Canadian church recognises same-sex marriage after miscount
After an embarrassing miscount, it seems the Anglican church will be recognizing same-sex marriage after all.
Yesterday the Anglican Church of Canada reported that same-sex marriage failed to pass by just one vote, but today revealed the votes had been miscounted.
Delegates raised concerns after the General Synod meeting in Ottawa that their votes had been tallied incorrectly, which spurred the recount.
Both the bishops and lay delegates had voted to support the motion, voting 68.42 percent and 72.22 percent respectively, but the original results showed only 66.23 percent of clergy in support.
This was just one vote shy of the two-thirds majority necessary.
When the votes were recounted, it was discovered that General Secretary Michael Thompson’s vote had been counted as a lay vote instead of clergy – being the one vote needed to pass the resolution.
“This vote has been difficult for many, and no outcome can address all of our church’s need to live and work together. We have a long road ahead to restore our common life,” Mr Thompson said.
However, the church won’t begin performing same-sex marriage ceremonies anytime soon.
The resolution will be under review for three years before it is voted on again at the 2019 Synod, which is the church’s practice for all such changes.
The resolution will only go into effect if it passes the 2019 vote as well.
It’s estimated that around 1.6 million Canadians identify as Anglican, making it the third largest church in the country.
The Anglican Church of Canada is the second Anglican body to approve same-sex marriage after the US Episcopal Church shocked LGBT Christians by ratifying marriage equality earlier this year.
