After the 2006 vote, Archbishop Makgoba --- then the Bishop of Grahamstown --- urged all sides to continue talking. “We agree that we have to dialogue, and listen to the experiences of all people around this issue, so that when the conclusion is arrived at, all of us understand and appreciate the challenges that all people feel,” he said.

The then Archbishop of Cape Town Njogonkulu Ndungane welcomed the expansion of civil rights for gay couples, but stated the “Anglican Church’s position is clear. We have repeatedly affirmed that we do not regard partnership between two persons of the same sex as a marriage in the eyes of God.”

However, Dean [Rowan] Smith said after the vote in Parliament that he hoped the new law would prompt the Anglican Church to allow congregations a local option whether or not to bless same-sex couples. The Province presently allows gay clergy to serve in the ministry but requires that they be celibate, and requires all clergy to abstain from sexual relations outside of marriage.

After the vote, Archbishop Makgoba said the resolution was “an important first step to saying: 'Lord, how do we do ministry in this context?'” of changing sexual mores.

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Filed under: * Anglican - Episcopal • Anglican Provinces • Church of South Africa • Sexuality Debate (in Anglican Communion) • Same-sex blessings • * Culture-Watch • Law & Legal Issues • Sexuality • --Civil Unions & Partnerships

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