authorisation under canon law.
A final decision had been due in December but was delayed to allow the bishops more time to consider "some areas where further clarification is needed" and "to continue work on a letter to the Church summarising LLF and setting out an agreed position". That letter has now been released.
The bishops write, “We believe we have fulfilled, albeit imperfectly, the February 2023 General Synod motion as best we can given the range of views across the Church of England, including replacing Issues in Human Sexuality after the July 2025 Synod motion, without departing from or indicating any departure from the Church’s doctrine of marriage.
"We believe, as a House, that the time has now come formally to conclude this Synodical process in February 2026 and to identify the next stages of work which will need to be considered by the House of Bishops and the General Synod in the coming years, including the ongoing structures for development, dialogue and discernment."
The letter confirms the position taken in October that standalone services of blessing will need full formal authorisation under canon law, while general permission for clergy to be in a same-sex civil marriage will require a formal legislative process, which the bishops have agreed to explore.
"With a high degree of consensus, the House has concluded that the additional challenges posed by bespoke services will require maximum communal authorisation through the Canon B2," the letter reads.
It continues, "Some bishops, clergy and lay people believe it would be right to enable further provision, such as permitting Church of England churches to solemnise the marriages of same sex couples.
"However, we have not found sufficient consensus to proceed further with these suggestions at the present time, given the range and balance of views across the Church. Our common discernment on these questions will continue in the coming years."
The bishops already announced in October that ‘Delegated Episcopal Ministry’ - the means by which opponents of same-sex blessings could receive oversight from bishops of the same persuasion - would be put on hold. The letter published this week again rules out Delegated Episcopal Ministry at this stage but says that the Faith and Order Commission will provide further theological reflection in this area for the House of Bishops to consider at a later date.
"We recognise, however, that these debates around differentiation and alternative jurisdiction and provision will need to continue into the future (alongside the ongoing debates around the possibility of clergy entering into same sex marriage and the solemnisation of same sex marriage)," the bishops said.
"We trust that these debates will continue in a spirit of honesty, grace and mutual respect, and with sensitivity to those whose lives and relationships are most deeply affected."
The letter goes on to say that the bishops want to "avoid a further cycle of hopes or anxieties being raised only to be disappointed", while recognising that "there remains work still unresolved from LLF which needs both resources and co-ordination".
With that in mind, the bishops have commissioned a Working Group to examine theological arguments and legal routes towards approving bespoke services of Prayers of Love and Faith and enabling clergy to enter into same-sex marriage, while also considering any "proportionate" pastoral episcopal provision relating to further proposed changes.
The bishops intend to report back to the General Synod with recommendations within the first two years of the new General Synod quinquennium.
The Bishop of Winchester, Philip Mounstephen, said: “I’m aware that the process of LLF has been very fraught and I’m sorry that it has caused both pain and some anger amongst many.
“I know too that we are not now where many would want us to be – but I think the place we’re in now is a place of commitment to due and proper process: and that really matters.
“We are – and we need to be – a properly ordered Church.”
The Bishop of Blackburn, Philip North, said: “The LLF process has caused immense pain on all sides because the matters it concerns carry us to the heart of what it means to be human and what it is to be Christian.
“After a great deal of praying and reflecting together, the House of Bishops has agreed that we want to avoid fragmentation and travel together as one Body for the sake of our mission to the nation.
“This means that when we are making big decisions about what we believe, we need to use General Synod's established processes to discern God’s will.
“For some we have not gone far enough, for others we have already gone too far. My prayer is that we can stay together for the sake of the people we are called to serve.”
