The Episcopal Church in the United States has decided to give its blessing to same-sex marriages, following the Supreme Court's historic decision to make these unions a right nationwide.
#gc78 The Episcopal Church has approved rites for same-sex marriage, by an overwhelming vote.
— Susan Brown Snook (@susansnook)
July 1, 2015
The same-sex weddings approval was left to be decided by bishops in a vote at the Episcopal General Convention in Salt Lake City this week and came 12 years after the church elected its first openly gay bishop.
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With this decision, Episcopal Church bishops have endorsed new services for gay couples wishing to marry in church. They have also changed the canon on marriage by substituting the term “men and women” with “couple.”
However, the leader of the worldwide Anglican Communion that includes the the Episcopal Church, Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby, has expressed his deep concern over the votes and is urging the bishops to pull back.
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The Supreme Court ruling has sparked a series of opinions in the U.S. and the world, as millions of activists and members of the LGBTI community have taken to the streets across the country, while the most conservative sector, including lawmakers and political and religious leaders, have raised their voice against the newly granted constitutional right.
Republican presidential hopefuls made clear they oppose the ruling. However, some candidates, like Jeb Bush and Marco Rubio, have indicated the Supreme Court’s decision should be followed.
Since the 1960s and 1970s, the Episcopal Church has pursued a more liberal course than other Christian ideologies. It has opposed the death penalty and supported the civil rights movement. According to official figures, the congregation has 1,549,008 communicant members and 2,009,084 baptized members.