Four Seasons

Win a year of free pizza at PizzaExpress

Navigation - link to other main sections from here

Skip Navigation

From The Times
January 19, 2006

Bishop attacks civil partnerships

By Ruth Gledhill
A senior bishop has made the strongest attack yet on the law recognising civil partnerships and on the response of Church of England bishops.

In a letter to his clergy the Bishop of Rochester, Dr Michael Nazir-Ali, condemned civil partnerships for their “careful mimicking of marriage” and for undermining the “distinctiveness and fundamental importance to society” of marriage. He said the response of bishops to them constituted a “recipe for confusion” throughout the Church.

Dr Nazir-Ali is the third diocesan to come out against civil partnerships. The Bishop of Winchester, the Right Rev Michael Scott-Joynt, and the Bishop of Durham, Dr Tom Wright, have also voiced reservations.

Dr Nazir-Ali is particularly scathing of a statement by bishops that they did not regard civil partnerships as “intrinsically incompatible” with holy orders, provided clergy were prepared to give assurances to their bishops that they were celibate.

He said that the interpretation of bishops “flies in the face of clear biblical teaching and the unanimous practice of the Church throughout the ages”.

Also in UK News

Also in News

Most Read

Skip Most Read

Today

MOST COMMENTED

Skip Editor's Pick

Today

MOST CURIOUS

Skip Most Curious

Today

Focus Zone

Purasia

Asian Cuisine:

Explore your passion for food with the delights of Thai, Indian & Chinese cooking

A life more streamlined

A Life More Streamlined:

In our new series, Tony Hawks takes a dry, wry look at modern life - junk mail, interminable meetings and snooty sales assistants

swimmer

Triathlon Training:

Read the training tips and advice that helped our London Triathletes

Daniel Craig

James Bond:

Read our exclusive 100 Years of Fleming and Bond interactive timeline, packed with original Times articles and reviews

ba business travel clouds

Business Travel:

The latest travel news plus the best hotels and gadgets for business travellers

previous next
Peter Sands...CEO...Standard Chartered.

Andrew Davidson meets Peter Sands

Services

Croatia

Croatia 8 days from £659

Dubrovnik, the Dalmatian Coast and Montenegro

Credit Crunched?

Our Credit Clinic has free help and advice

The Singapore skyline pictured at night

Business City Guides

Overseas contacts and local business information

Popular Searches on Times Online

best councils | books | chess | credit crunch | currency converter | fashion | football | formula 1 | london film festival | mortgages | pensions | podcasts | property | recipes | redundancy calculator | savings | sudoku | wall street | wine

Shortcuts to help you find sections and articles

Classifieds 

Cars

Skip Cars of the Week

BMW 635 Sport

2008
£44,990

Jaguar XK 4.2 V8

2008
£48,489

Car insurance

Great car insurance deals online


Jobs

Skip Jobs of the Week
CHIEF EXECUTIVE

c.£75,000
GlosFirstmeansbusiness
Gloucestershire

Collaboration Support Managers

£32,795 - £41,545
Universitry of Southampton
Southampton

INTELLIGENCE OFFICERS

£23,500 + benefits
MI5
London

Properties

London Living

Some of the finest Apts & Penthouses
Across London

Kingswood Chase

Luxury properties within exclusive development in
Chislehurst Kent

Experience the Berkeley Difference

A new experience in Luxury Living

Holidays

Skip Travel of the Week

Las Vegas, Los Angeles & San Francisco

Multi–Centre
from Only £829pp

Discover Captain Cook’s Hawaiian Islands

With Ramblers Worldwide Holidays!
£POA

Advertise your holiday property online

List your property with two leading travel websites
£POA

Travel insurance

Great travel insurance deals online


Place your advert now