Neither male nor female: How to refer to God? The current debate in the Anglican Church

Gender landed in front of religion.

The Anglican Church of England is considering

, after priests asked to be allowed to use gender-neutral terms.

The church said it would launch a new commission on the issue in the spring.

Any potential alterations, which would mark

would have to be approved by the synod, the Church's decision-making body.

"The Church of England is

," a spokesperson said on Thursday.

Although, he added that there are no plans to "abolize or substantially revise" the existing liturgy.

The church wrote, in an emailed statement, that

. "

The clergy are now considering whether they could better reflect that in the language used in their services.

"The variety of ways to address and describe God found in Scripture has not always been reflected in our worship," the statement said.

There has been increased interest in

​​since the introduction of our current forms of service in contemporary language more than 20 years ago.”

Anglican church.

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The Anglican Church said its liturgical commission, which prepares and advises on church service,

That commission has now asked another body, the Faith and Order Commission, to advise on theology, let him examine the matter.

The church did not provide details on how the commission would work and did not provide a timeline for its findings.

“There are absolutely no plans to abolish or substantially revise currently authorized liturgies, and such changes could not be made without comprehensive legislation,” the church said.

How to represent God

In Christian denominations, God is often represented by masculine pronouns in religious texts and prayers, although

The Catechism of the Catholic Church says: "He is neither male nor female: He is God."

In 2018, the Church of England Archbishop of Canterbury, the Most Reverend Justin Welby, said that

.

The archbishop is the spiritual leader of the Anglican Communion, which exists in the United States as the Episcopal Church, with 85 million members in 165 countries.

The question of God's gender received renewed attention this week at a meeting of the Church of England's governing body,

At the meeting, the Rev Joanna Stobart, vicar of Ilminster and Whitelackington in Somerset, asked for an update on establishing

. 

A vice-chairman of the liturgical commission, the Rev. Michael Ipgrave, Bishop of Lichfield, responded that

," according to the Press Association.

The Synod met as the Church of England faces decades of declining attendance.

In 2019, before in-person church services were suspended at the start of the coronavirus pandemic, there were 1.1 million "happy regulars," who attended church once a month or more, according to the Church of England.

In 2021, there were around

, roughly 1.7% of the population of England.

Marriages allowed or blessings?

Anglican church.

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On Thursday, the Synod also voted in favor of a policy that would allow clergy members to recognize same-sex unions with acts such as prayers, after

.

However, the church will continue to prevent same-sex couples from marrying in their churches.

The Church of England explores a gender-neutral God and many of its faithful find its position ridiculous and forced.

The Archbishop of Canterbury, a former banker who has been asked by King Charles to mediate the reconciliation between his son Harry and his wife Meghan with the Royal Family on coronation day, will have a delicate and double task.

The Church of England will study the use of gender neutral terms to refer to God in prayers.

But the century-old institution said on Wednesday there were no plans to abolish the current services.

The issue reflects the growing global awareness of the use of pronouns, which offend or annoy those who do not identify with the gender they were assigned at birth.

The synod decides

The comments follow an exchange at the General Synod, the Church's governing body, where a priest asked about

and sought options for those who want to

.

The spokesman said

​​since the introduction of its forms of service in contemporary language, more than 20 years ago.

The deliberation is the latest attempt by the Church, central to one of the world's oldest Christian institutions, to

in recent decades.

Last month, the religious body submitted proposals showing it would refuse to allow same-sex couples to marry in its churches.

But he said that the priests could bless them in the church.

He also

for the rejection and hostility they have faced.

"The Church's Commission on Faith and Order, which advises on theology, will work with the liturgical commission to discuss issues related to gender terms," ​​the spokesperson said.

differences

A spokesperson for

, a national campaigning group for gender equality in the Church of England, also welcomed the move "to watch the development of more inclusive language in our authorized liturgy".

However, the Rev Ian Paul, a member of the General Synod and Council of Archbishops of the Church of England, warned against any deviation from the original scriptures, saying: "

which is heresy.

God has no sex, unlike humanity."

“The Bible uses feminine images and metaphors for God, but primarily

.

Male and female images are not interchangeable."

“The fact that God is called 'Father' cannot be substituted for 'Mother' without changing the meaning, nor can it be gender neutralized to 'Father' without loss of meaning.

” he explained.

"If the Liturgical Commission seeks to change this, then, in a significant way, they will move the doctrine of the Church away from being based on Scripture," he warned.

“As part of its regular program of work for the next five years, the Liturgical Commission has asked the Faith and Order Commission to work with it to discuss these issues.

, and such changes could not be made without comprehensive legislation."

It is unclear what would replace the term Our Father in the Lord's Prayer, the central Christian prayer that Jesus is said to have instructed his followers to say together throughout the generations.

MY