The Church of England is considering using gender-neutral pronouns for God, reversing an age-old practice that has depicted God in the masculine pronoun.

The move will likely remove the use of he, him and his in reference to God in the Bible. 

The Anglican Church stated that this language has been “frequently” taken into consideration since 2014 by its Liturgical commission, which plans and provides guidance on the church service. 

The Faith and Order Commission, another body that provides theological guidance, has now been requested by that commission to investigate the situation.

The church did not offer details on the commission’s procedures or a timetable for its findings.

“There are absolutely no plans to abolish or substantially revise currently authorised liturgies, and no such changes could be made without extensive legislation,” the church said.

Christians have recognised “since ancient times that God is neither male nor female,” the church said in a statement. 

The authority is now considering whether the terminology used in its services may be improved to reflect that.

“The variety of ways of addressing and describing God found in scripture has not always been reflected in our worship,” the church statement said, “There has been greater interest in exploring new language since the introduction of our current forms of service in contemporary language more than 20 years ago.”