The FAQs: Anglican Communion Splits over ‘Blessing’ of Same-Sex Marriages

What just happened?

Earlier this month, the Church of England’s national assembly voted to let priests bless same-sex marriages and civil partnerships. In response, the Global South Fellowship of Anglican Churches (GSFA) issued a statement announcing that this schismatic and unbiblical action meant the Church of England had broken communion with the more faithful provinces within the Anglican Communion. The statement issued by the GSFA Primates (i.e., chief archbishops or bishops of a province) also noted they could no longer recognize the authority of the Archbishop of Canterbury.

“As much as the GSFA Primates also want to keep the unity of the visible Church and the fabric of the Anglican Communion, our calling to be ‘a holy remnant’ does not allow us to be ‘in communion’ with those provinces that have departed from the historic faith and taken the path of false teaching,” they say in the statement. “This breaks our hearts and we pray for the revisionist provinces to return to ‘the faith once delivered’ (Jude 3) and to us.”

Does the Church of England endorse same-sex marriage?

The Church of England is the state church in England, and church law (Canon Law) is part of English law. Although same-sex marriage was made legal in England and Wales by the passing of the Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Act 2013, the Church of England and the Church in Wales sought exemption from the law. Currently, it isn’t legal for either of those provinces to officiate or host same-sex marriages. A change of Canon Law would be required for priests in those provinces to legally participate in same-sex marriages.

What does it mean for the Church of England to ‘bless’ a same-sex marriage?

Within the Anglican tradition, priests have the authority to convey God’s blessing to others. Blessing a same-sex marriage would be an official pronouncement by the church of God’s love for the couple and his favor on their homosexual relationship.

The exact wording of such blessings hasn’t yet been issued. The bishops are expected to provide guidance so such blessings can begin later this year. The blessing will be voluntary for clergy, allowing those who hold the biblical view on marriage to opt out.

The Church in Wales previously voted in September 2021 to offer prayers of blessing to couples in same-sex marriages.

What are Anglicanism and the Church of England?

Anglicanism is a tradition within Christianity comprising the Church of England and churches that are historically tied to it or have similar beliefs, worship practices, and church structures. With a membership estimated at around 85 million worldwide, the Anglican faith (including those within the Anglican Communion and Anglicans outside of it) is the third-largest Christian communion in the world, after the Roman Catholic Church and the Eastern Orthodox Churches.

The Church of England is the original church of the Anglican Communion. It’s divided into 42 dioceses and further subdivided into parishes. Every part of England (and the Isle of Man) falls into a parish, and each parish church has a priest who’s responsible for ministering to the inhabitants.

Within the Church of England, the number of people who attend worship regularly (once a month or more, whether in-person or “at home”) in 2021 was 966,000 people (about 1.7 percent of the population of England). Approximately 10 percent of those were people who were entirely or predominantly “church at home” worshipers (i.e., people who accessed services offered online or by phone, post, email, and other means).

What is the Anglican Communion?

The Anglican Communion is an international association of churches consisting of the Church of England and of national and regional Anglican provinces in full communion with that mother church. The status of full communion means (1) there’s mutual agreement on essential doctrines and (2) full participation in the sacramental life of each church is available to all communicant Anglicans. There are also groups, such as those aligned with the Continuing Anglican movement or the Anglican realignment, whose relationship to the worldwide Anglican Communion is still being negotiated.

Although joined in a global communion, Anglicanism has no international juridical authority, and each province is wholly self-governing. The 34 provinces, four United Churches, and six other churches of the Anglican Communion are autonomous, each with its own governing bishop and governing structure. Some take the form of national churches (such as in England, Canada, and Japan), while others are a collection of nations (such as in Central Africa and South Asia) or geographical regions (such as Vanuatu and the Solomon Islands). Some provinces are extraprovincial (for example, Bermuda aligns with Canterbury) or outside the Anglican Communion altogether.

