Anglican Bishops in Australia have voted down a statement against gay marriages that sought to affirm the “traditional view” of marriage as only between a man and a woman.
The statement, introduced by the conservative Sydney Diocese and its Archbishop Kanishka Raffel, said that solemnising same-sex marriages was “contrary to the teaching of Christ and the faith, ritual, ceremonial and/or discipline of this Church.”At the 18th General Synod of the Anglican Church held earlier this week, the statement found overwhelming support among the laity and the priests.
The statement passed in the House of Laity (63-47) and in the House of Clergy (70-39), but was blocked by the Anglican Bishops.
The House of Bishops narrowly voted against the statement 12-10. Archbishop Raffel said he “deeply regretted” that the House of Bishops had voted to block the move to reject same-sex marriages. “Failing to make these affirmations today has left us in a perilous position, and no one should be mistaken about that,” the Archbishop said.
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