The Church of England (CoE, in its acronym in English) has launched a commission to consider the possibility of stopping referring to God in the masculine.
Grammatically, the Anglican bishops, who are celebrating their General Synod this week — the assembly that debates and decides doctrine and liturgy — have it easier than in other non-English-speaking countries.
It is enough to replace the
He/Him/His
(El / le / su de él, de él) by the neuter
It/Its
.
Theologically, however, it would unleash a revolution of considerable dimension, because it would mean ending centuries of belief in an omnipotent “father”.
Apart from the fact that not even grammar would help when it comes to praying the central prayer of the Anglican and Catholic rite: the Our Father.
Our Mother?
parent
_
) Our?
“This is not a new debate.
Christians have recognized since ancient times that God is neither male nor female.
The diversity of ways in which the Scriptures describe or address God have sometimes not been adequately reflected in our liturgy,” said a CoE spokesperson.
The news broke in the first plenary sessions of the synod.
The Rev. Joanna Stobart, vicar for the Diocese of Ilminster and Whitelackington, asked if the church had made progress on the need to use "more inclusive language" in religious services.
The answer came from the Reverend Michael Ipgrave, Bishop of Lichfield and vice president of one of the liturgical commissions responsible for issues of identity and gender.
"After some dialogue between the two commissions that cover the matter, we have decided to launch a new joint project on gender language that will begin its work this spring," announced Ipgrave.
"Along with other possible changes regarding the authorized norms of the liturgy, both the change of the words and the permitted forms of absolution will require a complete synodal process for their approval," warned the bishop, to make it clear that there is still a long time to come. before the faithful can refer to the Most High as "elle".
Protests have emerged from the most conservative sectors of the CoE.
“You cannot go from calling God 'father' to calling him 'mother' without involving a change in meaning.
And the same happens if you try to neutralize with the term
parent
[progenitor]” said the Reverend Ian Paul to
The Daily Telegraph
newspaper .
"Fathers and mothers are not interchangeable, and they relate differently to their children," he noted.
same sex marriage
The debate on inclusive language —and, above all, the idea of stopping calling God in the masculine— has stolen a certain prominence from what continues to be the star theme of the General Synod.
After years of debate, Anglican bishops, clergy and laymen agreed on Thursday to give their blessing to same-sex marriages.
This does not mean that from now on the CoE can celebrate same-sex weddings.
Doctrine and liturgy continue to forbid it.
It has been a certainly creative way, and overwhelmingly supported by the assembly, to adapt the church to the social reality of the street.
The representatives of the synod have included in the approved motion "their regret and repentance for the failure of the Church when it comes to welcoming the LGTBQI+ community into its bosom, and for the damage they have experienced,
The decision means that same-sex couples who have entered into a civil marriage will now be able to participate in Anglican religious services.
It is the main achievement of six years of work and debates around identity, sexuality, personal relationships and marriage.
A project baptized as
Living in Love and Faith
(Live Love and Faith) that has culminated in the discussions of the current synod.
The Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, the main person in charge for practical purposes of the Church of England (the supreme head of the institution is King Charles III), has welcomed a decision that continues to provoke controversy among Anglicans.
“It has been a long road to get here.
For the first time, the Church of England will openly, joyously and unreservedly welcome same-sex couples.
The Church continues to have deep differences on this issue, differences that touch the very heart of human identity," Welby said in a statement.
“As archbishops, we pledge to respect the conscience of all those who believe they have gone too far [with the decision],
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