LGBTQIA+

With an estimated 2.3 million members, the Episcopal Church is open and welcoming of the LGBTQIA+ community.

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ON SEXUAL ORIENTATION & GENDER IDENTITY

In 1976, both the House of Deputies and House of Bishops voted for a fully inclusive Episcopal Church, stating, “Homosexual persons are children of God who have a full and equal claim with all other persons upon the love, acceptance, and pastoral concern and care of the church.” Canon law includes “gender identity or expression” in its list of persons who are assured full access to the ministry of the church. The law further specifies that administrative forms must include options for both preferred and legal names and for gender identity and pronoun preference. In an intentional move toward diversity, it adds,

“As transgender people and their families increasingly come out within or find their way to congregations, their specific naming in our Canons . . . will encourage congregations to deepen their understanding and widen their welcome.”

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ON NON-DISCRIMINATION

The Episcopal Church supports non-discrimination and has canon laws specifying that everyone has access to the governance of the church and lists “sexual orientation, gender identity and expression” as specifically protected from discrimination. In 2018, the church committed to oppose all legislation that restricts public restroom, locker room and shower access for transgender and gender non-conforming people.

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ON ORDINATION

In 1994, “sexual orientation” was added to the non-discrimination canons for ordination in the Episcopal Church. In 2009, the Episcopal Church passed a resolution stating that, “God’s call is open to all,” and eradicating discriminatory barriers to the election of bishops. However, the church had already consecrated its first openly gay bishop in 2003. The Episcopal Church also approved transgender ordination at its 2012 General Convention. Women have been ordained priests and elected bishops in the Episcopal Church since 1974.

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ON MARRIAGE EQUALITY​

The Episcopal Church codified theological support for same-sex marriage with two resolutions passed in 2015. The first (A054) formally approved gender-neutral and same-sex marriage ceremonies, while the second (A036) changed the current marriage “canons” to allow clergy to officiate same-sex marriages using either a marriage rite from the Episcopal Book of Common Prayer or a “trial” liturgy.