Free Church of England
Encyclopedia
The Free Church of England (FCE) is an Anglican
Anglicanism
Anglicanism is a tradition within Christianity comprising churches with historical connections to the Church of England or similar beliefs, worship and church structures. The word Anglican originates in ecclesia anglicana, a medieval Latin phrase dating to at least 1246 that means the English...

 church which separated from the established Church of England
Church of England
The Church of England is the officially established Christian church in England and the Mother Church of the worldwide Anglican Communion. The church considers itself within the tradition of Western Christianity and dates its formal establishment principally to the mission to England by St...

 in the course of the 19th century. The church was founded by evangelical
Evangelicalism
Evangelicalism is a Protestant Christian movement which began in Great Britain in the 1730s and gained popularity in the United States during the series of Great Awakenings of the 18th and 19th century.Its key commitments are:...

 clergy and congregations in response to the rise of Anglo-Catholicism
Anglo-Catholicism
The terms Anglo-Catholic and Anglo-Catholicism describe people, beliefs and practices within Anglicanism that affirm the Catholic, rather than Protestant, heritage and identity of the Anglican churches....

. The first congregations were formed in 1844. In the early years ministers were often provided by the Countess of Huntingdon's Connexion
Countess of Huntingdon's Connexion
The Countess of Huntingdon's Connexion is a small society of evangelical churches, founded in 1783 by Selina, Countess of Huntingdon as a result of the Evangelical Revival. For years it was strongly associated with the Calvinist Methodist movement of George Whitefield...

 which had its origins in the 18th century Evangelical Revival. In 1863 the Annual Conference of the Countess of Huntingdon's Connexion
Countess of Huntingdon's Connexion
The Countess of Huntingdon's Connexion is a small society of evangelical churches, founded in 1783 by Selina, Countess of Huntingdon as a result of the Evangelical Revival. For years it was strongly associated with the Calvinist Methodist movement of George Whitefield...

 created a Constitution for the new congregations under the title The Free Church of England (though the name had been in use since the 1840s). The Constitution made provision for the creation of Diocese
Diocese
A diocese is the district or see under the supervision of a bishop. It is divided into parishes.An archdiocese is more significant than a diocese. An archdiocese is presided over by an archbishop whose see may have or had importance due to size or historical significance...

s, each to be under the oversight of a bishop
Bishop
A bishop is an ordained or consecrated member of the Christian clergy who is generally entrusted with a position of authority and oversight. Within the Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox Churches, in the Assyrian Church of the East, in the Independent Catholic Churches, and in the...

. 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
Reformed Episcopal Church
The Reformed Episcopal Church is an Anglican church in the United States and Canada and a founding member of the Anglican Church in North America...

 in North America. In 1876 an REC bishop from Canada, Edward Cridge, came to the UK and consecrated Benjamin Price and John Sugden in the historic succession. The following year a branch of the REC was founded in the UK. The two Churches lived in parallel until 1927, when the Free Church of England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

 united with the UK branch of the Reformed Episcopal Church
Reformed Episcopal Church
The Reformed Episcopal Church is an Anglican church in the United States and Canada and a founding member of the Anglican Church in North America...

. The full name of the united Church since 1927 is: The Free Church of England, otherwise called the Reformed Episcopal Church in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

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 a slow decline set in. In 2003 two bishops and several the clergy left the FCE, because of their objection to the FCE's increasing openness to engagement with other Churches, and came together as a small group of congregations calling themselves the Evangelical Connexion of the Free Church of England
Evangelical Connexion of the Free Church of England
The Evangelical Connexion of the Free Church of England came into being in 2003. Its first bishops — Bishops Barry Shucksmith and Arthur Bentley-Taylor— had been outspoken in their criticisms of the direction that the FCE was taking regarding ecumenism in particular, and were removed from the body...

.

