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Free Church of England | |
---|---|
Classification | Christian |
Orientation | Anglican |
Scripture | Christian Bible |
Theology | Low church Anglicanism |
Polity | Episcopal |
Associations | |
Full communion | Reformed Episcopal Church |
Origin | 1844 |
Separated from | Church of England |
Congregations | 18 |
Official website | fcofe |
The Free Church of England (FCE) is an Episcopal Church based in England. The church was founded when a number of congregations separated from the established Church of England in the middle of the 19th century. [1]
The doctrinal basis of the FCE, together with its Episcopal structures, organisation, worship, ministry and ethos are recognisably Anglican although it is not a member of the Anglican Communion. Its worship style follows that of the Book of Common Prayer or conservative modern-language forms that belong to the Anglican tradition.
The Church of England acknowledges the FCE as a church with valid orders and its canons permit a range of shared liturgical and ministerial activities.
The Free Church of England was founded principally by Evangelical Low Church clergy and congregations in response to what were perceived as attempts (inspired by the Oxford Movement) to re-introduce traditional Catholic practices into the Church of England, England's established church. The first congregation was formed by the Reverend James Shore at St John's Church Bridgetown, Totnes, Devon, in 1844. [2]
In the early years, clergy were often provided by the Countess of Huntingdon's Connexion which had its origins in the 18th-century Evangelical Revival. By the middle of the 19th century, the Connexion still retained many Anglican features such as the use of the surplice and the Book of Common Prayer . [3]
The first Bishop was Benjamin Price, who initially had oversight of all the new congregations.
In 1874 the FCE made contact with the newly organised Reformed Episcopal Church in North America. [4]
In 1956, the FCE published a revision of the Book of Common Prayer to form the primary text of the denomination's liturgy. The stated intention of the revision was to remove or explain "particular phrases and expressions" from the Church of England's 1662 edition of the prayer book that "afford at least plausible ground for the teaching and practice of the Sacerdotal and Romanising Party". [5]
In 2003, due to differences in theology and practice, two Bishops and ten congregations split from the main Church and formed the Evangelical Connexion of the Free Church of England. [6] Despite its name, the body is not part of the official denomination. Three of these congregations returned to the FCE – those in Exeter (which subsequently left the FCE again in April 2023 [7] ), Middlesbrough (which eventually closed in 2021) and Oswaldtwistle. Leigh-on-Sea returned to the FCE in 2023. Two churches in Farnham and Teddington having become independent altogether, the ECFCE currently has four churches in Fleetwood, Leeds, Tuebrook (Liverpool) and Workington. [8]
The Church holds a threefold ministry of deacons, presbyters and bishops and only ordains men. [9] Its orders have been recognised as valid by the Church of England since 2013. [10]
The provision of contemporary language liturgies has been approved by Convocation and a process of drafting and authorisation has begun. The church has continued to ordain bishops in the apostolic succession, with Moravian, Church of England and Malabar Independent Syrian Church bishops taking part on occasion. [11]
The united Church enjoyed modest growth in the first part of the 20th century, having at one point 90 congregations, but after the Second World War, like most other denominations in the UK, suffered a decline in numbers, though there has been a modest increase in the number of congregations in recent years. [12] The UK churches are located across two dioceses, the Northern Diocese and the Southern Diocese.
The current Bishop of the Northern Diocese is John Fenwick. Dr Fenwick also acts as Bishop Primus, an office that is elected annually at Convocation.
Churches in the Northern Diocese are located in the northern half of England, alongside Wales, Scotland and the Isle of Man, with a majority of these congregations in the Lancashire area. These churches include a congregation which worships in Farsi.
The current Bishop of the Southern Diocese is Paul Hunt.
Churches in the Southern Diocese are located in the southern half of England.
