Church of England bishops to debate sexuality—again

Church of England leaders announced this week the creation of a committee tasked with seeking “episcopal discernment” on the confluence of sex, marriage, and church doctrine. The Bishops’ Reflection Group on Sexuality could issue a report as early as February, when the church holds its General Synod, according to observers.

Public debate among church leaders over the acceptance of gay marriage and practicing homosexuals’ participation in the church went behind closed doors this week during a College of Bishops meeting. Advocates on both sides of the debate called for a decisive statement on the issue, but the bishops didn’t comply. Those who contend for scriptural fidelity hold out hope the upcoming discussion will produce biblically faithful conclusions, despite the appointment of a liberal bishop to chair the committee.

Prior to this week’s meeting, Susie Leafe, director of Reform, a network of conservative evangelicals, said many church watchers believe the group “will be encouraged to come up with a motion to put before General Synod in February.”

Leaders have not announced who will serve on the committee, but Graham James, the bishop of Norwich, will serve as chairman. During the 2012 public debate over the U.K. Parliament’s same-sex marriage legislation, James defended traditional marriage. But while arguing a redefinition of marriage would further harm an already damaged marriage culture and “create a substantial range of new minorities with competing definitions of marriage,” he lauded the role of “faithful” same-sex relationships.

“It is surely to the benefit of the whole of our society if gay people live in faithful, stable, and publicly recognized relationships. Indeed, some gay relationships are a model of faithfulness compared with the serial monogamy so prevalent among heterosexual people,” wrote James and two other bishops in a response to the government’s gay marriage consultation report.

Andrew Symes, Anglican Mainstream executive secretary, referred to James as a “liberal” bishop but would not speculate on the implications of his appointment to chair the committee. Symes hopes a majority of bishops who oppose changing church doctrine, along with a growing, albeit conflict-averse, number of evangelical churches, can thwart what some say is an inevitable theological shift.

If calls for fidelity to Scripture and support for current doctrine do not hold sway, Symes said preserving the unity of the Anglican Communion will. Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby heads his province and the worldwide Anglican Communion—the majority of which remains faithful to scriptural doctrine on sex and marriage. A change of doctrine, Symes said, “will alienate a large section of the Anglican Communion.”