A move to make it easier for non-Christians to get married in an Anglican church failed yesterday when the clergy at the General Synod reversed their vote from Monday and rejected it.
The synod (national church parliament) voted down a proposal that the church abandon its requirement that at least one partner be already baptised.
Liberals and evangelicals agreed at the synod at Melbourne Grammar that a church wedding provided an opportunity of contact with people who now knew little of church. Opponents, mostly from the church’s Catholic wing, argued Christian marriage is a sacrament of the church intended for its members.
[blockquote] “Opponents, mostly from the church’s Catholic wing, argued Christian marriage is a sacrament of the church intended for its members.” [/blockquote]
A strange way to put it: News reports indicate that one of the main speakers against the amendment was ++Herft of Perth, who consecrated Australia’s first woman bishop in May 2008. He is a long-time proponent of women’s ordination.
Since when is Archbishop Herft classified as “catholic” and “not liberal”?