A special commission studying same-sex blessings has recommended that the issue is a matter of doctrine. The commission was set up in the wake of the 2004 debate on the issue at General Synod.
The recommendation will be studied at all levels of the church, and it will be at least 2007 before the church decides whether or not it will accept the recommendation. If it does, jurisdiction over same-sex blessings would become the responsibility of General Synod, and any change in national church law would require the approval of two successive General Synods.
The commission's recommendation was made at the Council of General Synod (the national governing body between General Synods) in May in Mississauga, Ont., where it also announced that the church will not participate fully in the Anglican Consultative Council in England in June. The move is intended to help restore unity within the Anglican Communion that has been damaged by the issue of same-sex blessings and gay ordination.
A request for the Canadian and U.S. churches to partially withdraw from the international body came at a meeting of Anglican primates in Ireland last February.
— with files from the Anglican Journal
