The House of Bishops was clarifying the Church's response to new legislation allowing gay marriage in England and Wales, which will see the first ceremonies take place in March.
"Services of blessing should not be provided. Clergy should respond pastorally and sensitively in other ways," said the guidance, drawn up at a meeting on Thursday.
The same-sex marriage law bans the established Churches of England and Wales -- which believe marriage can only take place between a man and a woman -- from conducting ceremonies.
In their guidance, the bishops also said that people in a same-sex marriage should not be ordained as bishops, priests and deacons, nor should those in the ministry enter gay marriage.
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Gay men and lesbians are welcomed into the church, but the bishops said, "The House is not willing for those who are in a same-sex marriage to be ordained to any of the three orders of ministry.
The new law is largely a symbolic change, as civil partnerships for same-sex couples have been legal in Britain since 2005, giving them identical rights and responsibilities to heterosexual couples in a civil marriage.