The African primates have affirmed ‘real marriage’. However the Scottish Episcopal church is uncertain.
In a very significant development primates from seven provinces in Africa released a statement in March as follows: ‘We are deeply concerned about the divisions within our beloved Anglican Communion. These divisions emerged when some churches in the West allowed the worldly cultures to reshape the message of church to the society, especially in the area of marriage and human sexuality. These issues not only contradict the traditional teaching of the Scripture but also impede our witness to the gospel, which is the reason of our presence in this world. We believe that the church is entrusted with the message of the gospel in order to transform the culture, not the other way around. We do accept diversity, but not diversity at the expense of the truth. Therefore we call upon these churches to refrain from making unilateral decisions which will further the divisions between the provinces of the Anglican Communion.
‘We, by God’s grace, continue to uphold the traditional biblical teaching in regard to human sexuality and marriage and affirm Lambeth Resolution 1:10 in its entirety. We believe that this is the only way to safeguard the life of the Christian families and we should resist the pressures of the secular Western cultures to alter God’s purpose in creating man and woman.’