The General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in Northern Ireland has voted in favor of a new policy that would deny full membership to same-sex couples.
The new policy, which was adopted during an annual meeting in Belfast last week, will also prohibit the baptism of children from same-sex households.
An hour-long debate reportedly took place at the meeting on Friday morning before a decision was made on the proposal.
A church spokesman said that the same-sex couples will still be allowed to attend worship, receive communion or have access to pastoral care despite the new policy.
"On many issues the church provides guidance to our ministers and elders in Kirk sessions and we wanted to consider what a credible profession of faith means for same-sex couples who want to become communicant members of the church," the spokesman said, as reported by The Independent.
"The same principle also applies to everyone, regardless of background or circumstance and those who want to baptise their children," he continued.
The Rev. John Dunlop, a former moderator, warned against the adoption of an official policy regarding same-sex relationships, arguing that it was a "highly sensitive" issue, the BBC reported.
However, the Rev. Stafford Carson, another former moderator, insisted that the Presbyterian Church needed to clarify its stance that it does not support same-sex relationships.
The Presbyterian Church contended that homosexuality is inconsistent with "Christian discipleship since it does not accord with the will of God expressed in his moral law."
The decision was made a week after the Presbyterian Church severed its ties with the Church of Scotland due to its support for same-sex marriage.
According to The Irish Times, the Presbyterian Church has decided to turn down any invitations to attend general assemblies of the Church of Scotland as well as the United Reformed Church. The Presbyterian Church will also discontinue sending invitations to the two denominations to its annual meetings.
Assembly clerk Rev. Trevor Gribben said that the decision "demonstrated that a majority of assembly members felt that both denominations have drifted far from biblical truth in relation to marriage, and were in fact ignoring the authority of scripture."
The General Assembly has also voted in favor of a meeting between its moderator the Rev. Dr. Charles McMullen and Pope Francis, who is expected to visit Dublin in August.
The Presbyterian Church has more than 220,000 members in Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland.
