Controversial blessing

Gay couple married © Paul Mcerlane

While they are prohibited in the Catholic Church and the Orthodox churches, weddings of same-sex couples are increasingly on the agenda in the Protestant regional churches. After several of them had already opened the way to the blessing of such life unions since the 1990s, some are now going further: in the fall of 2013, the synod of the Protestant Church in Hesse and Nassau decided to put such blessings on an equal footing with church marriages. Last January, the Evangelical Church in the Rhineland also introduced marriage services for same-sex couples.

Draft resolution to be voted on

A corresponding draft resolution is now up for a vote at the state synod of the Evangelical Church of Berlin-Brandenburg-Silesian Upper Lusatia (EKBO) on Friday or Saturday. "We want to equalize what we can equalize," explained the deputy of Berlin Bishop Markus Droge, Provost Christian Stablein: "The blessing of people who want to place their lives as a couple permanently, reliably and responsibly under God's blessing – regardless of their gender."

Changes are also being considered in the Protestant Northern Church, which was formed four years ago from several regional churches. Although the blessing of homosexual couples had long been possible in the area of the former North Elbian Church, and in 2014 it was also introduced in Mecklenburg and Pomerania. But in the future such blessings are not to differ any longer significantly from the wedding of heterosexual pairs: They are to take place in principle in public services – with subsequent entry into the church books.

Some evangelical pastors live in same-sex relationships

Also quite a few pastors of Protestant regional churches live today openly in a same-sex relationship. What was previously concealed is now visibly taking place in the rectory. In addition, more and more openly gay or lesbian parishioners are getting involved in their parishes.

However, there are still critical voices within the Protestant church: In the Wurttemberg regional church, blessings of same-sex couples only take place in the context of pastoral care, not in public worship services. "In the process, the people are blessed, not the partnership," it says on the homepage of the regional church. And Saxony's Lutheran Bishop Carsten Rentzing thinks homosexuality is not legitimized by the Bible.

Some church leaders openly admit that no new theological insights were decisive for the fact that the blessings have now become marriages. "We already took a position on homosexuality a good 15 years ago," explained Rhenish President Manfred Rekowski in January: "There is no growth in knowledge here that requires a renewed debate on principles."In church practice, one now wants to "take into account the changed legal framework, the possibility of life partnerships". Berlin Provost Stablein puts it similarly: "Theologically, there are no new insights that would not have been there in 2002."

Blessing of same-sex couples introduced 14 years ago

14 years ago, still under the leadership of Bishop Wolfgang Huber, the then Berlin-Brandenburg Church had introduced the blessing of same-sex couples. Today, however, more clergy are willing to introduce the marriage ceremony, Stablein emphasizes.

Nevertheless, in all regional churches there are also pastors who, for reasons of conscience, do not want to participate in a wedding or blessing of same-sex couples. Then the respective national church is obliged to find another congregation where the ceremonies can be performed.

In the EKBO, almost 20 church congregations are now demanding that the topic of "marriage of same-sex couples" be taken off the agenda of the synod again. Because from their point of view, the planned change clearly contradicts the biblical statements on homosexuality. However, since no one from these congregations is participating in the synod, the topic will probably remain on the agenda.