The Church of England has been thinking about the gender issues of God, who is traditionally called “he” and “father”.
The Guardian writes that a special commission will be created this spring to study this topic and the possibility of using gender-neutral appeals to God. This initiative was taken by individual priests.
The newspaper asks if the text of the Lord’s Prayer will have to be changed if the new norms are approved?
Potential changes must be approved by the Synod. Conservative representatives of the Church are already against it. They say that God is called “Father” – this cannot be replaced with “Mother” or gender neutralized the very concept without losing meaning.
According to Bishop Michael Ipgrave of Lichfield, deputy head of the liturgical commission, the church has been exploring the use of gendered language over the past few years.
After some dialogue between the two commissions in this area, a new joint project on gender language will start this spring. Like other possible changes to permitted liturgical provisions and wording, these changes will require a full synodal process to be approved,” Ipgrave explained in response to a question from Rev. Joan Stobart about what steps the church is taking to create a more “inclusive language” of worship.
The Guardian notes that the specifics of the announced project are not yet completely clear, and the bishop himself refuses to comment further.
The initiative has already been supported by liberal Christians, but it also has its opponents. In particular, Rev. Jan Paul, a member of the General Synod and the Council of Archbishops of the Church of England, stated that God has no gender, but the male and female images applied to him are not interchangeable.
The fact that God is called “Father” implies that he cannot be replaced by “Mother” without changing the meaning, nor can he be replaced by a gender-neutral “Father,” Paul said, warning that the Commission’s decision to use gender-neutral language can lead to the removal of church doctrine from Scripture.
In turn, the representative of the Church of England, Rachel Trewick, emphasized that there is nothing new in considering such an issue, since Christians have long recognized that God is neither a man nor a woman. However, she noted that the church “has absolutely no plans to cancel or substantially revise the currently permitted liturgies.”
Source: Racurs
I am David Wyatt, a professional writer and journalist for Buna Times. I specialize in the world section of news coverage, where I bring to light stories and issues that affect us globally. As a graduate of Journalism, I have always had the passion to spread knowledge through writing.