The Church of England is split over same-sex marriage

Archbishops of conservative Anglican churches from several countries have taken issue with the Church of England’s decision to bless same-sex couples and have declared their refusal to accept the Archbishop of Canterbury as their leader, media reported.

Earlier, the General Synod of the Anglican Church issued a permit for same-sex couples to receive blessings to “consecrate their relationship to God.”

In turn, the heads of the Anglican churches of Bangladesh, Congo, Sudan, Uganda, Chile and a number of other countries expressed their disagreement with the decision of the synod and signed a statement in which they declared the Archbishop of Canterbury deprived of the moral status of “first among equals.”

“The Church of England has chosen to break with those provinces that remain faithful to the historic biblical faith,” the statement said. In addition, the Southern Commonwealth recalled that their parishioners make up three-quarters of all followers of the Church of England in the world.

All Anglican churches are united in a commonwealth, but they have autonomy and independence – the Archbishop of Canterbury is considered only a nominal leader and his decision does not have the force of law.