An open letter from Anglican clergy in support of gay marriage has been criticised by an orthodox group within the Church of England.
The Bishop of Buckingham and former Bishops of Swindon and Chelmsford were among the clergy to sign the letter to The Times in which they said that the Church “should rejoice over same-sex marriages”.
“Recent statements by church leaders past and present may have given the mistaken impression that the Church is universally opposed to the extension of civil marriage to same-sex couples,” the letter states.
“We believe that does not adequately reflect the range of opinion which exists within the Church of England.”
It continues: “The Church calls marriage holy or sacramental because the covenant relationship of committed, faithful love between the couple reflects the covenanted love and commitment between God and his Church. Growing in this kind of love means we are growing in the image of God. That there are same-sex couples who want to embrace marriage should be a cause for rejoicing in the Christian Church.”
The clergy go on to state that the Church “has nothing to fear from the introduction of civil marriage for same-sex couples”.
Canon Dr Chris Sugden, the Rev Paul Perkins and Dr Philip Giddings, of Anglican Mainstream, accused the clergy of seeking to adapt the biblical tradition historically and universally of interpreting marriage as a union between one man and one woman.
“The central purpose of holy matrimony – literally the defence of the mother - is not private love but the attachment of mothers and fathers to one another and to their children,” they said.
“Making gender in marriage irrelevant and replacing its public purpose with private desire will deprive many children of secure attachments to mothers and fathers.”
The Government has launched a consultation into gay marriage but has made clear that the aim is to determine how to implement the change, and not whether or not reform should go ahead.
A recent opinion poll found that 70 per cent of the population supports retaining the definition of marriage as a union between one man and one woman.
A petition launched by the Coalition for Marriage opposing same-sex marriage has been signed by more than 450,000 people.