Churches to Relax Wedding Rules amid Decline in Anglican Marriages

The Church of England Synod has looked at proposals to make it easier for people to take part in church marriages. The new plans considered would allow couples to marry in the church of their choice.

The topic was brought up after alarm was raised over the steep decline in the number of church weddings. In response the Church of England is proposing to relax the rules for marriage that say the bride or groom must live or worship in a parish in order to use its church.

Some clerics have felt that the move was vital to reverse the decline in weddings in Anglican churches, said BBC religious affairs correspondent Robert Pigott.

Weddings in Anglican churches have halved in the last 20 years, and couples who wish to marry in a parish where neither one lives or worships, must currently seek a special licence.