The Free Church of England is a conventional Anglican Church body, worshipping in the Low Church
Low church
Low church is a term of distinction in the Church of England or other Anglican churches initially designed to be pejorative. During the series of doctrinal and ecclesiastic challenges to the established church in the 16th and 17th centuries, commentators and others began to refer to those groups...

 tradition and holding to the principles of the Book of Common Prayer
Book of Common Prayer
The Book of Common Prayer is the short title of a number of related prayer books used in the Anglican Communion, as well as by the Continuing Anglican, "Anglican realignment" and other Anglican churches. The original book, published in 1549 , in the reign of Edward VI, was a product of the English...

 and the Thirty-Nine Articles
Thirty-Nine Articles
The Thirty-Nine Articles of Religion are the historically defining statements of doctrines of the Anglican church with respect to the controversies of the English Reformation. First established in 1563, the articles served to define the doctrine of the nascent Church of England as it related to...

. Presbyters and deacons wear surplice, scarf and hood; bishops wear rochet and chimere. The provision of modern 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
Apostolic Succession
Apostolic succession is a doctrine, held by some Christian denominations, which asserts that the chosen successors of the Twelve Apostles, from the first century to the present day, have inherited the spiritual, ecclesiastical and sacramental authority, power, and responsibility that were...

, with Moravian, Church of England and Indian Orthodox bishops taking part on occasion. The presiding bishop is chosen annually by Convocation and takes the title Bishop Primus. Only baptized males are ordained to the Orders of bishop, presbyter and deacon, or admitted as Lay Readers. In 2010, there were 29 ordained ministers and 1,155 communicant members of the FCE in England

The Free Church of England has two dioceses in England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

 (designated North and South) and a church in Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...

 – The Church of Christ the Saviour, St. Petersburg. There are currently seventeen churches in England which are located as follows,
Northern Diocese
  • St George's Church, Mill Hill, Blackburn, Lancs
  • The John Knowles Memorial Church, Hoyland
    Hoyland
    Hoyland is a town near Barnsley in Northern England. The town developed from the hamlets of Upper Hoyland, Hoyland, and Hoyland Common.The town has also been known as Nether Hoyland. That name was given to it when to prevent confusion with High Hoyland. When the urban district council was formed...

    , S.Yorks
  • Emmanuel Church, Morecambe
    Morecambe
    Morecambe is a resort town and civil parish within the City of Lancaster in Lancashire, England. As of 2001 it has a resident population of 38,917. It faces into Morecambe Bay...

    , Lancs
  • Holy Trinity Church, Oswaldtwistle
    Oswaldtwistle
    Oswaldtwistle is a town within the Hyndburn borough of Lancashire, England. It lies on the course of the Leeds and Liverpool Canal, east-southeast of Blackburn and is contiguous to Accrington.-History:...

    , Lancs
  • St David's Church, Preston, Lancashire
  • St John's Church, Tottington
    Tottington
    Tottington could be*Tottington, Greater Manchester*Tottington, Norfolk*Great Tottington, in Kent...

    , Gtr Manchester
  • Christ Church, Liscard
    Liscard
    Liscard is an area of the town of Wallasey, in the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral, Merseyside, England. The most centrally located of Wallasey's townships, it is the main shopping area of the town, with many shops located in the Cherry Tree Shopping Centre...

    , Wallasey, Merseyside
Southern Diocese
  • St Jude's Church, Balham
    Balham
    Balham is a district of London, EnglandBalham can also refer to:*Balham, Ardennes, a commune in France*Balham station, railway and tube station in Balham, London*Balaam, a Biblical figure...

    , London
  • St Andrew's Church, Willenhall
    Willenhall
    Willenhall is a town in the Black Country area of the West Midlands of England, with a population of approximately 40,000. It is situated between Wolverhampton and Walsall, historically in the county of Staffordshire...

    , Bentley, West Midlands
  • Emmanuel Church, Saltley
    Saltley
    Saltley is an inner-city area of Birmingham, east of the city centre. The area is currently part of the Washwood Heath ward, although formerly a feature of the Nechells ward...

    , Birmingham
  • Christ Church, Broadstairs
    Broadstairs
    Broadstairs is a coastal town on the Isle of Thanet in the Thanet district of east Kent, England, about south-east of London. It is part of the civil parish of Broadstairs and St Peter's, which includes St. Peter's and had a population in 2001 of about 24,000. Situated between Margate and...

