Church of Norway urged to produce liturgy for same-sex marriages
The Norwegian Association of Clergy has asked the Church of Norway to create a way of performing marriages for same-sex couples.
The call follows a lack of support from Norwegian bishops to advance same-sex marriage ceremonies.
A new liturgy for the LGBT community would still support civil unions in Church settings and has the full backing of the clergy’s central board.
The organisation’s leader Gunnar Mindestrømmen said: “We want the council of the Church of Norway to make a liturgy which can be used for same-sex marriage.”
In October, Norwegian bishops began to push for LGBT couples to receive Church blessings for their civil unions rather than furthering equal marriage ceremonies.
The decision was made despite eight out of twelve bishops stating that there was no theological reason for not performing marriage ceremonies for LGBT couples.
Mr Mindestrømmen said that members of the clergy were “very disappointed” with the decision. “There was no connection between the long theological work of the bishops, and the conclusions they draw from it,” he said.
“The consequence of this statement from the bishops should be that persons who want to marry same-sex couples should be allowed to do that.”
Members of Parliament in Norway back in 2008 approved a bill that allowed same-sex couples to marry.
The law, which passed by 84 votes to 41, made marriage gender neutral.
