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U.K.’s Methodist Church Adopts Same-Sex Marriage in Overwhelming Majority

The church is the largest Christian denomination in the United Kingdom to approve it.

On the last day of Pride Month, the Methodist Church of Great Britain has approved same-sex marriage, The Guardian reports. The church approved the measure at a Methodist conference Wednesday, with a final vote count of 254 to 46 votes. The church will modify its definition of marriage, shifting it from gender roles to “a lifelong union in body, mind, and spirit of two people who freely enter it.” The vote makes the Methodist church, the second-largest Christian denomination in the U.K., the largest religious denomination to support same-sex marriage. Opponents said the church was adhering too closely to the modern view of marriage versus the religious community’s view, which perceives marriage as between a man and woman.

The first same-sex marriages in the church are set to take place in the fall. The church also passed a measure recognizing unmarried couples who live together.