ACC | Anglican Theological Commission clarifies provenance of same-sex blessings resolutions

Mar. 29, 2007 -- The Primate's Theological Commission, a group appointed by the Anglican Primate to consult on theological matters, has released a clarification concerning resolutions on the blessing of same-sex unions approved earlier this month by the church's governing council.

The resolutions, approved by the Council of General Synod for the consideration of the church's General Synod this summer, have been described as dealing with The St. Michael Report. But in fact only one of them does, the commission says in its statement.

The St. Michael Report was produced by the theological commission as a result of the Anglican Primate, on direction from the General Synod, seeking its opinion on whether or not the blessing of same-sex unions is a matter of doctrine. The commission, chaired by Bishop Victoria Matthews of Edmonton, concluded, in its report released in 2005, "that the blessing of same-sex unions is a matter of doctrine but is not core doctrine in the sense of being credal."

(One of the reasons why the question of whether or not same-sex blessings is a matter of doctrine is important is that matters of doctrine require a more complex and lengthy process to change.)

The St. Michael Report has been widely studied across the church in advance of the General Synod next June.

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