It is a “sad day for the Church of England,” Christian evangelist Franklin Graham said Tuesday following news of the church opting to hold experimental services to bless same-sex couples.

“It’s a sad day for the Church of England,” Graham began, explaining that “any decision that goes against the Word of God is wrong—even if it’s called a trial.”

“The Church of England decided to go forward with trial blessing services for same-sex couples. We need to pray for the Church around the world to return to the firm foundation of God’s Word,” he added.

Graham’s plea follows news of the General Synod supporting a plan to hold services devoted to blessing homosexual couples, albeit on an experimental basis.

According to the Christian Post:

The Bishop of Oxford proposed the amendment for these trial services, which narrowly passed in the House of Laity by one vote, the U.K.-based group The Christian Institute noted, adding that the House of Bishops supported the motion 23 to 10, with four abstentions. The House of Clergy also voted in favor, 100 to 93, with one abstention. The House of Laity also voted in favor, but by 104 to 100, with no abstentions.

Originally, the House of Bishops proposed that these services be formally authorized under a two-year process, requiring a two-thirds majority in each of the three Houses. However, the approval allows for the use of “prayers of blessing” in existing services as early as December, while the bishops discuss implementation.

Indeed, the Church of England’s decision comes in stark contrast to God’s word, which makes clear that God designed the institution of marriage to be between a man and a woman, as God created first Adam and then gave him Eve, the latter of whom God deemed a “helper fit for him.” The Hebrew word used is ezer, which is also used, in some instances, to refer to God in the context of our help (Psalm 33:20, for example). This further indicates that this is not a weak or lesser position, despite the narrative from modern-day feminists and leftists who reject these traditional realities in their so-called pursuit of “progress.”

Further, the institution of marriage reflects Jesus Christ, the bridegroom, and his love for the Church, the bride — a fact that demonstrates even further that the Church of England is willingly perverting a holy institution for the sake of modernity amid societal pressure.

The controversial decision also appears to contradict the tone of a 2014 House of Bishops Pastoral Guidance on Same Sex Marriage, in which they wrote that they were “all in agreement that the Christian understanding and doctrine of marriage as a lifelong union between one man and one woman remains unchanged.”