The provinces of the Anglican Communion are “linked by affection and common loyalty” and in communion with the See of Canterbury. The term “see” refers to the seat of a bishop, thus the “See of Canterbury” refers to the position held by the Archbishop of Canterbury, the highest-ranking bishop in Canterbury, one of two ecclesiastical provinces which constitute the Church of England. The Archbishop of Canterbury, currently Justin Welby, is the spiritual leader and “focus of unity” for the Anglican Communion and head of the three “Instruments of Unity.” The Archbishop calls the once-a-decade Lambeth Conference, chairs the meeting of Primates (i.e., chief archbishop or bishop of a province), and is president of the Anglican Consultative Council. The Archbishop of Canterbury is considered the primus inter pares—the “first among equals”—of the college of Primates.

What authority does the Archbishop of Canterbury hold over the Anglican Communion?

Since there’s no binding authority in the Anglican Communion, the Archbishop of Canterbury has no authority outside his own province. Instead, the “Instruments of Unity” serve to hold the various churches and provinces together: the Lambeth Conference is a gathering of bishops, meeting every 10 years; the meeting of Primates takes place every two or three years for consultation on theological, social, and international issues; and the Anglican Consultative Council brings together bishops, presbyters, deacons, lay men and women, and youth to work on common concerns.

What is the Global South Fellowship of Anglican Churches (GSFA)?

The GSFA is a worldwide fellowship of orthodox Anglican provinces and dioceses within the Anglican Communion. Begun in 1994, the GSFA is composed of approximately 25 provinces whose purpose is to guard the faith once delivered, unite in mission and ministry, establish mutual accountability across member provinces, and work for the well-being of the Anglican Communion.

Provinces and dioceses that have been accepted for membership to the GSFA or have initiated the process of applying for membership include the Episcopal/Anglican Province of Alexandria, the Church of Bangladesh, the Anglican Church in Brazil, the Anglican Church of Chile, the Province of the Anglican Church of Congo, the Diocese of Sydney, the Church of the Province of the Indian Ocean, the Anglican Church of Melanesia, the Church of the Province of Myanmar (Burma), the Anglican Church in North America (ACNA), the Anglican Church of Papua New Guinea, the Church of the Province of South East Asia, the Province of the Episcopal Church of South Sudan, the Province of the Episcopal Church of Sudan, and the Church of the Province of Uganda.

Other Global South provinces are the Anglican Church of Burundi, the Church of the Province of Central Africa, the Anglican Church of Kenya, the Church of Nigeria (Anglican Communion), the Church of Pakistan (United), the Anglican Church of Rwanda, the Anglican Church of South America, the Anglican Church of Southern Africa, the Anglican Church of Tanzania, and the Church of the Province of West Africa.

Altogether, the GSFA claims to represent 75 percent of all Anglicans worldwide (roughly 64 million Anglicans).

Which member churches of the Anglican Communion endorse same-sex marriage?

Currently, the member provinces that ordain LGBT+ clergy or marry same-sex couples include the Episcopal Church (which includes 100 dioceses in the U.S. and 12 additional dioceses or jurisdictions in 15 nations in Asia, the Pacific, Latin America, the Caribbean, and Europe), the Episcopal Anglican Church of Brazil, the Anglican Church of Canada, the Scottish Episcopal Church, the Church in Wales, and the Anglican Church of Aotearoa, New Zealand and Polynesia.

What is the significance of the GSFA statement?

Anglicans have been divided over the issue of homosexuality for the past two decades. The apostate supporters of same-sex unions continue to reject the biblical standard and the traditionalists refuse to abandon the authority of Scripture. This latest action has merely sped up the dissolution of the traditional form of the Communion.

The statement by the GSFA makes it clear the majority of Anglicans across the world are “no longer able to recognise the present Archbishop of Canterbury, the Rt Hon & Most Revd Justin Welby, as the ‘first among equals’ Leader of the global Communion.”

The disfellowship within the Anglican Communion is both lamentable and encouraging. It’s unfortunate the Church of England, the “mother” of Anglicanism, has chosen the path of schism by rejecting the orthodox faith. But it’s also encouraging to see most Anglicans around the globe refuse to follow the Church of England and other liberal churches in embracing and “blessing” what God calls sin.

We should continue to pray the apostate provinces within Anglicanism listen to the remaining faithful, biblical members within their ranks and be lead to repent, and seek restoration. We should also give a prayer of thanks that God has appointed leaders within the Communion who have the courage to do as the GSFA leaders have said: “[To] ask God to purify and build up our churches so that we can authentically and passionately take the Gospel out to our respective nations and assigned fields.”