Ok, so I’ll admit this question comes as a result of watching a TV show, not the best place to find actual information. But that’s exactly why I’m asking this question. The situation on the show is a homosexual Church of England vicar having a relationship that has just gotten sexual. His bishop has a talk with him about being circumspect in having his “friend” staying at the rectory, but doesn’t actually caution him about indulging in pre-marital sex. The vicar is feeling judged by his congregation and his bishop for having a homosexual relationship and may be reconsidering his calling. I know that C of E has legitimized same sex unions and has even ordained some homosexual bishops so I’m not sure what his problem is. But It got me wondering what would the situation be if the vicar was straight and his partner was female. Aren’t pastors in other denominations expected to be chaste before marriage (or at least not give rise to scandal) whether they’re gay or straight? Or is this all just a dramatic story device?
First of all, TV often isn’t a good place to go for accurate depictions of religion, and I think Britain may be even worse in this regard than America these days. Although at least Britain has the advantage of having a state church–in America the typical Hollywood picture of religion is a sort of mishmash because there isn’t one dominant church in the same way.
The Church of England (assuming that you do mean the C of E and not the Episcopal Church in the U.S.) has not legitimized same-sex unions. The C of E’s official response to the British government’s move to legalize same-sex marriage may be found
here. As you can see, it’s a very strong affirmation that marriage is the union of a man and a woman, while acknowledging the presence of virtues in same-sex relationships, the value of civil recognition of such relationships, and the “ongoing debate” about same-sex sexual relationships within the C of E.
Many people expect the C of E to follow the lead of the Episcopal Church quite soon–I’m much less sure about that. Evangelicalism is growing in strength within the C of E at the moment.
What a real C of E bishop would say to a priest in that situation would, I think, largely depend on the bishop. Some bishops would say, “My dear chap, I congratulate you on finding love, and I wish our Church would see the light on this.” Some would probably do more or less what the bishop you describe does. Some might well say, “you are in a sinful relationship and if you don’t end it I will bring you up on charges of immoral behavior.”
I suspect that the kind of muddled response you’re describing would probably be the average response. But I don’t know for sure.
Edwin
