Widespread outrage has trailed plans by The Church of England to consider whether to stop referring to God as “He” after questions concerning the use of gender-neutral terms were raised by priests.
Members of that body, the General Synod, convened in London this week to debate and vote on major issues affecting the church, including a proposal to allow Anglican clergy to bless same-sex couples, while maintaining the church’s official position that marriage “is between one man and one woman for life.”
Africa is home to over 35 million Anglicans, with half of them in Nigeria and large populations in Uganda, Sudan, Kenya and Tanzania. More than 13 million people in the United Kingdom identify as Church of England members
The project has been launched in response to a question asked by Rev Joanna Stobart, vicar of Ilminster and Whitelackington in Somerset at synod, who wished for an update on “more inclusive language” in Church of England services and to refer to God in a “non-gendered way”.
Although specifics of the project’s aim and outcome remain unclear, some have already hit back at the possibility of changes.
Rev Dr Ian Paul told the Telegraph that any change would represent an abandonment of the Church’s own doctrine. He said that it would mean moving the doctrine of the Church away from being “grounded in the scriptures”
The newspaper claimed there have been calls to stop referring to God as “He”, “Him” and “Our Father” for decades.
A spokesman for the Church of England said that there has been a greater interest in exploring new language in the last 20 years, but wanted to make clear there were no plans to “abolish or substantially revise currently authorised liturgies”.
The Rev Dr Michael Ipgrave, Bishop of Lichfield and vice chair of the Liturgical Commission, which prepares forms of service, said the project will begin this spring.
It will involve the Liturgical Commission working with another Church of England body, the Faith and Order Commission – which advises on theology – to look at these questions for the next five years.
However, in her reaction, a former Chaplain to Queen Elizabeth II, Dr Gavin Ashenden, said, “if you (Church of England) are so keen on giving everyone their preferred pronouns, you should at least allow God his.”
In 2018, the Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, said that God is not a father in the same way that a human would be, with descriptions of God somewhat “metaphorical”.
Speaking at St Martin-in-the-Fields in London, he said “God is not male or female. God is not definable”. Instead, Rev Welby said that to him, God is one that is perfect and “loves me unconditionally”.
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The religious body last month set out proposals showing it would refuse to allow same-sex couples to get married in its churches, but said priests could bless them in church. It also apologised to LGBTQI+ people for the rejection and hostility they have faced.
The Church’s Faith and Order Commission – which advises on theology – will work with the liturgical commission on looking at questions around gender terms, the spokesperson said.
The Church of England is one out of the 42 Provinces in the Communion, spread across 165 countries of the world.
Speaking on behalf the Church of Nigeria, the head of the church in the country, Archbishop Henry C. Ndukuba, in a statement obtained by The Star, said the Church of England cannot hold the rest of the Communion, especially the majority population located in the Global South, to ransom.
He said: “The Anglican Church is at the threshold of yet another reformation, which must sweep out the ungodly leadership currently endorsing sin, misleading the lives of faithful Anglicans worldwide and endangering their prospects for eternity.
“We are grieved that the deviant, revisionist actions of some Western Anglican Churches, including the Church of England are negatively affecting the image, moral credibility and evangelical activities of faithful Anglican Christians because of the likelihood of many other denominations perceiving or labelling the Anglican Church as a ‘homosexual church’, more so, with the capitulation of our ‘Mother Church.’ Geoffrey Chaucer’s statement in the Canterbury tales comes to mind here: “if gold rusts, what can iron do?”
“If the Archbishop of Canterbury and his Bishops deny the faith and mislead the church, then what would ordinary congregants do? Hence, the fate of Christianity and the Church have experienced a terrible decline, loss and irrelevance in the secular and post-Christian western world. We must take steps to redefine our relationship with those who persist in wilful disobedience to God’s Word and strive to bring the gospel and Church of our Lord Jesus Christ into disrepute.
“The Church of Nigeria remains committed to the faith once delivered to the saints, and re-affirm our decision to redefine what it means to be a member of the Anglican Communion as contained in our 2020 Constitution and Canons.”
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