A commission is to be launched by the Church of England in the spring to explore the gender terms used for God in its authorised liturgy.
The topic arose in a session of the Church of England General Synod, its parliamentary body, meeting this week in London.
While the Bible contains frequent references to God as 'Father' and uses male pronouns, Rev Joanna Stobart, vicar of Ilminster and Whitelackington in the Diocese of Bath and Wells, asked what the Church was doing to develop "more inclusive language" in its authorised liturgy.
She asked bishops to come up with "more options" for Anglicans who want to "speak of God in a non-gendered way, particularly in authorised absolutions where many of the prayers offered for use refer to God using male pronouns".
Responding in his role as vice-chair of the Liturgical Commission, the Bishop of Lichfield, Michael Ipgrave, said: "We have been exploring the use of gendered language in relation to God for several years, in collaboration with the Faith and Order Commission.
"After some dialogue between the two commissions in this area, a new joint project on gendered language will begin this spring."
A spokesperson for the Church of England said the issue was "nothing new", while adding that there were "absolutely no plans to abolish or substantially revise" authorised services.
"Christians have recognised since ancient times that God is neither male nor female," the spokesperson said.
"Yet the variety of ways of addressing and describing God found in scripture has not always been reflected in our worship."
Speaking against any moves to adopt new language, Archbishops' Council member, Rev Ian Paul, said: "The use of male pronouns for God should not be understood as implying that God is male – which is a heresy. God is not sexed, unlike humanity.
"The Bible uses feminine imagery and metaphors of God, but primarily identifies God using masculine pronouns, names, and imagery. Male and female imagery is not interchangeable.
"The fact that God is called 'Father' can't be substituted by 'Mother' without changing meaning, nor can it be gender-neutralised to 'Parent' without loss of meaning. Fathers and mothers are not interchangeable but relate to their offspring in different ways.
"If the Liturgical Commission seeks to change this, then in an important way they will be moving the doctrine of the Church away from being grounded in the Scriptures."
