Church in Wales Mandates Going out of Business Sale by Approving Same-Sex Blessings
- May 6
- 3 min read
COMMENTARY
By David W. Virtue, DD
May 6, 2026
To no one's surprise, the Church in Wales Governing Body has voted to make permanent provision for same-sex blessings for couples in same-sex civil marriages and civil partnerships.
This follows the consecration of an avowed lesbian archbishop to lead the province — some would say, into the ground. Statistics bear this out. Between 1996 and 2016, the number of signed-up Church in Wales members dropped from 91,247 to 45,759 — roughly 1.5% of the Welsh population. By 2018 it had declined further to 42,441, or 1.4% of the population. The Church in Wales subsequently stopped publishing attendance figures openly, and access to its membership data is now by invitation only, further obscuring the picture.
At a meeting in Llandudno, two-thirds of the bishops, clergy, and laity approved — by the required two-thirds majority across all three houses — what had been a five-year experimental period.
Speaking after the vote, Most Rev. Cherry Vann, Archbishop of Wales, who is in a same-sex relationship, told Premier Christian News she was pleased with both the decision and the tone of the debate.
She said: "I'm very pleased at the way the debate panned out… it was done very respectfully… it was Christ-like, the way I would hope Christians would be able to speak to one another despite their differences."
On the decision itself, she added: "It seemed to many of us that it would be ungenerous to take that offer [same-sex blessings] away from those for whom it had been important, and indeed a lifeline."
The archbishop noted that only around ten same-sex blessings have taken place in the province since the practice was permitted in 2021. For ten couples, then, it appears worth fracturing what remains of Anglican Communion solidarity.
She also referenced a conscience clause in the legislation providing "security and protection" for clergy who object to conducting same-sex blessing services. We have seen this scenario before in The Episcopal Church. First, consciences are respected — then they are not. Conform or be inhibited. Ask former Episcopal Bishop of Albany Bill Love how that worked out.
The Welsh decision comes amid sharp criticism from the Anglican Communion's theologically conservative provinces associated with GAFCON, which had already declared that the election of Cherry Vann as Archbishop "shatters the communion" and constitutes a departure from Anglican orthodoxy.
Archbishop Vann observed that provinces are in "very different places and very different contexts," adding that each must discern its own position on questions of human sexuality and community life. In fact, they already have. Both GAFCON and the Global South Fellowship of Anglicans (GSFA) have distanced themselves from provinces such as the Church in Wales, with GAFCON publicly declaring it has severed ties with the Archbishop of Canterbury.
On whether the move signals a step toward same-sex marriage, she acknowledged "very different views" within the Church, with some who supported blessings finding any further change "difficult." Consultation will continue ahead of possible proposals in 2027.
"We respect those for whom this is bad news," she said, "but we graciously ask them to accept that here in Wales the Governing Body has taken a different view."
That assurance deserves scrutiny. Once this becomes canon law, dissent will almost certainly be treated as schismatic, and the bishop or clergy in question will be shown the door. That is precisely what happened in TEC, and there is little reason to think Wales will be different. Talk of unity in Christ will ring hollow when the mechanism for enforcing conformity is already in place.
Earlier this year, the Church of England paused its formal Living in Love and Faith process on introducing standalone blessing services for same-sex couples, deferring any final decision. Prayers of dedication, thanksgiving, or blessing for same-sex couples within regular services are, however, already permitted.
The trajectory is not difficult to read — one need only consult recent Episcopal Church history.
END
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