With a vote of 254 to 46, the British Methodist Church (BMC) has resolved to allow same sex marriage in its fold.

The decision was taken at the conference of the church held on June 30.

However, the church said ministers opposed to the decision would not be forced to join couples of the same sex.

BMC has about 164,000 members across 4,000 churches.

The motion required a change to the definition of marriage to be “a lifelong union in body, mind and spirit of two people who freely enter it.”

But the approval means BMC now has two definitions of marriage. The first is – “marriage can only be tolerated between a man and a woman” and the second – “marriage can be between any two people.”

Church of England and Roam Catholic Church forbid same sex marriage. However, United Reformed Church, Scottish Episcopal Church, the General Assembly of Unitarian, Free Christian Churches and Quakers in Britain permit it.

President of Methodist Conference, Rev. Sonia Hicks, said after the conference, “As we move forward after the historic day for our Church, we must remember to continue to hold each other in prayer, and to support each other respecting our differences.”