LAST WEEK’S MAJOR MARRIAGE MILESTONES

News

Last week brought two major marriage milestones.

First, the Church of England’s bishops quietly dropped plans for stand-alone services blessing same-sex couples. Blessings within ordinary services remain permissible. Reuters reports Archbishop of York Stephen Cottrell said the Church had made the decision “following further legal and theological advice”. Any separate rites must now secure greater backing in Synod.

Second, GAFCON (a worldwide coalition of orthodox Anglicans) publicly drew a line. In a communiqué titled The Future Has Arrived, it publicly stated it has rejected Canterbury-centred structures and affirmed, “we are the Anglican Communion”.

Its leaders argue that introducing same-sex blessings within services would violate both the “‘plain and canonical sense’ of Scripture and ‘the churches historic and consensual’ interpretation of it”.

The fault line is real marriage, which is being undermined in both doctrine and practice. This is also the root of much wider social malaise. When leaders stop teaching and celebrating one‑man one‑woman marriage, they do not get peace; they get fragmentation, drift and the eventual loss of authority.

Classic Anglican teaching is not vague. The Church of England’s canon law – Canon B30 – defines marriage as “in its nature a union permanent and lifelong… of one man with one woman”.

Realignment is already visible here at home. Alternative Anglican oversight is growing. The Anglican Network in Europe (ANiE) is recognised by GAFCON and now “unites three dioceses, the Anglican Mission in England (AMiE), the Anglican Convocation in Europe (ACE), and the Anglican Missionary Congregations (AMC), with a total of around 100 congregations”. In their own words, GAFCON provinces consider themselves “now the Global Anglican Communion”, and thus the true continuation of orthodox Anglicanism.

The day before the two announcements, the latest ONS bulletin was published, showing that married adults remain a minority in England and Wales. In 2024, only 48.4% of those aged 16+ were in a man-woman marriage. In that context, the Church of England should be championing marriage to the rest of society, not blurring it.

Strong marriages make strong nations. Marriage is the stabilising bedrock of society, and the wide body of international evidence supports this. Institutions flourish when they support it clearly and consistently, and families, communities and children benefit most when couples commit for life.

C4M will continue to push for policy change, and for the church to practise what it is supposed to be preaching. But right now, it’s down to marriage supporters to make the difference. We are the people we’ve been waiting for. Let’s get marriages flourishing again.

Here’s a practical next step. Invite Coalition for Marriage to run a marriage enrichment course, family conference or pre‑marriage preparation in your local church or community group. To explore dates and format, contact C4M by replying to this email.