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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
World
Harriet Sherwood

Justin Welby ‘joyful’ at C of E switch but will not bless same-sex civil marriages

Justin Welby at a Church of England press conference at Lambeth Palace  in south London.
Justin Welby at a Church of England press conference at Lambeth Palace in south London. Photograph: Jonathan Brady/PA

The archbishop of Canterbury will not personally bless same-sex civil marriages despite the Church of England’s historic change of position.

Justin Welby said he was “extremely joyful” at proposals to allow clergy to offer God’s blessing to same sex couples who have legally married, but said he would impose a “self-denying ordinance” for the sake of unity in the global Anglican church that he heads.

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