Origin from 2022
On 23 May 2022, the Church of Scotland's General Assembly voted 274 to 136 to change its standing law and allow a minister or deacon to apply to become an authorized celebrant for a same-sex marriage, after a majority of the church's presbyteries, twenty-nine to twelve, had already approved the change. No minister or deacon is required to participate in the solemnization of, or the arrangements for, a same-sex marriage against their own wishes, and an applicant celebrant must register with the Principal Clerk's office and the Registrar General for Scotland and renew their status every three years. Moderator of the General Assembly the Right Reverend Dr Iain Greenshields said the decision followed lengthy, prayerful debate at every level of the church, and that celebrants would be expected to weigh the peace, unity and pastoral needs of their own congregation in deciding whether to conduct such a marriage.
Facts
Dates
StatusEstablished marks the General Assembly's own vote, its margin and the scheme it created. It is not a claim about the wider debate within world Presbyterianism and the Reformed family over the same question, on which other bodies continue to hold differing positions, a question this atlas does not adjudicate here. Learn More
How the Church of Scotland Approved a Scheme for Ministers to Conduct Same-Sex Marriages
This article records tradition as it has been passed down and reported. Its sources are not yet part of the atlas's verified catalogue.
On 23 May 2022, the Church of Scotland's General Assembly voted 274 to 136 to change its standing law and allow a minister or deacon to apply to become an authorized celebrant for a same-sex marriage. A majority of the church's presbyteries, twenty nine to twelve, had already approved the change before the Assembly's own vote.
No minister or deacon is required to participate in the solemnization of, or the arrangements for, a same-sex marriage against their own wishes. An applicant celebrant must register with the Principal Clerk's office and the Registrar General for Scotland and renew that status every three years.
Moderator of the General Assembly the Right Reverend Dr Iain Greenshields said the decision followed lengthy, prayerful debate at every level of the church, and that celebrants would be expected to weigh the peace, unity and pastoral needs of their own congregation in deciding whether to conduct such a marriage.
What the May 2022 vote changed for the Church of Scotland was creating a path for ministers and deacons to apply to conduct same-sex marriages, built on a presbytery level majority already in place before the General Assembly voted and bounded by a conscience protection for any minister or deacon who chooses not to participate, registered and renewed through the same civil channels as any other authorized celebrant.
Connections
Associated With
This source names Scotland directly: "On 23 May 2022, the Church of Scotland's General Assembly voted 274 to 136 to change its standing law and allow a minister or deacon to apply to become an authorized celebrant for a same-sex..."
Source General Assembly Approves Scheme to Conduct Same-Sex Marriages (Church of Scotland)
Occurred In
Source General Assembly Approves Scheme to Conduct Same-Sex Marriages (Church of Scotland)
Spread Event Of
Closes a 5 year gap since 2021's The Presbyterian Church Of Brazil Gains Autonomy And Grows Nationally, the most recent event already on Presbyterianism's map, with the Church of Scotland's own General Assembly voting to change its law on who may conduct a marriage.
Source General Assembly Approves Scheme to Conduct Same-Sex Marriages (Church of Scotland)
Sources
1. General Assembly Approves Scheme to Conduct Same-Sex Marriages (Church of Scotland)
Church of Scotland Votes Overwhelmingly in Favour of Same-Sex Marriage (PinkNews)
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