A General Synod resolution which would have allowed dioceses in the Anglican Church of Canada to authorize the blessing of “committed same-sex unions” failed by two votes June 24 in the House of Bishops.

The General Synod, which meets every three years, is the Anglican Church of Canada’s chief governing body and consists of three houses -- bishops, clergy and lay people -- elected as delegates locally in each of the church’s 30 dioceses.

Lay delegates voted 78 to 59 in favor of Motion A187, and clergy approved it 63 to 53. Bishops rejected the measure 21-19. Approval by members of synod required a simple majority in all three houses after bishops and delegates earlier in the day narrowly approved Motion A186 stating “that the blessing of same-sex unions is consistent with the core doctrine (in the sense of being creedal) of The Anglican Church of Canada.”

The Anglican Church of Canada’s constitution stipulates that changes to the church’s doctrine require a two-thirds majority by bishops and delegates at two successive General Synod meetings. When General Synod last met in 2004, the issue of same-sex blessings was referred to the Primate’s Theology Commission for study.

A task force of bishops, led by the Rt. Rev. Victoria Matthews, Bishop of Edmonton, prepared the St. Michael’s Report, which found that approval of same-gender blessings would represent a change to church doctrine, but not core doctrine. The St. Michael’s Report was approved earlier during General Synod, which has been meeting since June 19 in Winnipeg.

Debate over Motion A186 began June 23 and involved a number of complex procedural motions, leaving even the outgoing primate, the Most Rev. Andrew Hutchison, perplexed at times. Prior to the start of synod, the church’s Council of General Synod proposed a compromise in which the motion on same-sex blessings would require 60 percent approval at one General Synod meeting. Opponents of same-sex blessings insisted on two-thirds approval from two successive synods, while advocates argued that a simple majority at one synod ought to be sufficient.

The synod decisions on motions A186 and A187 left many on both sides of the same-sex blessing issue deeply unhappy, with a number leaving the legislative hall in tears after the vote on Motion A187.

“I don’t think there were any winners," said Bishop Matthews, chair of the Primate’s Theological Commission. "We know that people on both sides...leave tonight with a profound sense of sadness that the body of Christ is broken.”

In other news from General Synod, delegates approved an amended motion to receive the Windsor Report, and elected new senior leaders. The Rev. Stephen Andrews, president and vice-chancellor of Thorneloe University in Sudbury, Ontario, in the Diocese of Algoma, was elected prolocutor of General Synod on the fourth ballot on June 21. The prolocutor is chief deputy to the primate and second executive officer.

The Rt. Rev. Fred Hiltz, Bishop of Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island, was elected primate on the fifth ballot June 22. He will be installed today, the closing day of synod, succeeding Archbishop Hutchison.