Anglican Church of Canada unlikely to change teaching on marriage

Bishops of the Anglican Church of Canada have admitted that its marriage teaching is unlikely to change this summer.

The Anglican Church of Canada already allows blessings for same-sex couples, and bishops had drafted a resolution to allow same-sex 'marriages'.

A two-thirds majority vote at the Church's General Synod in July would be needed for the resolution to pass, but bishops have realised that there is not enough support.

The news comes shortly after the Anglican Primates gathered in Canterbury in January, during which the topic of same-sex 'marriage' was discussed.

During the gathering "consequences" were imposed on the US Episcopal Church for its disobedience to biblical teaching on marriage, including the consecration of bishops who openly identify as homosexual.

The primates also warned against "possible developments in other provinces" - thought to be a reference to similar "consequences" imposed on Canada were it to also change its doctrine.

'Not likely to pass'

A statement issued to the General Synod council in the name of the Primate of Canada said the following:

"In our exploration of these differences it became clear to us that the draft resolution to change the Marriage Canon to accommodate the marriage of same-sex partners is not likely to pass in the Order of Bishops by the canonical requirement of a 2/3rds majority in each Order."

The statement went on to say that some bishops were "mortified" on discovering that the move to accept same-sex 'marriage' did not have enough support.

"Some of us talked of being mortified and devastated by this realisation," it said.

"We feel obliged to share this with the Council of General Synod as they give consideration to the process for handling this resolution at General Synod.

"We have grappled with this issue for three meetings of the House, and we feel a responsibility to convey our inability to come to a common mind in discerning what the Spirit is saying to the Church."

'The Christian discerns truth from error on the basis of God's word'

Wilberforce Academy Director, Dr Joe Boot, has criticised the Anglican Church's ongoing "conversations" about marriage doctrine and in particular the emphasis on spiritual 'discernment'.

In this piece, he reflects on February's General Synod and analyses a recent letter from the Archbishops of York and Canterbury to LGBT activist Jayne Ozanne.

On the subject of discernment, he writes:

"We might rightly ask, then, what is the basis of this discernment? Are Christian leaders to discern the spirit of the age and act accordingly, or with the aid of the Holy Spirit, rightly divide the Word of truth?

"The Christian discerns truth from error on the basis of God's Word, not some alternate subjective standard. Human 'discernment' emerging from reflection on human relationships does not create truth de novo.

"God's revealed truth is not the product of human collective consciousness. As such, Christian relationship or communion is a by-product of our fellowship in God's unchanging truth, it is not productive of new truth that would abrogate what God has spoken to create a new kind of communion."

'The Church must not become complacent'

Chief Executive of Christian Concern Andrea Williams commented on the latest developments in Canada, warning that while the news was welcome, the Church should not become complacent in resisting further attempts at liberalisation of its teaching.

"We welcome the news that the move to allow same-sex 'marriage' within the Anglican church of Canada is now unlikely to receive a majority vote.

"However, this statement seems designed to manipulate bishops into consenting to the move, with words like 'mortified' making it seem as though Bible-believing leaders were committing some act of wrong-doing by holding to the Word's teaching.

"In the UK we are seeing a similar pattern. At last month's General Synod, members were greeted by a stall promoting material from LGBT group 'Inclusive Church', yet at Christian Concern we were told there was 'no room' for a stall of our own.

"Attempts to liberalise Church teaching will continue as long as the Anglican church leaders refuse to explicitly state the truth of God's Word," she added.