On 23 May 2022 the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland approved the proposal to allow ministers and deacons to conduct same-sex marriages.
This was expected, given that a clear majority of presbyteries had already supported the ‘Solemnisation of Same Sex Marriage Overture’, as the proposal was known (see https://cofe-equal-marriage.org.uk/b/ub).
The Moderator of the General Assembly, the Rt Rev Dr Iain Greenshields, said:
“The General Assembly has today approved the Solemnisation of Same Sex Marriage Overture to change a standing Church law to enable Ministers of Word and Sacrament and deacons to apply to become authorised celebrants if they wish. However, no minister or deacon would be required to participate in the solemnisation of, or be involved in the arrangements for, a same sex marriage unless they explicitly wished to do so.”
For full details see https://www.churchofscotland.org.uk/news-and-events/news/2022/articles/general-assembly-approves-scheme-to-conduct-same-sex-marriages.
The Campaign for Equal Marriage in the Church of England welcomes this decision by the Church of Scotland, which is the only other established church in Great Britain. It leaves the Church of England rather isolated among the major Christian denominations in Great Britain, as this list shows:
Baptist Union
Church in Wales
Church of England
Church of Scotland
Methodist Church
Quakers
Roman Catholic Church
Scottish Episcopal Church
United Reformed Church
The denominations that allow their ministers to marry same-sex couples are shown in bold type. Those in italics are well on the road to doing so.