    , Kent
  • Christ Church, Exeter
    Exeter
    Exeter is a historic city in Devon, England. It lies within the ceremonial county of Devon, of which it is the county town as well as the home of Devon County Council. Currently the administrative area has the status of a non-metropolitan district, and is therefore under the administration of the...

    , Devon
  • Christ Church, Exmouth
    Exmouth
    Exmouth is a town in Devon. It may also refer to:Places*Exmouth Peninsula in Southern Chile*Exmouth, Western AustraliaPeople*Edward Pellew, 1st Viscount Exmouth , a British naval officerShips...

    , Devon
  • Christ Church, Harlesden
    Harlesden
    Harlesden is an area in the London Borough of Brent, northwest London, UK. Its main focal point is the Jubilee Clock which commemorates Queen Victoria's Golden Jubilee....

    , London
  • St Jude's Church, Walsall
    Walsall
    Walsall is a large industrial town in the West Midlands of England. It is located northwest of Birmingham and east of Wolverhampton. Historically a part of Staffordshire, Walsall is a component area of the West Midlands conurbation and part of the Black Country.Walsall is the administrative...

    , West Midlands
  • Christ Church, Willesborough
    Willesborough
    Willesborough is a residential suburb on the eastern side of Ashford, Kent, England.-The area:The South Willesborough Dykes area, on the west bank of the East Stour river, is an area of sheep fields drained by dykes. The area is designated as the South Willesborough Dykes Site of Nature...

    , Ashford, Kent


Some of the Churches have youth activities of various kinds. Each congregation elects Churchwardens and Delegates who, together with the clergy, constitute the Diocesan Synods and annual Convocation.

The Central Board of Trustees for the denomination, The Free Church of England Central Trust, operates as a registered UK charity (No. 271151) and is a company limited by guarantee
Company limited by guarantee
In British and Irish company law, a private company limited by guarantee is an alternative type of corporation used primarily for non-profit organisations that require legal personality. A guarantee company does not usually have a share capital or shareholders, but instead has members who act as...

 with no share capital. It holds as loans funds deposited by the churches for investment and lends money and makes grants to further the objects and work of the FCE.

The FCE is a member of the UK Free Churches Group, Churches Together in England
Churches Together in England
Churches Together in England is an ecumenical organisation and the national instrument for the Christian church in England. It helps the different Churches to work together instead of separately so that they can be more effective and credible...

 and the Evangelical Alliance
Evangelical Alliance
The Evangelical Alliance is a London-based charitable organization founded in 1846. It has a claimed representation of over 1,000,000 evangelical Christians in the United Kingdom and is the oldest alliance of evangelical Christians in the world....

. Many of the Churches are members of local Churches Together groups or the equivalent. 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. It is a Designated Church under the Church of England
Church of England
The Church of England is the officially established Christian church in England and the Mother Church of the worldwide Anglican Communion. The church considers itself within the tradition of Western Christianity and dates its formal establishment principally to the mission to England by St...

's Ecumenical Canons. FCE bishops have attended the enthronements of George Carey
George Carey
George Leonard Carey, Baron Carey of Clifton PC, FKC is a former Archbishop of Canterbury, holding the office from 1991 to 2002. He was the first modern holder of the office not to have attended Oxford or Cambridge University...

 and Rowan Williams
Rowan Williams
Rowan Douglas Williams FRSL, FBA, FLSW is an Anglican bishop, poet and theologian. He is the 104th and current Archbishop of Canterbury, Metropolitan of the Province of Canterbury and Primate of All England, offices he has held since early 2003.Williams was previously Bishop of Monmouth and...

 as Archbishops of Canterbury.

The Church is currently considering how best to respond to the current realignments within the Anglican Communion
Anglican Communion
The Anglican Communion is an international association of national and regional Anglican churches in full communion with the Church of England and specifically with its principal primate, the Archbishop of Canterbury...

.

External links

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