Anglican Marriage Rites Edited by Kenneth W. Stevenson

Anglican Marriage Rites: Pt. 71: A Symposium (Joint Liturgical Studies)

As an Alcuin Club member I get these Joint Liturgical Studies as a matter of default and this one has been sat on the shelf for the best part of a year - but I think the timing of reading it now rather than months ago has been something of a bonus as the current focus on marriage created by the Government plans to extend the state definition to include same-sex couples makes fertile ground.

This study does not address the issue of same-sex marriage directly but it highlights a number of aspects in the development of marriage that make redefinition easier.

First and of greatest importance is the clear fact that for most of Christian history "the Church" never claimed to itself the position of sole arbiter of who was and who was not married.  It was only late in the day that the Church began to claim that solemnizing of a marriage was essential (there had been a host of reasons why it had long advocated that it was desirable but these were based on the validity of the un-solemizied marriage).  The bottom line is that you do not become married through the incantation of a set of magic words but through the desire and will of your heart.

State involvement in marriage comes even latter still, and the abolition of common-law marriages and complusory civic registration while allowing the more effective discharge of legal functions and giving a greater protection to parties at the time of divorce are in fact a limitation of the real expression of marriage. (When the discussion gets on to the extension of property rights to cohabiting couples we have gone full circle...)

Those campaigning for same-sex marriage should change the terms of the debate, and rather than campaign 'for' same-sex marriage they should be campaigning for the state recognition of their preexisting married status.

The essays also focuses on the evolution of the marriage service itself, and it shows that during the liturgical revision of the last 40 years the Anglican Communion has muddied the waters of its theology of marriage with changes, some good some bad, being made without a clear over arching message about the nature of marriage to coordinate the changes.

This again strengthens the arm of those in favour of same-sex marriage against those who claim the understanding of marriage is clear, universal, and timeless - all evidence points to none of this triune withstanding scrutiny.

Those making a noise in favour of same-sex marriage sadly do not really get much sympathy from me, their arguments seem weak and self indigent, and those claiming to speak as Christians seem far to ready to enlist secular powers to bully and belittle the Churches when, were they but to educate themselves they would find, their Christian heritage provided them with all the tools they needed. This is not to say that I think those campaigning against a change are any better, perhaps this could be compulsory prior reading for anyone decided to voice an opinion in public.