The delegates of the Anglican Church of Canada voted against a measure on Monday at the church's triennial General Synod that would have authorized same-sex marriage.
The resolution, Resolution A051-A1, needed a two-third majority vote in all three orders of laity, clergy, and bishops.
The laity voted 72.22 percent and the bishops 68.42 percent in support of the resolution. The clergies' vote came out to be 66.23 percent in support of the resolution, a fraction of a percentage short of the 66.66 percent needed for the resolution to pass. The vote took place after over 60 speakers presented their opinions, a majority of whom spoke in favor of the measure.
At the General Synod 2013, a resolution passed that requested the Council of General Synod to present a motion to change the canon to allow same-sex marriage, requiring the vote of the General Synod 2016. If the resolution had passed, it would have required another vote at the next General Synod in 2019.
"Let us be mindful of all those for whom this result has pastoral implications, all those whose lives are touched deeply, and of the work that we must do as a church in pastoral care," primate of Canada, Archbishop Fred Hiltz, said in a prayer following the vote.
