Faithwire
  • Watch
  • Go!
  • Podcasts
  • Contact Us
  • Newsletter
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • YouTube
  • Instagram
  • SCOTUS
  • Life
  • Religious Liberty
  • News
  • Politics
  • Faith
  • Opinion

‘Irrevocably Redefining Marriage’: Episcopal Church Deletes the Words ‘Husband’ and ‘Wife’ From Marriage Liturgy

Photo Credit: Getty Images / NiklasEmmoth
Photo Credit: Getty Images / NiklasEmmoth
Share Tweet
By Will Maule
Author

May 7, 2018

The Episcopal Church in the United States has decided to scrap the terms “husband” and “wife” from its marital liturgy in its latest move to find favor with the LGBT community. Phrases related to “procreation” will also be deleted, as they may offend those who do not identify as heterosexual.

‘We Trust in Jesus’: Ashers Bakery Stands Strong as ‘Gay Cake’ Case Goes to Supreme Court

According to LifeSite News, the change aims to make the church’s marriage ceremonies more “gay-friendly.” Indeed, Gay and lesbian Episcopalians have been increasingly vocal in their complaints that the language of the current liturgy is both offensive and exclusionary. Being a member of the worldwide Anglican Communion, the US Episcopal Church comes under the loose governance of the Church of England, and consequently the Archbishop of Canterbury.

According to the Telegraph, the Church of England’s Secretary General William Nye has been heavily critical of the change to such a sacred text and even threatened to cut ties with the U.S. church if it decides to introduce the new service as standard, and toss out the current wording in its Book of Common Prayer.

The drastic change would see the new service replace the phrase “the union of husband and wife” with “the union of two people.”

Couples will still be able to opt for the most traditional “husband” and “wife” when making their vows, but this will not be included in the standardized version. In his letter, Nye urged that using the new language as standard would lead to a growing “pressure to dissociate” the Church of England from the U.S. Episcopal church, warning that conservative members would see any such change to marriage liturgy as “completely unacceptable.” Nye warned the Episcopal Church to avoid “irrevocably redefining marriage” through railroading their new liturgical language into Church proceedings.

However, many liberal members of the Church of England have voiced their support for the move, and hit back at Nye for speaking on their behalf.

“Thank you for leading the way on this important issue,” a group wrote in an open letter posted online.

“We are grateful that you have recognised that not all married couples can have children and that a gender-neutral approach will enable us to become a loving and inclusive Church for all. We still have a few problems to sort out over here with those who keep threatening to leave, but we know that your actions have given great hope to thousands and shown that the Church is not as homophobic as it can sometimes appear.

We therefore want to publicly ‘dissociate’ ourselves from Mr Nye’s initial response and are expecting ‘stringent consequences’ as a result of his actions.”

Another liberal faith organization affiliated with the Church of England penned a direct response to Nye following his published letter.

“You will be aware that your previously undisclosed letter to The Episcopal Church has been met with anger, frustration and disappointment by many across the Church of England, on whose behalf you presume to speak,” read a letter from OneBodyOneFaith, addressed to Nye.

In its About Us section, OneBody’s website reads:

“OneBodyOneFaith works for the full inclusion of gay, lesbian, bisexual. transgender and intersex people in the Christian churches. We believe that human sexuality in all its richness is a gift of God gladly to be accepted, enjoyed and honoured as a way both of expressing and growing in love, and that it is entirely compatible with the Christian faith not only to love another person of the same sex, but to express that love fully in a personal sexual relationship.”

The head of the Anglican Communion, Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby, has continued to affirm the traditional definition of marriage as between one man and one woman. With that being said, Welby made some controversial remarks in a November 2017 interview in which he stated that he was unable to say whether sodomy is sinful or not.

“You know very well that is a question I can’t give a straight answer to. Sorry, badly phrased there. I should have thought that one through,” Welby told former Labour Party spin doctor Alastair Campbell in a candid interview at GQ Magazine.

“I don’t do blanket condemnation and I haven’t got a good answer to the question,” he added. “I’ll be really honest about that. I know I haven’t got a good answer to the question. Inherently, within myself, the things that seem to me to be absolutely central are around faithfulness, stability of relationships and loving relationships.”

Welby continued:

“I am also aware – a view deeply held by tradition since long before Christianity, within the Jewish tradition — that marriage is understood invariably as being between a man and a woman. Or, in various times, a man and several women, if you go back to the Old Testament.

