Note: the following linked article contains potentially triggering language regarding gender and sexuality

UNITED KINGDOM, January 15, 2019 (LifeSiteNews) – More than 100 Anglican priests in the Diocese of Oxford signed a letter critical of their bishops’ advice permitting active homosexuals to receive communion and to be ordained.

The priests warned their bishops that if they fail to affirm traditional church teaching, many will seek placement outside the Oxford Diocese.

The four Oxford bishops had advised clergy in a letter last fall that “Nobody should be excluded or discouraged from receiving the sacraments of baptism or the Lord’s supper on the grounds of their sexual orientation or gender identity,” while also affirming that “LGBT+ people can be called to roles of leadership and service in the local church.”

In response, the Oxford clergy wrote to express their “grave concern.”

“We are dismayed that nowhere in the letter is there any articulation of the current teaching of the Church of England on marriage and sexual relationships, based as it is on the words of Scripture, nor is there any expressed support for it. Instead, we read references to ‘attitudes changing,’ respect for ‘different views,’ and willingness to ‘listen to different streams in the debate.’”

Regarding the ordination of homosexuals, the priests said, “We cannot see how it is right to accept as Christian leaders those who advocate lifestyles that are not consistent with New Testament teaching.”

The priests also said their bishops’ declaration that no one should be “excluded or discouraged from receiving the sacraments of baptism or the Lord’s Supper” is problematic, noting, “Such indiscriminate participation seems to be inconsistent with the witness of Scripture.”