In January 2013 it was announced that the Church of England had recognised the holy orders of the Free Church of England. [13] This move followed approximately three years of contact between the bishops of the Free Church of England, the Council for Christian Unity and the Faith and Order Commission. The recognition was approved by the Council for Christian Unity and the Faith and Order Advisory Commission, and endorsed by the standing committee of the House of Bishops. John McLean, the then Bishop Primus of the Free Church of England, said: "We are grateful to the archbishops for this recognition of our common episcopal heritage. I pray that it will not be an end in itself, but will lead to new opportunities for proclaiming the Gospel." Christopher Hill, Bishop of Guildford and chair of the Church of England's Council for Christian Unity, said: "I hope there will be good relations between us and especially in those places where there is a Free Church of England congregation." [14]
Recognition of the orders of the Free Church of England under the Overseas and Other Clergy (Ministry and Ordination) Measure 1967 (No. 3) means that FCE clergy are eligible to be given permission under that measure to officiate in the Church of England, subject to such procedures and authorisations as may be required. A number have been so authorised while remaining clergy of the FCE in good standing. The measure also permits FCE bishops to ordain and perform other episcopal functions at the request of the bishop of a diocese in the provinces of Canterbury and York, subject to the consent of the relevant archbishop. [15]
The FCE is in communion with the Reformed Episcopal Church, which itself is now a subjurisdiction of the Anglican Church in North America. Within the UK the FCE is a member of the Free Churches Group [16] and Churches Together in England. From 1992 to 1997 the FCE was in official dialogue with the Church of England, which the 1998 Lambeth Conference saw as a sign of hope. [17] It is a Designated Church under the Church of England's Ecumenical Relations Measure 1988. [18]
FCE bishops have attended the enthronements of George Carey, Rowan Williams and Justin Welby as Archbishops of Canterbury. Since 2013, the Free Church of England has been in dialogue with the conservative Old Catholics of the Union of Scranton; [19] [20] former FCE Deacon Calvin Robinson sought ordination in the Union of Scranton's Nordic Catholic Church while minister-in-charge at the FCE's Christ Church, Harlesden. [21]
The FCE has been involved in the realignments within the Anglican Communion. In 2009 the church was represented at the launch of the Fellowship of Confessing Anglicans (UK and Ireland), the local expression of the Global Anglican Future Conference (GAFCON) movement inaugurated the previous year in Jerusalem.[ citation needed ] The FCE has been represented at the subsequent GAFCON Conferences – Nairobi (2013), Jerusalem (2018) and Kigali (2023). Its bishops are members of the GAFCON GBE Bishops’ Forum and the Bishop Primus is a member of the GAFCON GBE Regional Council.
In February 2016, Foley Beach, Archbishop of the Anglican Church in North America, signed an Instrument declaring the Anglican Church in North America to be in full communion with the Free Church of England, and recognising "their congregations, clergy, and sacraments, while pledging to work together for the proclamation of the Good News of Jesus Christ and the making of his disciples throughout the world". Archbishop Beach's declaration was ratified by the provincial council of the ACNA in June 2016. [22]
The Anglican Communion is the third largest Christian communion after the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox churches. Formally founded in 1867 in London, the communion has more than 85 million members within the Church of England and other autocephalous national and regional churches in full communion. The traditional origins of Anglican doctrine are summarised in the Thirty-nine Articles (1571) and The Books of Homilies. The archbishop of Canterbury in England acts as a focus of unity, recognised as primus inter pares, but does not exercise authority in Anglican provinces outside of the Church of England. Most, but not all, member churches of the communion are the historic national or regional Anglican churches.
The Church of Ireland is a Christian church in Ireland, and an autonomous province of the Anglican Communion. It is organised on an all-Ireland basis and is the second-largest Christian church on the island after the Roman Catholic Church. Like other Anglican churches, it has retained elements of pre-Reformation practice, notably its episcopal polity, while rejecting the primacy of the pope.
The Scottish Episcopal Church is a Christian denomination in Scotland. Scotland's third largest church, the Scottish Episcopal Church has 303 local congregations. It is also an ecclesiastical province of the Anglican Communion.
