The thinking of thee spiritual leader of the Church of England and the worldwide Anglican Communion has “evolved over the years” in order to “include LGTBQ+ people more fully in the life Church”.

This is the official explanation given from Lambeth Palace, the office of Justin Welby, the Archbishop of Canterbury, after a clip of an interview in the The Rest is Politics podcast, in which he was asked whether he considered gay sex to be a sin.

The Archbishop, who had been asked the same question by the same interviewer in 2017, replied: “What the Archbishop of York and I, and the bishops, by a majority, by no means unanimous…What we’ve come to is to say that all sexual activity should be within a committed relationship, whether it’s straight or gay”.

This is the clearest public statement so far from Justin Welby (who has been the archbishop of the Church of England since 2013) about his openness not only to homosexual relations but also to sex outside marriage.

In the same interview, he acknowledged that “the Church of England is deeply and profoundly divided” over a potential opening to same-sex marriage in the church.

Personal views ahead of key discussion

Welby’s views, which he said said are “personal and sincere”, come just days before the House of Bishops (the Church of England’s bishops’ chamber) resumes discussions on the next steps to be taken in ‘Living in Love and Faith’, the internal process by which the Church is defining how it will now address issues related to human sexuality, gender identity, same-sex unions, the definition of marriage, and the inclusion of LGTQI+ people.

In January 2023, the Church of England already formalised the blessing of same-sex couples, offering specific ‘prayers’ in the church. At that point, it was clarified that this did not make these unions equal to marriage. The decision provoked criticism from both the evangelical and liberal sectors of the church.

Conservatives call for his resignation

The Archbishop’s words have led some evangelical theological and reverends of local parishes to call for his “resignation” for “denying the doctrine of the Church of England”.

The Church of England Evangelical Council (CEEC), which brings together leading evangelical pastors and theologians within the Church of England, expressed “surprise” at a the “arresting admission” of the archbishop. They said his position is “devastating statement because it marks a clear departure from the doctrine of the Church of England, the Anglican Communion, and every other major Christian denomination across the world believe”.

“How can [Justin Welby] hold his position if he does not agree with the doctrinal position of the Church of England? Baffled”, said a director at IVP, a publishing house which has numerous Anglican authors in its catalogue.

Repercussions for Anglicanism worldwide

The new position of the leader of the Anglican Communion (worldwide Anglicanism) gives more arguments to national Anglican churches in Africa, Asia and South America that have united in movements such as Gafcon or GSFA to counter what they see as a long-standing deviation from the authority of Scripture in theological matters.

Anglican bishops in these regions have called for a “structural separation” that would clarify the fundamental theological divide over scriptural interpretation between conservative Anglicans and liberal Anglicans.