By deciding to defer to 2007 the introduction of religious services to bless unions between homosexuals, the 300 members of the Canadian Anglican General Synod avoided condemnation by the Anglican evangelicals that would have caused the split of their communion. The decision was hailed by the archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams, leader of 77 million Anglicans worldwide, who pledged at the time of his enthronement in February 2003 to do all he could to prevent a schism. “It’s important that the Canadian Church has avoided a structural change that would have contradicted the will and desire of most of the Anglican Communion”, declared Williams, adding that this deferred decision offers hope for the continued collegiality of the Communion he leads. Archbishop Andrew Hutchison, Primate of the Canadian Church, explained that the decision protects “the well-being of the church”. The synod of the Canadian Anglican Church also decided to entrust to a theological committee of the church the task of deciding whether the question of blessing ‘gay marriages’ is a doctrinal matter than cannot be altered. The problem will be reconsidered by the Canadian Anglican Synod in three years’ time.
