Episcopalians to vote on allowing gay marriage in churches

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Episcopalians are set to vote Wednesday on allowing religious weddings for same-sex couples, just days after the U.S. Supreme Court legalized gay marriage nationwide.

In 2003, the denomination made the trailblazing move of electing the first openly gay Episcopal bishop.

[...] many dioceses have allowed their priests to perform civil same-sex weddings.

On the eve of the U.S. vote, Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby, spiritual leader of the world's Anglicans, released a statement expressing deep concern about the potential impact of changing the definition of marriage in Episcopal church law.

Curry supports gay rights, speaking against North Carolina's 2012 constitutional amendment that banned same-sex marriage, which is now invalid, and allowing same-sex church weddings in the North Carolina diocese.