In July this year, the Church of England will see the most significant Private Members Motion (PMM) on sex and marriage in the last 40 years being brought to General Synod.
It has been confirmed by the Business Committee that the July General Synod will debate the PMM proposed by Professor Helen King, which seeks to affirm the compatibility of intimate same sex relationships with Christian discipleship.
The controversial motion (in full below) is cleverly worded and designed to secure support for a revision of the Church of England’s sexual ethics, while at the same time not explicitly asking for a change to Church of England doctrine.
Professor Helen King (Oxford) to move:
‘That this Synod affirm that there are no fundamental objections to being in a committed, faithful, intimate same-sex relationship, and that such a relationship can be entirely compatible with Christian discipleship.’
Private Members’ Motions function similarly to those in Parliament: once sufficient support is gathered, the Business Committee may schedule them for debate. While PMMs do not change doctrine or law, they can signal the theological and political direction of the Synod.
The last time General Synod expressed a view on marriage and sexual ethics in this way was in 1987. In that year, the ‘Higton Motion’ was passed by General Synod, which affirmed the Church’s traditional teaching on sexual ethics and marriage.
Revd John Dunnett, National Director, Church of England Evangelical Council (CEEC), said: “This motion matters. While it might be viewed by some as committing General Synod to ‘nothing in particular’, this motion shows that the revisionists will find new and different ways to continually push their agenda – away from Scripture, away from our Church’s doctrine and towards liberal change – even when the House of Bishops is not doing so.
“The big question is how the bishops and indeed the new Archbishop will respond. Will the Archbishop see it as an opportunity to allow Synod to express its mind, or would she prefer the process to be steered by the House of Bishops, and therefore encourage her colleagues to vote against the motion?”
Around the Communion, Dunnett cautions, the overwhelming response would be one of both sadness and despair.
“News of this motion will evoke a sad and negative response from across the Communion”, Dunnett concluded. “The Global South Fellowship of Anglicans and GAFCON would undoubtedly be concerned by the motion, and its passing would increase the impaired nature of relationships between the majority Anglican Communion and the Church of England.”
The Evangelical Group on General Synod (EGGS) will be working to defeat the motion in as an effective way as possible.
The February 2026 General Synod motion has committed the House of Bishops to forming a group which will carry forward the LLF trajectory – an initiative which could be of even greater threat to the apostolic understanding of marriage and sexual ethics upon which the Church of England has always been built.
