A TRADITIONALIST minister has opened a formal protest over the Church of Scotland’s move to back same-sex marriages among ministers.
Rev Mike Goss, of Barry Parish Church, Angus, lodged a notice of protest of “dissent” after the historic decision by the Kirk to recognise ministers and deacons in same-sex civil partnerships has been extended to cover same-sex marriage.
Other delegates, or commissioners, at the General Assembly, the Church’s annual gathering in Edinburgh, were invited to put their names to the dissent, which is not actionable but is recorded as an official protest.
Read more: Kirk vote to allow gay clergy marriages
Under Church procedure the number of commissioners – 850 of whom were invited to attend – to sign the dissent will be revealed in Church papers at the start of the week published during the assembly.
Last year 74 commissioners signed a notice of dissent over the Kirk's acceptance of gay clergy in civil partnerships.
Rev Goss said he was disappointed by the outcome of Saturday’s vote when commissioners decided by 339 votes to 215 to update Church law to keep pace with Scots Law.
He said: "The Church is clearly very divided. When you look at the votes 42 per cent of presbyteries voted against and of the elders it was higher, 47 per cent.
“It is a clearly divided matter right across the Church still.”
He said it is possible the move will prompt some to leave the Kirk but that this is not expected to involve large numbers.
“It is more likely to be that individual members will drift.
“Those ministers who said they were leaving have probably already left.”
Read more: Why our church is facing the challenge of same-sex marriage
The Very Rev John Chalmers, a former Moderator and current principal clerk of the Kirk, said he hoped the vote would not lead to more people leaving the Kirk.
He said: “I know that each time we have taken decisions on this matter it has upset some and it has been welcomed by others I sincerely hope that what has happened here is no more deeply divisive in people’s minds than what happened last year.”
The Kirk's Theological Forum is due to complete a report on the same-sex issue to be presented to next year's assembly.
Read more: Kirk needs to concentrate on membership
Rev Chalmers said: "It would be very surprising to me if it was a report that brought to the church something that was even more divisive than some of the things we have discussed over the last couple of years.
"I suspect that next year the report will acknowledge the diversity of the Church but it is not going to I think take us to a place where we have altered our understanding or definitions of Christian marriage."
The Kirk said the decision does not compromise the traditional view of marriage as a union between one man and one woman and does not mean Church ministers will be able to register same-sex civil partnerships or solemnise same-sex marriages themselves.
Since 2008, 25 ministers have left over the debate over ministers in same-sex relationships, about three per cent of the current 808 ministers.
The move to back same-sex partnerships was approved by commissioners at last year's assembly, who then passed it for scrutiny by the church's presbyteries, under the special provision known as the Barrier Act.
Presbyteries voted 26 to 19 to refer the issue to the assembly for the vote on Saturday.
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel