THE largest Protestant church in Northern Ireland has voted to sever ties with the Church of Scotland due to its more liberal attitude to same-sex relationships.
The unprecedented move by the Presbyterian Church in Ireland means the Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland will no longer be invited to the annual meeting of the church's General Assembly in Belfast. And the PCI will no longer accept invitations.
The Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland, the Right Rev Susan Brown, who failed in her appeal to the sister church for no change to the relationship, has expressed "sadness" at the decision.
A Church of Scotland spokesman said: "Right Rev Brown recognised that the differences which might exist between the two churches on the matter of same sex relationships posed a challenge for how we communicate the Gospel in a way that the people around us in 2018 and beyond, who really are in need of hearing its call, can feel God’s touch upon their lives."
Last week the Church of Scotland backed a report which could lead to same-sex marriages in church.
The Very Reverend Iain Torrance told the Assembly there was no theological reason to oppose the change.
The governing body of the Kirk, holding its annual meeting in Edinburgh, considered a report from the Theological Forum which proposed that it approves a detailed study of how same-sex marriage ceremonies in church could be allowed.
It also called for the church to apologise for its past treatment of gay people.
The Presbyterian Church in Ireland, which has more than 200,000 members in Northern Ireland and the Republic, voted on the links with the Church of Scotland, which has around 340,000 members, after a heated discussion on Wednesday at the decision-making General Assembly in Belfast.
The vote was passed by 255 votes to 171.
The Right Rev Susan Brown, who earlier presented her Presbyterian Church counterpart with a tartan tie 'symbolic of our relationship' with the different threads woven together said she recognised that there were "significant differences" between the two denominations over matters relating to human sexuality.
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But she expressed concern that "to a world which doesn’t understand the nuances of particular theological stances, today’s decision will be yet another reason to stay away from religion and from Christianity in particular".
She said agreeing on everything was not what was required of us as Christians.
“Jesus called his followers to follow. He didn’t call us to agree about absolutely everything – but to be his sisters and brothers on the journey of faith, loving one another and letting that love be the outward sign of our belonging to him.
“Just as members of a family, hold differing views and will from time to time, debate and argue, so the Christian family does the same – sadly today, the PCI has allowed those differences of opinion to drive a wedge between us.”
"None of us can claim the moral high ground, because none of us is perfect. Therefore all I can do is ask for God’s blessing on his Presbyterian Church in Ireland as they and we in the Church of Scotland, continue to seek to share the good news of Jesus Christ who came for a much loved world and to show by example, how to live and love eternally.”
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Rev John Lockington, one of the objectors to the Church of Scotland stance said that it was not about same sex, but the authority of Scripture.
The Presbyterian Church's general assembly is also due to debate recommendations from its doctrine committee which indicates that a same-sex relationship does not match with a "credible profession of faith".
The committee concluded: "In light of our understanding of scripture and the Church's understanding of a credible profession of faith, it is clear that same-sex couples are not eligible for communicant membership nor are they qualified to receive baptism for their children.
"We believe that their outward conduct and lifestyle is at variance with a life of obedience to Christ."
Three years ago the Presbyterian Church delivered a resounding snub to its Scottish brethren by boycotting their Assembly in protest over a controversial gay clergy vote.
This came after the Church of Scotland voted to allow people in same-sex civil partnerships to serve as ministers and deacons, a move that angered many leaders of Presbyterianism.
In what was then an unprecedented sign of the split between the regions, the Irish General Assembly voted not to send a representative to the Scottish Assembly the following year thus breaking a long-standing tradition between the two churches.
The Church of Scotland's Assembly agreed the church's Legal Questions Committee should look at the practicalities of a move to allow same-sex marriage in church.
Scotland has allowed same-sex couples to marry since 2014.
However, individual church traditions can each decide whether to participate.
The report prepared for the General Assembly invited the church to take stock of its history of discrimination against gay people and to apologise "individually and corporately".
The development follows the appointment of the church's first openly gay minister, Rev Scott Rennie in 2009, and last year's decision to allow ministers to be in same-sex marriages.
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