Update on developments in the US

In November 2014, the Revd Ephraim Radner and the Revd Christopher Seitz published The Marriage Pledge on the First Things web site, in an attempt to encourage priests and ministers to refuse to perform civil marriages: a response to their concerns regarding the changing governmental definition of marriage, primarily in the US, but acknowledging that similar changes are occurring elsewhere. The Pledge was in effect a unilateral decision of individual priests and ministers to reject the current situation in the United States in which religious certifications of marriage are accepted by the secular authorities.

Although initially appearing to gain a degree of traction within the US, it was criticized by some within the Roman Catholic Church, notably Dr Ed Peters, and also by Foley Beach, the Archbishop and Primate of the Anglican Church in North America (ACNA), who sounded a strong note of caution. These developments were followed in L&RUK here and here, and five months on the Pledge has attracted only 444 signatories, including a number of laity for whom action in support of the Pledge is not within their gift. Continue reading →