I know that the Church around the world is deeply divided on this in some places, including the Anglicans and other Churches, not just us, and we are — the vast majority of the Church is — deeply against gay sex.”

Welby added: “I don’t think it is sinful to say that you disagree with gay sex. But to express that by way of hatred for people is absolutely wrong in the same way as misogyny or racism is wrong.”

(H/T: The Telegraph)

Latest

  • News

    ‘God Still Heals’: Mike Signorelli on Fighting the Demonic, Seeing Miracles — and More

  • Faith

    Tim Tebow Foundation, Nonprofit Team Up to Rescue More Than 70 Missing Children

  • News

    School Reportedly Bans Student From Performing Christian Songs at Talent Show — Then Reverses Course

  • Entertainment

    EPIC Trailer: Latest Season of ‘The Chosen’ Gets Release Date on Prime Video

  • Faith

    ‘God’s Prophetic Time Clock’: Michele Bachmann on Israel, End Times


Sponsored
Sponsored

Newsletter
Signup

  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Recent Posts

  • ‘God Still Heals’: Mike Signorelli on Fighting the Demonic, Seeing Miracles — and More
  • Tim Tebow Foundation, Nonprofit Team Up to Rescue More Than 70 Missing Children
  • School Reportedly Bans Student From Performing Christian Songs at Talent Show — Then Reverses Course
  • EPIC Trailer: Latest Season of ‘The Chosen’ Gets Release Date on Prime Video
  • ‘God’s Prophetic Time Clock’: Michele Bachmann on Israel, End Times

Archives

  • May 2025
  • April 2025
  • March 2025
  • February 2025
  • January 2025
  • December 2024
  • November 2024
  • October 2024
  • September 2024
  • August 2024
  • July 2024
  • June 2024
  • May 2024
  • April 2024
  • March 2024
  • February 2024
  • January 2024
  • December 2023
  • November 2023
  • October 2023
  • September 2023
  • August 2023
  • July 2023
  • June 2023
  • May 2023
  • April 2023
  • March 2023
  • February 2023
  • January 2023
  • December 2022
  • November 2022
  • October 2022
  • September 2022
  • August 2022
  • July 2022
  • June 2022
  • May 2022
  • April 2022
  • March 2022
  • February 2022
  • January 2022
  • December 2021
  • November 2021
  • October 2021
  • September 2021
  • August 2021
  • July 2021
  • June 2021
  • May 2021
  • April 2021
  • March 2021
  • February 2021
  • January 2021
  • December 2020
  • November 2020
  • October 2020
  • September 2020
  • August 2020
  • July 2020
  • June 2020
  • May 2020
  • April 2020
  • March 2020
  • February 2020
  • January 2020
  • December 2019
  • November 2019
  • October 2019
  • September 2019
  • August 2019
  • July 2019
  • June 2019
  • May 2019
  • April 2019
  • March 2019
  • February 2019
  • January 2019
  • December 2018
  • November 2018
  • October 2018
  • September 2018
  • August 2018
  • July 2018
  • June 2018
  • May 2018
  • April 2018
  • March 2018
  • February 2018
  • January 2018
  • December 2017
  • November 2017
  • October 2017
  • September 2017
  • August 2017
  • July 2017
  • June 2017
  • May 2017
  • April 2017
  • March 2017
  • February 2017
  • January 2017
  • December 2016
  • November 2016
  • October 2016
  • September 2016
  • July 2016
  • June 2016

Categories

  • Christian Persecution
  • Coronavirus
  • culture
  • Culture
  • Entertainment
  • Faith
  • Faith
  • Family
  • George Floyd
  • Go!
  • Israel
  • Life
  • Life
  • Lifestyle
  • Media
  • Men
  • Mission Haiti
  • News
  • News
  • Opinion
  • P.O.V
  • Politics
  • Politics
  • Roe
  • Sponsored
  • Sports
  • Virtue
  • Women

Meta

  • Log in
  • Entries feed
  • Comments feed
  • WordPress.org

Navigation

  • Watch
  • Go!
  • Podcasts
  • Contact Us
  • Newsletter
  • Staff
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of Service

Follow Us

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • YouTube
  • Instagram

Subscribe to the Newsletter

Sign up to get our newsletter your inbox every day.

  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Newsletter Signup

Do you want to read
more articles like this?

  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.