A couple, Natasha and Benjamin Bibby made the request for a blue granite gravestone in memory of their son, Kai-Jay at St Saviours in Ringley.
But the Chancellor of Manchester, Geoffrey Tattersall QC applied strict church rules in rejecting the design.
He said: "The stars, heart, hand and footprints would over-sentimentalise the memorial in a way which is undesirable and unnecessary."
Mrs Bibby said she saw the the heart-shaped stone as a "symbol of love".
Premier has contacted the Diocese of Manchester for a full statement.
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