THE Church in Wales has passed a bill that will allow same-sex couples to have their marriages blessed.

However, same-sex couples will not be married by the church.

Individual members of the clergy will be able to opt out of giving their blessings to same-sex marriages.

The three orders of the church governing body, the bishops, the clergy, and the laity, met in Newport at the International Convention Centre Wales today to vote on the bill.

The bishops passed the bill unanimously, while the clergy voted 28 to 12 in favour with two abstentions.

The laity voted 49 to 10 in favour of the bill, with one abstention.

Now the bill has passed, it will be trialled for five years.

The Bishop of St Asaph, Gregory Cameron, who introduced the bill, said: “I come out of this debate with no sense of triumph but believing that the Church in Wales has done the right thing under God for the LGBTQIA+ community.

"The Church has spoken decisively today in favour of blessings.

"There is a journey still to be taken but I hope that we can do it together with all the wings of the Church.”

The meeting was live-streamed on the Church in Wales website and on their Youtube channel.

Blessings are supposed to signify that the marriage is approved by God, making the passing of the bill a significant moment in history.

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Ahead of the bill being passed, bishops said that the bill was a “step on the way towards repentance of a history in the Church which has demonised and persecuted gay and lesbian people, forcing them into fear, dishonesty and sometimes even hypocrisy, and which has precluded them from living publicly and honestly lives of committed partnership.

“Approval of this rite would be stating that the Church in Wales accepts that the loving and faithful commitment of two persons of the same sex, aspiring to life-long fidelity and mutual comfort, and who have made a commitment in civil partnership or marriage, is worthy of acceptance by the Church by asking God’s blessing upon their commitment.”

The bill was one of the first items on the agenda at the International Convention Centre Wales, with it to continue on Wednesday, September 8.