The Methodist Church has become the largest religious denomination in the United Kingdom to permit same-sex marriages.
The Church announced, on Wednesday, that same-sex couples would be allowed to get married on its premises.
After debates on the topic at the Methodist Conference, the proposals to allow same-sex marriages were passed with 254 votes in favor and 46 against.
The Methodist Church said ministers who oppose the changes would not be forced to carry out same-sex marriages.
Dignity & Worth, a campaign group in the Methodist Church, said the vote was a “momentous step on the road to justice and inclusion” after many years of sometimes painful conversations.
Rev. Sam McBratney, who chairs the group, praised the “courageous step” taken by the church.
The Rev. Sonia Hicks, elected as the Methodists’ first black female president, at the weekend, said it was a “historic day for our church”.
She urged people “to support each other respecting our differences”.
A campaigner for LGBT+ equality and a member of the C of E’s ruling body, the General Synod, Jayne Ozanne, said the vote reflected “the significant shift that there has been among Christian attitudes in England, and shows how so many people would echo the recent call of Bishop Paul Bayes to allow same-sex marriage in the C of E”.
The church has a membership of 164,000, making it the fourth-largest denomination of Christian churches in the U.K.