National Cathedral to wed same-sex couples

Same-sex couples have lined up to marry in city halls Washington National Cathedral is the site of presidential funerals Four presidents have had inaugural prayers there It is also a place of worship for the Episcopal Church

(CNN) -- When laws went into effect in three states for same-sex couples to marry, many were quick to line up at their city halls to exchange vows. Now they may do so in one of the nation's most prominent churches -- the Washington National Cathedral.

Most Americans know the house of God, also called the Cathedral Church of St. Peter and St. Paul, as a place where sacred rites are carried out on behalf of the nation. It has been host to the funerals of numerous presidents and of inaugural prayer services for four presidents, including Barack Obama.

But it is also an active house of worship in the Episcopalian Church, said the Cathedral's dean, Gary Hall. The denomination has developed a blessing rite that mirrors current wedding ceremonies for heterosexual couples and allows each bishop to decide to allow same-sex marriages in their churches or not.

Bishop Mariann Budde decided to allow the rite, since same-sex marriage is legal in the District of Columbia and now in neighboring Maryland as well, Hall said.

.cnnArticleGalleryNav{border:1px solid #000;cursor:pointer;float:left;height:25px;text-align:center;width:25px} .cnnArticleGalleryNavOn{background-color:#C03;border:1px solid #000;float:left;height:25px;text-align:center;width:20px} .cnnArticleGalleryNavDisabled{background-color:#222;border:1px solid #000;color:#666;float:left;height:25px;text-align:center;width:25px} .cnnArticleExpandableTarget{background-color:#000;display:none;position:absolute} .cnnArticlePhotoContainer{height:122px;width:214px} .cnnArticleBoxImage{cursor:pointer;height:122px;padding-top:0;width:214px} .cnnArticleGalleryCaptionControl{background-color:#000;color:#FFF} .cnnArticleGalleryCaptionControlText{cursor:pointer;float:right;font-size:10px;padding:3px 10px 3px 3px} .cnnArticleGalleryPhotoContainer cite{background:none repeat scroll 0 0 #000;bottom:48px;color:#FFF;height:auto;left:420px;opacity:.7;position:absolute;width:200px;padding:10px} .cnnArticleGalleryClose{background-color:#fff;display:block;text-align:right} .cnnArticleGalleryCloseButton{cursor:pointer} .cnnArticleGalleryNavPrevNext span{background-color:#444;color:#CCC;cursor:pointer;float:left;height:23px;text-align:center;width:26px;padding:4px 0 0} .cnnArticleGalleryNavPrevNextDisabled span{background-color:#444;color:#666;float:left;height:23px;text-align:center;width:25px;padding:4px 0 0} .cnnVerticalGalleryPhoto{padding-right:68px;width:270px;margin:0 auto} .cnnGalleryContainer{float:left;clear:left;margin:0 0 20px;padding:0 0 0 10px} The U.S. Supreme Court this month will begin considering several cases involving same-sex marriage, including one testing the constitutionality of California's Proposition 8, which says "only marriage between a man and a woman is valid or recognized in California." Above, Frank Capley-Alfano and Joe Capley-Alfano celebrate outside of San Francisco City Hall in February after a federal appeals court blocked the law. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images) Washington Gov. Chris Gregoire celebrates after signing marriage equality legislation into law earlier this year. Voters there approved same-sex marriage on Election Day. (Photo by Stephen Brashear/Getty Images) In 2010, television reporter Roby Chavez, right, shares a moment with gay rights activist Frank Kameny during Chavez' and Chris Roe's wedding ceremony in the nation's capital. (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images) Phyllis Siegel, 76, kisses her wife, Connie Kopelov, 84, after exchanging vows at the Manhattan City Clerk's office last year. (Photo by Michael Appleton-Pool/Getty Images) Michael Miller, left, and Ross Zachs marry on the West Hartford Town Hall steps after same-sex marriages became legal in Connecticut in 2008. A shift in beliefs was captured in a recent Pew Center poll that found 48% of Americans now favor same-sex marriage. Just four years ago, only 39% felt that way. (Photo by Christopher Capozziello/Getty Images) Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley, center, shakes hands with Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller after signing a same-sex marriage bill. The law was challenged, but voters approved marriage equality in a November referendum. (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images) Lara Ramsey, left, and her partner of eight years, Jane Lohmann, play with their 7-month-old son, Wyatt Ramsey-Lohmann. The two wed in 2004 after Massachusetts approved same-sex marriage. (Photo by Angela Jimenez/Getty Images) Beth Robinson of the Vermont Freedom to Marry Task Force was among those who fought for marriage equality in Vermont in 2009. (Photo by Jordan Silverman/Getty Images) Amy Klein-Matheny, left, and her wife Jennifer were married in 2009 in Iowa after same-sex couples were allowed to marry there. (Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images) Same-sex marriage amendments in U.S. Same-sex marriage amendments in the U.S. Same-sex marriage amendments in the U.S. Same-sex marriage amendments in the U.S. Same-sex marriage amendments in the U.S. Same-sex marriage amendments in the U.S. Same-sex marriage amendments in the U.S. Same-sex marriage amendments in the U.S. Same-sex marriage amendments in the U.S. HIDE CAPTION << < 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 > >> Same-sex marriage amendments in U.S.

It was Budde's decision that led Hall to create the same-sex rite.

He sees it as "another historic step toward greater equality."

The states of Washington, Maine and Maryland all legalized same-sex marriages in referendums during the 2012 general election. It was already legal in the nation's capital.

In March, the Supreme Court will hear oral arguments in two appeals cases related to same-sex marriage -- California's Proposition 8, which bans same-sex marriage and the federal Defense of Marriage Act, which denies federal benefits to same-sex couples.

The American Episcopal Church is intimately connected with the Church of England, which last week approved the advancement of male priests in same-sex committed relationships to the position of bishop. But those relationships must be celibate.

City halls in Baltimore; Portland, Maine; and Seattle erupted in celebration as the first same-sex couples tied the knot in December and January. Seattle's ceremony included 133 couples, who walked outside and down rain-slickened steps afterward, where they were greeted by cheers, confetti and a brass band celebrating the first day same-sex couples could marry in Washington.

To wed at the National Cathedral, one member of the couple must be baptized into the Church, and both must commit to a Christian marriage of "lifelong faithfulness, love, forbearance and mutual comfort."