Church of England bishops were right to halt same-sex blessing plans – Bishop of Winchester 

The Bishop of Winchester has defended the recent decision of the House of Bishops to pause plans to introduce standalone same-sex blessing services. 

The House of Bishops said after a gathering in October that introducing the services would require two thirds majorities in all three houses of the General Synod, its parliamentary body, while changing Church law to permit clergy to enter into same-sex unions would require easy majorities.

The announcement doesn’t change current guidelines that allow the ‘Prayers of Love and Faith’ for use as a part of existing services. 

The bishops reached their decision after reviewing detailed theological and legal advice which suggested that the Church of England could be open to legal challenge unless it followed due process on the matter. 

The House of Bishops will make a final decision on the longer term of standalone same-sex blessings when it meets again on December 16 but Bishop Philip Mounstephen said the theological and legal advice made clear that any changes will must be “done properly based on the norms of our governance”.

Addressing a recent meeting of the Winchester Diocesan Synod, Bishop Philip Mounstephen said that questions over how such changes could possibly be made without changing the official doctrine of the Church of England – which upholds marriage between a person and woman – proved to be “the sport changer”. 

He said the theological and legal advice had brought the House of Bishops “nose to nose with the sheer constitutional difficulty of creating such changes”. 

Bishop Mounstephen said there was “real clarity” and consensus among the many bishops “across the conventional dividing lines of theological conviction” about pausing plans for now. 

He said that along with this, there had been a “real lack of appetite” for heading towards alternative episcopal oversight for traditionalist parishes unable to simply accept such services on grounds of conscience.  

While the Church of England leadership has all the time maintained that no clergy could be forced to perform such blessings, traditionalist clergy have said they might seek differentiated episcopal oversight. 

Bishop Mounstephen said the recommendation showed how much “due process really does matter, and within the lifetime of the Church we should always never duck it”. 

“It’s why the Canons and the Church Representation Rules are there, and we should always use them and abide by them,” he said. 

“They are there essentially to guard us. I’ve all the time felt that I can sleep easily if people disagree with decisions I even have made, so long as they will’t say they were inappropriately taken. 

“And in a fractious age I might plead with all of us to be certain that in our parishes and deaneries we do indeed abide by the norms of our governance. Cutting corners rarely ends well, because the story of LLF [Living in Love and Faith] demonstrates.” 

He closed out his comments on the matter by saying that the LLF process had been “immensely pastorally damaging” and that trust within the bishops was “at a low ebb”.

Rev Canon John Dunnett, National Director of the Church of England Evangelical Council, noted that the House of Bishops may yet revisit implementing the proposals. Indeed, since October, liberal Anglicans have been putting pressure on the bishops to maneuver ahead despite the formal advice. 

Rev Dunnett has said he stays concerned concerning the direction of travel within the Church of England. 

“It is useful that the House of Bishops has acknowledged the numerous theological and legal impediments to standalone services and clergy same sex marriage,” he said. 

“At the identical time, the update doesn’t in any way indicate that the House has resolved to not progress things further or that no further change might be forthcoming. 

“This due to this fact leaves many questions unanswered and concerns unresolved – whatever your view of Living in Love and Faith’.”