Same-sex marriages will receive “prayers for God’s blessing” for the first time in the Church of England following a vote at the General Synod, the legislative body of the established church of England.
On Thursday, the three houses of the Synod voted in favour of officially recognising gay marriages for the first time, with priests now being empowered to give their blessings to such unions.
The vote was overwhelmingly approved by the House of Bishops, which supported the measure by a margin of 36 to four, with two members of the house abstaining from the vote. However, the issue was far more contested amongst the lower houses of the Synod, with the House of Clergy backing the measure by a vote of 111 to 85, with three abstentions, and by the House of Laity which supported the move by a margin of 103 to 92, with five abstaining members.
In a joint statement, the two most senior bishops in the Church, Justin Welby, the Archbishop of Canterbury, and Stephen Cottrell, the Archbishop of York said: “It has been a long road to get us to this point.
