The Church of England’s long and often fraught journey over the question of same-sex relationships reached a new crossroads this week, as its General Synod formally closed the years-long “Living in Love and Faith” (LLF) process without resolving the Church’s deep divisions. After a five-hour debate on February 12, 2026, Synod members voted to wind down the LLF project—an initiative launched in 2020 to foster discernment and dialogue about sexuality, gender, relationships, and marriage—leaving the Church in a state of uncertainty and, for many, disappointment.
The only substantive shift to emerge from the process was the decision, first taken in 2023, to permit prayers of blessing for same-sex couples within existing Sunday services. However, proposals to introduce stand-alone blessing ceremonies for same-sex couples were formally abandoned, with bishops citing unresolved theological and legal barriers. As BBC reported, bishops had already determined that such ceremonies would not be possible unless formal synodical and canonical requirements were met, given that the Church’s official doctrine still defines marriage as a lifelong union between a man and a woman.
The debate was, by all accounts, impassioned and, at times, deeply emotional. LGBTQ+ campaigners and supportive clergy expressed anger and a sense of betrayal that the process was being curtailed while key questions—such as whether clergy in same-sex civil marriages may serve without restriction—remain unanswered. The Reverend Charlie Bączyk-Bell, a gay priest and Synod member, did not mince words in his address: “You have broken my heart. I cannot believe that we are here again, after all this time, with only this to offer.” Through tears, he apologized to LGBTQ+ members of the Church “for what we continue to put you through” and for the Church’s inability to celebrate them as it should.
But the pain was not felt only on one side. Conservative Anglicans and those holding to the Church’s historic teachings on marriage also voiced their distress. Simon Clift, a lay Synod member from Winchester, insisted: “Those like me, who hold to the historic teaching, also feel that pain, and all groups need to be recognised.” The debate also highlighted concerns from Anglicans in the “Global South,” who, as lay member Busola Sodeinde noted, felt wounded and insufficiently consulted. Sodeinde argued, “To refer to them as ‘homophobic’ as some have, when they believe that they are seeking to remain faithful to God’s word is not only unhelpful, it is gravely unjust.”
The Archbishop of York, Stephen Cottrell, who moved the motion to close the LLF process, openly acknowledged the hurt on all sides. “This is not where I want us to be, nor where I hoped we would be three years ago. And I want to acknowledge that wherever you stand on the debate, I know that many of you are feeling angry and disappointed,” he told Synod, as reported by Christian Today. Cottrell apologized for the pain caused and stressed the need to end LLF “so as to create the space where this work can breathe.”
The motion, which passed by comfortable majorities in all three Houses of Synod—bishops, clergy, and laity—also thanked the LLF Working Groups for their “committed and costly work” and commended the House of Bishops for establishing two new groups to continue discussions: the Relationships, Sexuality and Gender Working Group and the Relationships, Sexuality, and the Gender Pastoral Consultative Group. The next stage, as outlined by The Church Times, will see bishops select members for these groups and decide if or when the issues return to Synod. Many expect the topic to dominate this summer’s Synod elections, where new members will be chosen for five-year terms.
The decision to close LLF comes after more than a decade of debate and a process that reportedly cost £1.6 million. In 2023, the Church of England had already rejected same-sex marriage, unlike its counterparts in the Scottish Episcopal Church and the Episcopal Church in Scotland, which have taken further steps towards marriage equality. The Anglican Church in Wales, for example, authorizes blessing services for gay couples, though it does not allow same-sex weddings.
While prayers of blessing for same-sex couples within ordinary services remain permitted, the abandonment of stand-alone ceremonies has left many feeling that the Church is stuck in a holding pattern—neither moving forward nor returning to a settled status quo. “The problem is it’s too much of an end for some and not enough of an end for others,” said Professor Helen King, capturing the mood of a Church that remains deeply divided.
The Archbishop of Canterbury, Dame Sarah Mullally, acknowledged the wounds inflicted by the process. “It has touched some of our deepest theological views but also the core part of our identity. It has left us wounded as individuals and also as a Church and therefore I am grateful that you still are here,” she told Synod at the close of the debate. She expressed hope that the new working groups could provide a structured framework for future steps, even as she recognized that “the proposals this afternoon may well be disappointing for some.”
Outside the sexuality debate, the Synod also addressed other pressing issues. The Bishop of Leicester, Martyn Snow, warned that interfaith work in England is in crisis, citing polarization, global events, and social media, but also a lack of proper resourcing by the Church of England. He emphasized that interfaith engagement must go beyond dialogue to meaningful action, especially in tackling poverty—a theme that resonated as Synod marked the 40th anniversary of the landmark “Faith in the City” report. The Synod recommitted to ending poverty and challenging the unjust structures that perpetuate it, noting that Black and minority ethnic communities remain disproportionately affected.
Elsewhere, the British Muslim Trust launched a government-backed national helpline to monitor anti-Muslim hate crimes across the UK, with support from public officials including London’s Mayor Sadiq Khan. Meanwhile, the Crown Prosecution Service is appealing a court ruling that overturned a conviction related to Quran-burning outside the Turkish consulate in London, a case that has sparked debate about free speech and blasphemy law.
On the international stage, the Vatican warned of a possible schism over planned bishop consecrations by the traditionalist Society of St Pius X, and church investors are using a new global benchmark to fight modern slavery, with an estimated 50 million people worldwide still trapped in such conditions. Closer to home, the historic church of St Martin in Yapham, East Yorkshire, is set to close after a £500,000 repair bill proved insurmountable, while a rural church in Harpley, Worcestershire, has launched a national campaign for churches to use locally grown British flowers as part of their environmental commitment.
As the Church of England closes one chapter, the questions that have divided it remain unresolved. The coming months—and the next Synod—will determine whether the Church can find a way forward that brings healing, or if the wounds of this debate will linger for years to come.