Scotland's Anglican Church stands in line to become the first Christian body in Great Britain to sanction gay and lesbian marriages. A dissident group within the Scottish Episcopal Church has been preparing a methodology for special services to be used for formally blessing same-sex couples in church.

In August the world-wide Lambeth conference of Anglican bishops voted that homosexual relations are incompatible with the Christian scriptures. The Scottish move could increase pressures on the Church of England to adopt an inclusive approach same-sex unions.

The Scottish church's liturgy committee is currently reviewing all rituals surrounding Christian marriage. Congregations in each of the church's seven dioceses will be presented with the idea.

Edinburgh's Canon Ian Paton, who convenes the denomination's liturgy committee, said the issue was likely to prove problematic. Paton, who is Rector of Old St Paul's said: "This is a live issue for a number of people in my congregation. There are a number of gay couples here; it is about their life."

Derek Rawcliffe, former Bishop of Glasgow, now admits that, in 1997, he blessed four gay couples even though it was against church law.

The Scottish Episcopal Church is part of the Anglican communion, alongside the Church of England and the Church in Wales. It is separate from the Church of Scotland, which is Presbyterian.

Richard Holloway leads the 50,000 Scottish Episcopalians. Speaking this year to the Lesbian and Gay Christian Movement he said: "We have recently abandoned the text's tyranny over women as we abandoned its justification of slavery and soon will abandon its ignorant misunderstanding of homosexuality."