Anglicans Discipline Episcopal Church Over Pro-Marriage Equality Stance

The Anglican Communion said in a statement that the accepted of gay marriage by the Episcopal Church represented a “fundamental departure” from the faith and teaching it held, which had caused “deep pain” to its members.

“The traditional doctrine of the church in view of the teaching of Scripture, upholds marriage as between a man and a woman in faithful, lifelong union”, the Anglican Communion representing 44 national bodies said in a statement during a meeting in Canterbury.

The Anglican Communion has disciplined its US branch, the Episcopal Church, over Episcopal support of church marriage for same-sex couples. “They will not take part in decision making on any issues pertaining to doctrine or polity”.

While conservative and liberal Christians have disagreed on the Anglican Communion’s decision to punish the Episcopal Church, they have united on the fact that it should have been more outspoken against any individual or state persecution of gay and transgender people.

In 2003, Episcopalians appointed their first openly gay bishop, Gene Robinson, and a year ago, the group voted to allow weddings between those of the same gender in their houses of worship, as well as to eliminate the terms “husband and wife” from the denominational rules on marriage.

“We are loyal members of the Anglican Communion, but we need to say we must find a better way”, Curry said.

He also said that despite the strong vote by the primates to penalize the Americans, “My sense is that that would change by the time we meet again”.

Wilson was one of the 107 senior Anglican leaders who last week, sent a letter to Welby urging Anglicans to repent for the way gay people have been treated by the church.

However, he then defended the decision for the Anglican Church to distance themselves from the US Episcopal church, saying: “It is not for us to divide the body of Christ, it is not for us to divide the church”.

Trinity church, located in Back Bay, is known for being inclusive of the LGBT community. “Nothing that happens at a primates’ meeting will change our love for one another or our commitment to serving God together”.

In recent years, the numbers of the Anglican church have dwindled, but it still remains a decent-sized body of members even today.

In a report from Canterbury, England, Religion News Service on Friday reported that Welby sought to project a sense of unity as the week-long conference came to a close.

This news may be painful for some of us, particularly for LGBT people who have been excluded too often and for too long by families, churches, schools, and other institutions mired in homophobia.

Communion leaders also reportedly wanted to censure the Anglican Church of Canada, but because it has not yet adopted same-sex marriage rites, no action was taken.

Anglicans, who trace their roots to the Church of England, are the third-largest grouping of Christians in the world, behind Roman Catholics and Orthodox.

There was concern that the communion – a group which brings together Anglican churches across the globe – would split up if it could not agree on a position on same-sex marriage. In interviews, the American archbishop said his church would not reverse its decision to bless same-sex marriages, and the Canadian archbishop said his church would proceed with a vote this summer to consider approving same-sex marriages. Among the attendance was Church of Ireland primate Archbishop Richard Clarke.