The Anglican Church will not accept or perform same-sex marriages in this country.
That is the declaration of Dr John Holder, Bishop of Barbados and Archbishop of the West Indies, who told the media today at Diocesan House that the Anglican Church, which is this country’s leading denomination, does not accept the redefinition of marriage but holds to the tradition of marriage as the union between a man and woman.
“Other countries are free to engage in their redefinition of marriage but we as Anglicans in this region hold firm to the understanding of marriage as a union between a man and a woman,” he said.
Holder said this was not just his personal view but that of the entire province of the West Indies, stretching from Bahamas down to Trinidad, and governed by the House of Bishops comprising eight diocesan bishops, three assistant bishops and four retirees.
Holder said the House of Bishops had met here at Bamford House, St John, April 22 to 25, and issued a statement on marriage in relation to same-sex unions and the use of orientation as a bargaining factor in negotiations for developmental assistance.
Full story in tomorrow’s WEEKEND NATION