The Church of England is considering whether to stop referring to God as “he,” after priests asked to be allowed to use gender-neutral terms instead, The Guardian reported.

The church said it would launch a new commission on the matter in the spring. Any potential alterations, which would mark a departure from traditional teachings dating back millennia, would have to be approved by synod, the Church’s decision-making body.

A spokesperson for the Church of England said: “This is nothing new. 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.”

Conservative critics have hit back at the possibility of changes, with the Rev. Dr. Ian Paul telling the Telegraph that they would represent an abandonment of the Church’s own doctrine.

He said: “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.”