A Presbyterian Church (USA) (search) court has ruled a minister did not violate church law by marrying same-sex couples.
The permanent judicial commission of the synod that oversees Presbyterian churches in Ohio and Michigan released its ruling Monday, reversing a lower court's conviction of the Rev. Stephen Van Kuiken (search). The commission, based in Maumee in northwest Ohio, ruled that the constitution of the Presbyterian Church (USA) does not prohibit ministers from marrying same-sex couples.
The constitution of the 2.5 million-member Presbyterian denomination defines marriage as a covenant between a man and a woman. The highest Presbyterian court ruled in 2000 that ministers may bless same-sex unions, but cannot marry those couples.
A lower church court in Cincinnati ruled on April 21, 2003, that Van Kuiken violated church law by marrying same-sex couples. The judicial commission of the Cincinnati Presbytery, a cluster of Presbyterian churches, issued the ruling in that trial — the church's first on the issue. At that time, Van Kuiken received a rebuke and was told to stop marrying same-sex couples.
Van Kuiken continued to marry gay couples, saying he was following his conscience and the teachings of Jesus. The voting body of the Presbytery ousted him in June. The commission later reinstated him, saying the Presbytery could not oust him while he was appealing his conviction.