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 establishedChurch 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.
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 the adoption of High Church practices by the FCE, two bishops and ten congregations split from the main church and formed the Evangelical Connexion of the Free Church of England.[6] Three of these congregations returned to the FCE - those in Exeter (which subsequently left the FCE again in April 2023[7]), Middlesbrough and Oswaldtwistle. Two churches in Farnham and Teddington having become independent altogether, the ECFCE currently has five churches in Fleetwood, Leeds, Leigh-on-Sea, Tuebrook (Liverpool) and Workington.[8]
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 Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church bishops taking part on occasion.[11]
Dioceses
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 18 UK churches are located as follows.
Christ Church in Crowborough, East Sussex was founded in 1879 and remained in use by the Free Church of England until the early 21st century. It is now an independent Evangelical church.[24]
Emmanuel Anglican Church, Tunbridge Wells, was founded in 2016 and joined the FCE in 2019. Its minister, Peter Sanlon, had previously been a Church of England minister. In May 2021 the church announced it was withdrawing from the FCE following concerns about governance in the FCE and the conduct of Bishop John Fenwick.[25] The same decision was taken by Christ Church, Exmouth (founded 1896; minister Josep Rosello),[26] and Christ Church Balham (founded in 2002 as an independent Anglican church; joined FCE 2019[27]).
St Peter's, Croydon, was a new FCE church in 2018.[28]
South American diocese
The church in South America, comprising 25 congregations, was recognised as an overseas diocese by the convocation held in June 2018. The 16 Brazilian congregations are registered as the Anglican Reformed Church of Brazil (Portuguese: Igreja Anglicana Reformada do Brasil; IARB).[29]
On 5 May 2021, the South American diocese withdrew from the FCE, citing a "total loss of confidence in the leadership of the FCE" and "abuses of power committed by Bishop John Fenwick".[30]
Recognition of orders
In January 2013 it was announced that the Church of England had recognised the holy orders of the Free Church of England.[31] 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 not voted on by the General Synod but was 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."[32]
Recognition of the orders of the Free Church of England under the Overseas and Other Clergy (Ministry and Ordination) Measure 1967 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.[33]
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] In October 2013, the bishop primus, John Fenwick, attended the second Global Anglican Future Conference (GAFCON 2) in Nairobi. He has been consulted in the restructuring of GAFCON UK (the successor body to the Fellowship of Confessing Anglicans (UK and Ireland)) under the leadership of Bishop Andy Lines, the ACNA missionary bishop endorsed by the GAFCON primates.[39]
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.[40]
Notable people
Calvin Robinson, political commentator, broadcaster and priest in the Nordic Catholic Church currently serving as minister of the FCE's Christ Church, Harlesden. Formerly a theological student in training for ordained ministry in the Church of England, Robinson was denied ordination in 2022 and joined the FCE, where he was ordained as a deacon, before leaving the FCE in 2023 and joining the Nordic Catholic Church.
References
^Richard D. Fenwick, "The Free Church of England otherwise called the Reformed Episcopal Church c. 1845 to c. 1927", PhD thesis, University of Wales, 1995.
^Grayson Carter, Anglican Evangelicals. Protestant Secessions from the via media, c.1800–1850 (2001/15)
^John Fenwick, The Free Church of England: Introduction to an Anglican Tradition, London, Continuum, 2004, pp. 9–33.
^Allen C. Guelzo, For the Union of Evangelical Christendom: The Irony of the Reformed Episcopalians, Pennsylvania, State University Press, 1994, pp. 224–227.
^Free Church of England (January 1956). The Book of Common Prayer and Administration of the Sacraments and Other Rites and Ceremonies for use in the Free Church of England otherwise called the Reformed Episcopal Church in the United Kingdom and Ireland. London: Marshall, Morgan, & Scott.
^John Fenwick, The Forgotten Bishops: The Malabar Independent Syrian Church and its Place in the Story of the St Thomas Christians of South India, Piscataway, NJ, Gorgias Press, 2009, p.582; The Glastonbury Review, vol. XXII, no. 114, (November 2006), p. 299; Free Church of England Year Book, 2006-2007.