Anglican church leaders are mulling a ban on all references to God as male for fear of offending transgender and non-binary worshippers.
The Church of England could soon drop references to the lord as "he" and "father" in favour of more "inclusive language."
The church's leadership has been "exploring the use of gendered language in relation to God for several years," said the Bishop of Lichfield, the Right Reverend Dr Michael Ipgrave.
"After some dialogue between the two commissions in this area, a new joint project on gendered language will begin this spring," Ipgrave said. "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."
But some voices in the church were unhappy at the idea of praying to a gender-neutral 'holy non-birthing parent'.
"The fact that God is called ‘Father’ can’t be substituted by ‘Mother’ without changing meaning, nor can it be gender-neutralised to ‘Parent’ without loss of meaning," said Reverend Dr Ian Paul. "Fathers and mothers are not interchangeable but relate to their offspring in different ways."
The church tried to downplay the row, insisting that any changes to the liturgy would require "legislation" by the ruling General Synod.
"This is nothing new," a spokesperson insisted. "Christians have recognised since ancient times that God is neither male nor female, yet the variety of ways of addressing and describing God found in scripture has not always been reflected in our worship."