God could be referred to in ‘non-gendered’ terms during Church of England services for the first time, despite Jesus using words like ‘Father’, ‘Lord’, ‘He’ and ‘Him’ to describe God.

Bishops have announced they are launching a major ‘project on gendered language’ this spring.

It may suggest that priests can stop using the male pronouns ‘He’ and ‘Him’ when referring to God in some prayers, or even that they can drop the famous phrase ‘our Father’ from the start of the Lord’s Prayer.

The Bishop of Lichfield, the Rt Rev Michael Ipgrave, said: “We have been exploring the use of gendered language in relation to God for several years, in collaboration with the Faith and Order Commission. After some dialogue between the two Commissions in this area, a new joint project on gendered language will begin this spring. In common with other potential changes to authorised liturgical provision, changing the wording and number of authorised forms of absolution would require a full Synodical process for approval.”