Church to explore 'non-gendered' terms

The Church of England is to consider whether its prayers, hymns, and services should continue referring to God in male pronouns.

The church announced that it would explore the matter further after priests raised questions concerning the use of gender-neutral terms.

Any alterations proposed would have to be approved by the General Synod, the church's decision-making body, and would be resisted by traditionalists.

Michael Ipgrave, bishop of Lichfield and vice-chair of the liturgical commission responsible for considering changes, said the church had been "exploring the use of gendered language in relation to God for several years".

"After some dialogue between the two commissions in this area, a new joint project on gendered language will begin this spring," he said.

"In common with other potential changes to authorised liturgical provision, changing the wording and number of authorized forms of absolution would require a full synodical process for approval."

It is not yet clear what might replace the term "Our Father" in the Lord's Prayer, which Jesus Christ is said to have told his followers to say together.

Conservative critics within the church gave a prompt reaction to the possibility of any such change.

Reverend Ian Paul told The Daily Telegraph that any adaptations would mean moving the doctrine of the church away from being "grounded in the scriptures", and noted that there have been calls to stop referring to God as "He", "Him", and "Our Father "for decades.

A spokesman for the Church of England said the debate was "nothing new", and that Christians have recognized since ancient times that "God is neither male nor female, yet the variety of ways of addressing and describing God found in scripture has not always been reflected in our worship".

He added: "There are absolutely no plans to abolish or substantially revise currently authorized liturgies, and no such changes could be made without extensive legislation."

Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby, the senior cleric in the Church of England, has previously said that all descriptions of God are to some degree "metaphorical".

Last month, following a six-year consultation on sexuality and marriage, the Church of England said it will refuse to allow same-sex couples to get married in its churches and would continue to follow its teaching that marriage is between a man and a woman.

It proposed instead that same-sex couples could have a service with "prayers of dedication, thanksgiving, or for God's blessing on the couple" in church after a civil marriage. Gay marriage became legal in the United Kingdom in 2013.

Welby last year admitted that maintaining unity in the Anglican communion has proved "very difficult". He estimated that 90 percent of Anglicans are conservative on the subject of same-sex marriage.