Since the 1990s, the Anglican Communion has struggled with controversy regarding homosexuality in the church. In 1998, the 13th Lambeth Conference of Anglican bishops passed a resolution "rejecting homosexual practice as incompatible with Scripture". However, this is not legally binding. "Like all Lambeth Conference resolutions, it is not legally binding on all provinces of the Communion, including the Church of England, though it commends an essential and persuasive view of the attitude of the Communion." "Anglican national churches in Brazil, South Africa, South India, New Zealand and Canada have taken steps toward approving and celebrating same-sex relationships amid strong resistance among other national churches within the 80 million-member global body. The Episcopal Church in the U.S. has allowed same-sex marriage since 2015, and the Scottish Episcopal Church has allowed same-sex marriage since 2017." In 2017, clergy within the Church of England indicated their inclination towards supporting same-sex marriage by dismissing a bishops' report that explicitly asserted the exclusivity of church weddings to unions between a man and a woman. At General Synod in 2019, the Church of England announced that same-gender couples may remain recognised as married after one spouse experiences a gender transition. In 2023, the Church of England announced that it would authorise "prayers of thanksgiving, dedication and for God's blessing for same-sex couples."
The Episcopal Church of Jerusalem and the Middle East is a province of the Anglican Communion. The primate of the church is called President Bishop and represents the Church at the international Anglican Communion Primates' Meetings. The Central Synod of the church is its deliberative and legislative organ.
The Diocese of Sydney is a diocese in Sydney, within the Province of New South Wales of the Anglican Church of Australia. The majority of the diocese is evangelical and low church in tradition.
The Anglican Church of Australia, originally known as the Church of England in Australia and Tasmania, is a Christian church in Australia and an autonomous church of the worldwide Anglican Communion. It is the second largest church in Australia after the Roman Catholic Church.
The Church of the Province of West Africa is a province of the Anglican Communion, covering 17 dioceses in eight countries of West Africa, specifically in Cameroon, Cape Verde, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Liberia, Senegal and Sierra Leone. Ghana is the country with most dioceses, now numbering 11.
The Anglican Church of Southern Africa, known until 2006 as the Church of the Province of Southern Africa, is the province of the Anglican Communion in the southern part of Africa. The church has twenty-five dioceses, of which twenty-one are located in South Africa, and one each in Eswatini, Lesotho, Namibia and Saint Helena.
The Reformed Episcopal Church (REC) is an Anglican Church. It was founded in 1873 in New York City by George David Cummins, a former bishop of the Protestant Episcopal Church.
The Province of the Episcopal Church of South Sudan, formerly known as the Episcopal Church of Sudan, is a province of the Anglican Communion located in South Sudan. The province consists of eight Internal Provinces and 61 dioceses. The current archbishop and primate is Justin Badi Arama. It received the current naming after the inception of the Province of the Episcopal Church of Sudan, on 30 July 2017.
The Anglican ministry is both the leadership and agency of Christian service in the Anglican Communion. Ministry commonly refers to the office of ordained clergy: the threefold order of bishops, priests and deacons. More accurately, Anglican ministry includes many laypeople who devote themselves to the ministry of the church, either individually or in lower/assisting offices such as lector, acolyte, sub-deacon, Eucharistic minister, cantor, musicians, parish secretary or assistant, warden, vestry member, etc. Ultimately, all baptized members of the church are considered to partake in the ministry of the Body of Christ.
The Anglican Church of Kenya (ACK) is a province of the Anglican Communion, and it is composed by 41 dioceses. The current Leader and Archbishop of Kenya is Jackson Ole Sapit. The Anglican Church of Kenya claims 5 million total members. According to a study published in the Journal of Anglican Studies and by Cambridge University Press, the ACK claims 5 million adherents, with no official definition of membership, with nearly 2 million officially affiliated members, and 310,000 active baptised members. The church became part of the Province of East Africa in 1960, but Kenya and Tanzania were divided into separate provinces in 1970.
