Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby's media statement after he said in a podcast interview that gay sex in a committed relationship is not sinful is unlikely to douse the flames of controversy.
In The Rest is Politics podcast on October 20, recorded in the crypt of Archbishop Welby's official London residence at Lambeth Palace, he told Labour's former communications director Alastair Campbell and his co-presenter, former Conservative MP Rory Stewart: "What the Archbishop of York and I and the bishops, by a majority, by no means unanimous, and the Church is deeply split over this - where we've come to is to say that all sexual activity should be within a committed relationship, and whether it's straight or gay."
The controversy has been unleashed by the Archbishop's suggestion that the Prayers of Love and Faith (PLF) services of blessing for same-sex couples, which the General Synod voted for in February 2023 after the six-year Living in Love and Faith consultation, are ushering in a change to the Church of England's teaching on sexual morality.
The Church of England Evangelical Council (CEEC) this week published a robust response to Archbishop Welby from the Rev Dr Andrew Goddard, a CEEC council member and tutor in ethics at Ridley Hall theological college in Cambridge.
Goddard argued that "the Archbishop's interview gives the impression that the Church of England, with the agreement of the majority of bishops, now teaches that sexual relationships, including same-sex sexual relationships, are acceptable as long as the couple are in a committed relationship, either a civil partnership or a marriage".
He continued: "In fact, the theological argument presented by the bishops (and sight of the legal advice to bishops might demonstrate that this is also crucial for PLF's legality) has been that any sexual relationship other than marriage between a man and a woman is contrary to the Church's doctrine of marriage."
He concluded: "Such significantly erroneous statements as these from no less than the Archbishop of Canterbury, unless swiftly followed by an apology and correction, can only add further to the widespread erosion of trust and growing sense of disbelief, betrayal, deception, anger and despair now felt across much of the Church of England in relation to both the PLF process and our archiepiscopal leadership."
The Lambeth Palace media statement on October 22 declares: "In his interview on the Leading (sic) podcast, the Archbishop of Canterbury was asked whether gay sex is sinful. Alastair Campbell was returning to this question having first put it to the Archbishop in 2017 during an interview for GQ magazine.
"In both interviews, Archbishop Justin spoke honestly about the fact that these are complex questions that have caused deep division in the church. In both interviews, he said that what seem most central to him are stable, committed and faithful relationships.
"Archbishop Justin was giving a personal view that reflects the position now held by himself, the Archbishop of York and many other bishops regarding sexual intimacy. He has been honest that his thinking has evolved over the years through much prayer and theological reflection – particularly through the Living in Love and Faith process – and he now holds this view sincerely. It reflects his commitment to continuing to welcome, love and include LGBTQ+ people more fully in the life of the Church."
The statement stressed Welby's "absolute commitment" to those who hold a traditional view having "a full and undoubted place in the Church of England". It claimed that his answer to Campbell "did not indicate a changing of teaching from the House of Bishops".
It concluded: "This is an ongoing conversation across the Church – and Archbishop Justin hopes that the bishops, together with clergy and laity, will keep praying and reflecting on these questions."
But this statement can only serve to deepen the divisions in the C of E and the international Anglican Communion over sexual morality. It makes clear that Archbishop Welby no longer believes that sex outside of heterosexual marriage is sinful.
Before he was ordained Justin Welby belonged to Holy Trinity Brompton, the C of E's evangelical charismatic flagship church in London's Knightsbridge, which upholds the traditional Christian sexual ethic. He reiterated on the podcast that he himself does not conduct same-sex blessings because of his role in the Anglican Communion in which many provinces oppose such services.
This diplomatic decision had left the question open as to whether the Archbishop still held the traditional view personally. But he has now made clear his view that provided a homosexual couple are in a faithful, committed relationship, their sexual activity is morally acceptable in the eyes of God.
That is a major declaration from the Archbishop of Canterbury, the repercussions of which are now poised to play out in the C of E and the wider Anglican Communion.
Julian Mann is a former Church of England vicar, now an evangelical journalist based in Lancashire.
