Moravian Church (EBSCO Research Starters)

A scholarly reference article on the Moravian Church (Unitas Fratrum), authored by Angela Harmon and published 2013. States the church is organised into some twenty-four self-governing provinces, each governed by its own Provincial Synod, with a Unity Synod meeting every seven years to oversee the church as a whole and decide doctrine and guidelines binding on all Moravians, and a Unity Board including one member from each provincial board. States the church allows each province to issue its own ruling on social issues including same-sex marriage, the ordination of LGBTQ plus clergy, birth control and abortion. States the Northern Province's 2014 synod voted to permit the ordination of gay and lesbian clergy regardless of marital status and called for a rite to solemnise marriage between same-sex couples, while the Southern Province's 2018 synod affirmed by resolution that it was the decision of pastors within their own congregations whether to perform same-sex marriages.