LGBTQ marriages blessed by the Anglican Church

The Anglican Church introduces - on an experimental basis - religious services to bless the marriages of same-sex couples, after the motion initiated in this regard received a favorable vote from the Synod of this church, according to an article in the British newspaper The Guardian.

That motion was adopted by 227 votes to 203.

So soon members of the LGBTQ community will be able to invite their family and friends to a special service on Saturday to bless and celebrate marriage, and music, readings, confetti and other elements can make these services to look a lot like a "standard" marriage ceremony.

The proposal for experimental autonomous services is formulated in an amendment to a motion that reveals progress made by bishops on the controversial issue of sexuality, known in the Anglican Church as the "Living in Love and Faith" group. The Bishop of Oxford, Steven Croft, who proposed the amendment, says that these autonomous experiential "services" are to be "voluntary", meaning that no member of the clergy will be required to officiate.

The bishops agreed last month to recommend special prayers for same-sex couples to be used in existing services, which could begin before Christmas. They also decided last month to launch a two-year process to get the services authorized special autonomous by virtue of canonical law.

Through this proposal, stand-alone trial jobs can begin to take place in parallel with permanent authorisation.

According to the cited source, the Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby and the Archbishop of York Stephen Cottrell, who supported the amendment, announced in a joint statement that "we heard loud and clear, in the extensive two-day debate, the depth of feeling throughout the Church on these issues extremely important".

"This motion passed by a close vote, but we do not underestimate the depth of feeling and will reflect on everything we have heard as we try to move forward together," they added.

The Bishop of London Sarah Mullally, co-chair of the Living in Love and Faith group, said that "the truth is, as we saw again today (Wednesday), that the Church of England does not agree on issues of sexuality and marriage".

The bishops will now "reflect on the best way to implement" the decision of the Synod, she announced.