Split from the Scottish Episcopal Church over equal marriage is ‘very sad’, says incoming Bishop of Brechin

From Scotland-

In an interview with The Courier, The Very Rev Andrew Swift – Bishop Elect for the Diocese of Brechin who will be consecrated as Bishop of Brechin in a ceremony at St Paul’s Cathedral in Dundee on Saturday – said the decision of St Thomas’ to quit the official Anglican church in Scotland over the June 2017 equal marriage vote was “really sad” – and there was a danger other churches could follow.

When the Scottish Episcopal Church (SEC) voted last summer to allow gay couples to marry in church, it meant that clergy who wished to officiate at gay marriages would have to “opt-in”.

The church said this meant that those who disagreed with gay marriage would be protected and would not have to act against their conscience.

However, the church’s decision to permit gay marriage led to sanctions being imposed on the SEC by leaders of the global Anglican Communion last October, with St Thomas’ rector Rev David McCarthy recently describing the decision to leave as a “very painful” one, adding: “We have not done it easily. We have had many tears and many sleepless nights. It is a tragic necessity. But it is the Episcopal Church who are leaving us. They are leaving orthodoxy.”

Commenting on the issue, The Very Rev Andrew Swift, who is a married father-of-three, and who welcomes equal marriage at St Paul’s Cathedral in Dundee, said: “It’s really sad.

More here-

https://www.thecourier.co.uk/fp/news/scotland/710092/split-from-the-scottish-episcopal-church-over-equal-marriage-is-very-sad-says-incoming-bishop-of-brechin/