Church of England Reviews Policies in Key Areas
The Church of England’s General Synod, at its mid-July meeting in York, clarified church policy on allowing clergy to marry divorced people as well as the issue of women in the episcopate.
The synod voted in 1981 that “there are circumstances in which a divorced person may be married in church during the lifetime of a former partner,” but over the years it has not defined those circumstances. The vote rescinds resolutions from 1938 and 1957 that affirmed the indissolubility of marriage. The resolution now goes to the House of Bishops.
During the debate some argued that “clergy should not be put in front-line trenches” by making decisions whether to conduct the wedding services while others said that people should not be “denied the pastoral and evangelistic service of the Church of England at a liminal moment in their lives.”
A progress report on the issue of women in the episcopate also stirred passionate debate. Those who support the effort warned against “insulting” conscience clauses in future legislation.
“There must be no conscience provision,” said the Rev. Patience Purchas. “My generation led the way” in the fight for women in the priesthood, she added. “Please do not insult the next generation who will become bishops.”
Bishop for Europe Geoffrey Rowell warned that it was a church-splitting issue and that any proposed change must be rooted in scripture. As a member of the working group looking at the theological issues raised by the issue, he said that the guiding principles must be theological, not sociological.
“Our views are likely to be rooted in whether we see the common mission of men and women as more fundamental or the distinction in role which comes from difference in gender,” said Bishop Michael Nazir-Ali, who chairs the working group. He said that new research has shown that some leaders of house churches in the New Testament were women and some theologians argue that Junia, the woman mentioned in Romans, could be regarded as an apostle.