SYNOPSIS

The History and Theology of Marriage in the Anglican Church

Ronald Kydd

Ronald Kydd argues that the authorization of a rite extending the main components of the marriage ceremony (consent –in the form of vows exchanged, and the blessing) to persons of the same sex constitutes a major departure from the understanding of that ceremony, viewed historically and theologically.

The centrality of consent and the blessing moves a “blessing ceremony” into the realm of marriage. Marriage has historically and theologically always been the joining of man and woman and the institution surrounding the procreation and nurture of children. To extend marriage to same-sex couples is not simply a tweaking or minor recalibrating of the institution but a fundamental shift in the understanding of it.

Using the sociological and historical works of Antonio Gramsci, and Doug Hall, Kydd suggests that the desire to redefine the church’s historical stance rests primarily on an uncritical acceptance of societal change; on the equation of societal change with progress; and the church’s attempt to maintain its relevance to a increasingly indifferent society.