Anglican bishops in Southern Africa have failed to reach consensus on blessing same-sex unions during church services, ruling out church marriages for same-sex couples.

Archbishop Thabo Makgoba of Cape Town on Monday said, “the divisions within the Synod of Bishops reflect the divisions in the Church as a whole, and we are not at peace with one another on this issue”.

However, the bishops have resolved to craft special prayers suitable for providing pastoral care to couples in same-sex civil unions.

Releasing statements by the church's Synod of Bishops, Archbishop Makgoba said they agreed at a meeting last week to prepare formal prayers suitable for providing pastoral care to couples in same-sex civil unions. 

The Synod had its first in-person meeting in three years, and published the results of its deliberations to church members on Sunday. 

The bishops considered a proposal by the Archbishop's Commission on Human Sexuality to allow local churches to conduct formal blessings of same-sex unions but could not reach an agreement.

The proposal would have permitted individual dioceses of the church which chose to do so, to allow same-sex blessings to be performed in parishes in those dioceses where both the priest and the congregation agreed. 

Makgoba told the gathering the church was already baptising the children of same-sex couples and conducting confirmation services for LGBTQI Anglicans. Seeking a compromise, he challenged the bishops to “develop prayers of affirmation and acknowledgment for all faithful Anglicans with which all of us can agree”.   

The Synod agreed to the proposal.  

Archbishop Makgoba’s office said in a statement that “the bishops will consider drafts for the formal prayers at their next meeting in September before presenting them to church ruling bodies which also represent other clergy and lay members of the church”. 

Anglican bishops from across Southern Africa resolved in 2016 that gay and lesbian partners who enter same-sex civil unions under South African law should be welcomed into congregations as full members of the church. However, bishops were at that time divided over whether to marry same-sex couples in church.

Read the full text of the statement issued to church members on Sunday and the statement on human dignity and marriage here.

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