The Anglican Church of Tanzania is a province of the Anglican Communion based in Dodoma. It consists of 28 dioceses headed by their respective bishops. It seceded from the Province of East Africa in 1970, which it shared with Kenya. The current primate and archbishop is Maimbo Mndolwa, enthroned on 20 May 2018.
The Anglican realignment is a movement among some Anglicans to align themselves under new or alternative oversight within or outside the Anglican Communion. This movement is primarily active in parts of the Episcopal Church in the United States and the Anglican Church of Canada. Two of the major events that contributed to the movement were the 2002 decision of the Diocese of New Westminster in Canada to authorise a rite of blessing for same-sex unions, and the nomination of two openly gay priests in 2003 to become bishops. Jeffrey John, an openly gay priest with a long-time partner, was appointed to be the next Bishop of Reading in the Church of England and the General Convention of the Episcopal Church ratified the election of Gene Robinson, an openly gay non-celibate man, as Bishop of New Hampshire. Jeffrey John ultimately declined the appointment due to pressure.
The Anglican Church in North America (ACNA) is a Christian denomination in the Anglican tradition in the United States and Canada. It also includes ten congregations in Mexico, two mission churches in Guatemala, and a missionary diocese in Cuba. Headquartered in Ambridge, Pennsylvania, the church reported more than 1,000 congregations and more than 128,000 members in 2023. The first archbishop of the ACNA was Robert Duncan, who was succeeded by Foley Beach in 2014. In June 2024, the College of Bishops elected Steve Wood as the third archbishop of the ACNA. Authority was transferred to him during the closing Eucharist at the ACNA Assembly 2024 conference in Latrobe, Pennsylvania.
The Global Anglican Future Conference (GAFCON) is a series of conferences of conservative Anglican bishops and leaders, the first of which was held in Jerusalem from 22 to 29 June 2008 to address the growing controversy of the divisions in the Anglican Communion, the rise of secularism, as well as concerns with HIV/AIDS and poverty. As a result of the conference, the Jerusalem Declaration was issued and the Global Fellowship of Confessing Anglicans was created. The conference participants also called for the creation of the Anglican Church in North America as an alternative to both the Episcopal Church in the United States and the Anglican Church of Canada, and declared that recognition by the Archbishop of Canterbury is not necessary to Anglican identity.
The Global Fellowship of Confessing Anglicans is a communion of conservative Anglican churches that formed in 2008 in response to ongoing theological disputes in the worldwide Anglican Communion. Conservative Anglicans met in 2008 at the Global Anglican Future Conference, creating the Jerusalem Declaration and establishing the Fellowship of Confessing Anglicans (FCA), which was rebranded as GAFCON in 2017.
The Church of Confessing Anglicans Aotearoa/New Zealand (CCAANZ) is an evangelical Anglican denomination in New Zealand. It is not a member of the Anglican Communion as recognised by the current Archbishop of Canterbury, but is recognised by the Global Anglican Future Conference (GAFCON). The church consists of 20 parishes, some of which consist of clergy and church members who left the Anglican Church in Aotearoa, New Zealand and Polynesia after it allowed bishops to authorise blessings of same-sex marriages, and some of which were newly established at the time of the formation of the church.
The Anglican Network in Europe (ANiE) is a Christian denomination in the Anglican tradition with churches in Europe. Formed as part of the worldwide Anglican realignment, it is a member jurisdiction of the Global Fellowship of Confessing Anglicans (GAFCON) and is under the primatial oversight of the chairman of the GAFCON Primates Council. ANiE runs in parallel with the Free Church of England (RECUK). GAFCON recognizes ANiE as a "proto-province" operating separately from the Church of England, the Scottish Episcopal Church, the Church in Wales and other Anglican Communion jurisdictions in Great Britain and the European continent. ANiE is the body hierarchically above the preexisting Anglican Mission in England; the former is the equivalent of a province whilst the latter is a convocation, the equivalent of a diocese.