The issue was hotly debated at the last meeting of the Council of Bishops. The discussion focused on whether the rituals and liturgy of the Church could be used to marry same-sex couples.
Allowing civil marriages to take place in churches was also rejected.
Pastors may pray for couples who have been married in a civil ceremony as long as the prayer is not in the form of a blessing.
Parliament describes the situation in the following manner. "Only if and when the liturgy of the Church has been changed, will priests be able to marry lesbian and homosexual couples in the Church of Norway."
