Church commissioners backed his motion to “affirm the Church’s historic and current doctrine and practice in relation to human sexuality, (but) nonetheless permit those Kirk Sessions who wish to depart from that doctrine and practice to do so”. Today’s historic vote effectively means that the traditionalist position holds, but congregations will be able to choose themselves to have a minister in a civil partnership if they wish to do so.

The Church of Scotland has voted in favour of allowing openly gay men and women to become ministers – whilst maintaining a traditionalist standpoint.

The General Assembly backed a motion affirming the Church’s “current doctrine and practice in relation to human sexuality”, but permitting liberal congregations to depart from that approach if they wish to do so.

The decision, made following a lengthy debate on the issue, will come back before next year’s General Assembly for further analysis.

The ordination of ministers in same-sex relationships has divided the Church for many years, with the two sides of the debate broadly characterised as traditionalist or the more liberal “revisionist”.

The Church had been expected to vote for one of three options today: to reject the future ordination of ministers in same-sex relationships, to treat openly gay ministers in the same way as heterosexual clergy, or to allow congregations to appoint ministers in civil partnerships whilst permitting individual congregations to opt out.

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