Swiss Reformed Church Order deletes ‘bride’ and ‘groom’
Photo EPA, Sedat Suna
Central Europe
The Reformed Church in the Swiss canton of Zurich is deleting words such as "bride" and "groom" from its Church Order. These will be replaced by the "gender-neutral" term "married couple".
"A gay man will hardly feel addressed as a 'bride', just as little as a lesbian woman as a 'groom'," said the church's communications officer, according to Insideparadeplatz. This news portal further writes that it would still be possible to use the terms 'bride' and 'groom' when it is appropriate to the situation. The change will come into effect on January 1st, 2023 unless objections are raised. This reports news service bluewin.ch.
The Evangelical Reformed District Church of Zurich is part of the Evangelical Reformed Church of Switzerland. This comprises 24 regional churches and the Evangelical-Methodist Church. According to its website, the Church in the Canton of Zurich has 425,000 members and 130 congregations.
In 1999, the Reformed Church declared itself in favour of the equality of homosexual and heterosexual relationships. Since then, gay and lesbian couples have been able to have their relationships blessed by the Church. Since July 1st, same-sex couples have also been able to 'marry' in church as part of 'Ehe für alle' (marriage for all).
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