(Cincinnati, Ohio) A Presbyterian ecclesiastical court has ruled that an Ohio minister did not break church law when he married several same-sex couples.
The ruling overturns a decision last year by a lower court that found the Rev. Stephen Van Kuiken guilty of violating the orders of the Church.
Van Kuiken was rebuked but not removed from the ministry as a result of the original trial. (story)
Van Kuiken, 44, pastor of Mount Auburn Presbyterian Church in Cincinnati, said at the time that the Church is facing a crisis of theological intolerance.
He said he would continue to marry gay and lesbian couples and appealed his conviction.
In its ruling, released today, the synod court said that constitution of the Presbyterian Church does not specifically prohibit ministers from marrying same-sex couples.
It noted that while the faith's top court in 2000 had ruled that same-sex marriages are impermissible, "it avoids an outright prohibition by using the words 'should' and 'should not' in guidance for sessions and ministers."
The court ordered that the lower court's decision be reversed and a rebuke of Van Kuiken dismissed.
"A new era has dawned in the Presbyterian Church, a day for which we have waited and hoped," Van Kuiken told the Cincinnati Enquirer today.
The denomination has 2.5 million-members in the US.
On the weekend, the Methodist Church reaffirmed its position that "homosexuality is incompatible with Christian teaching" and has reopened the case of a lesbian pastor who came out to her bishop. (story)
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