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Free Church of England

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Free Church of England
ClassificationChristian
OrientationAnglican
ScriptureChristian Bible
TheologyLow church Anglicanism
PolityEpiscopal
Associations
Full communionReformed Episcopal Church
Origin1844
Separated fromChurch of England
Congregations18
Official websitefcofe.org.ukEdit this at Wikidata

TheFree Church of England(FCE) is anEpiscopalChurch based in England. The church was founded when a number of congregations separated from theestablishedChurch of Englandin the middle of the 19th century.[1]

The doctrinal basis of the FCE, together with its Episcopal structures, organisation, worship, ministry and ethos are recognisablyAnglicanalthough it is not a member of theAnglican Communion.Its worship style follows that of theBook of Common Prayeror conservative modern-language forms that belong to the Anglican tradition.

The Church of England acknowledges the FCE as a church withvalid ordersand itscanonspermit a range of shared liturgical and ministerial activities.

History

The Free Church of England was founded principally byEvangelicalLow Churchclergy and congregations in response to what were perceived as attempts (inspired by theOxford Movement) to re-introduce traditionalCatholicpractices into the Church of England, England'sestablished church.The first congregation was formed bythe ReverendJames Shore atSt John's ChurchBridgetown,Totnes, Devon, in 1844.[2]

In the early years, clergy were often provided by theCountess of Huntingdon's Connexionwhich had its origins in the 18th-centuryEvangelical Revival.By the middle of the 19th century, the Connexion still retained many Anglican features such as the use of thesurpliceand theBook of Common Prayer.[3]

The first Bishop wasBenjamin Price,who initially had oversight of all the new congregations.

In 1874 the FCE made contact with the newly organisedReformed Episcopal Churchin North America.[4]

In 1956, the FCE published a revision of theBook of Common Prayerto 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 theSacerdotalandRomanisingParty ".[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 inExeter(which subsequently left the FCE again in April 2023[7]),Middlesbrough(which eventually closed in 2021) andOswaldtwistle.Leigh-on-Seareturned to the FCE in 2023. Two churches inFarnhamandTeddingtonhaving become independent altogether, the ECFCE currently has four churches inFleetwood,Leeds,Tuebrook(Liverpool) andWorkington.[8]

Ordained ministry

The Church holds athreefold ministryofdeacons,presbytersandbishopsand only ordains men.[9]Its orders have been recognised as valid by the Church of England since 2013.[10]

Organisation

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 theapostolic succession,withMoravian,Church of England andMalabar Independent Syrian Churchbishops 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 theSecond 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 diocese, theNorthern Dioceseand theSouthern Diocese.

Holy Trinity Church Free Church of England, Oswaldtwistle

Northern Diocese

The current Bishop of theNorthern DioceseisJohn 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.

Southern Diocese

The current Bishop of theSouthern Dioceseis Paul Hunt.

Churches in the Southern Diocese are located in the southern half of England.

Recognition of orders

In January 2013 it was announced that the Church of England had recognised theholy ordersof 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 Guildfordand 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 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]

Relationships

The FCE is in communion with theReformed Episcopal Church,which itself is now a subjurisdiction of theAnglican Church in North America.Within the UK the FCE is a member of the Free Churches Group[16]andChurches Together in England.From 1992 to 1997 the FCE was in official dialogue with the Church of England, which the 1998Lambeth Conferencesaw as a sign of hope.[17]It is a Designated Church under theChurch of England's Ecumenical Relations Measure 1988.[18]

FCE bishops have attended the enthronements ofGeorge Carey,Rowan WilliamsandJustin WelbyasArchbishops of Canterbury.Since 2013, the Free Church of England has been in dialogue with the conservativeOld Catholicsof theUnion of Scranton;[19][20]former FCE DeaconCalvin Robinsonsought ordination in the Union of Scranton'sNordic Catholic Churchwhile minister-in-charge at the FCE's Christ Church, Harlesden.[21]

Anglican realignment

Main article:Anglican realignment

The FCE has been involved in therealignmentswithin theAnglican Communion.In 2009 the church was represented at the launch of theFellowship of Confessing Anglicans(UK and Ireland), the local expression of theGlobal Anglican Future Conference(GAFCON) movement inaugurated the previous year inJerusalem.[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 theAnglican 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]

References

  1. ^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.
  2. ^Grayson Carter,Anglican Evangelicals. Protestant Secessions from the via media, c.1800–1850(2001/15)
  3. ^John Fenwick,The Free Church of England: Introduction to an Anglican Tradition,London, Continuum, 2004, pp. 9–33.
  4. ^Allen C. Guelzo,For the Union of Evangelical Christendom: The Irony of the Reformed Episcopalians,Pennsylvania, State University Press, 1994, pp. 224–227.
  5. ^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.
  6. ^"History and other fce".Evangelical Connexion of the Free Church of England.Retrieved28 September2021.
  7. ^"Mixed week for the FCE: looses a parish but gains a television show".Anglican Ink.Retrieved7 July2023.
  8. ^"Churches".Evangelical Connexion of the Free Church of England.Retrieved28 September2021.
  9. ^"The Constitution"(PDF).fcofe.org.uk.Free Church of England. August 2022.Retrieved6 April2024.
  10. ^"Free Church of England Orders recognised".The Church of England.Archbishops' Council. 28 January 2013. Archived fromthe originalon 13 February 2013.Retrieved6 April2024.
  11. ^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.
  12. ^Year books 2007-2013.
  13. ^"Free Church of England Orders recognised".churchofengland.org.Archived fromthe originalon 8 February 2013.Retrieved17 January2022.
  14. ^Gledhill, Ruth (28 January 2013). "Church of England recognises 'free' order that is against women bishops".The Times.London.
  15. ^"Overseas and Other Clergy (Ministry and Ordination) Measure 1967".Legislation.gov.uk.Retrieved6 December2015.
  16. ^"churches-together.net".churches-together.net.Retrieved6 December2015.
  17. ^Mark Dyer et al. (eds.),The Official Report of the Lambeth Conference 1998,Harrisburg, PA, Morehouse Publishing, 1999, p.228.
  18. ^"Supplementary material".The Church of England.Retrieved1 October2023.
  19. ^"Den nordisk-katolske kirke » for den udelte kirkes tro".Dnkk.no.29 August 2015.Retrieved6 December2015.
  20. ^Chadwick, Fr Anthony (16 March 2013)."Free Church of England and the Union of Scranton".The Blue Flower.Retrieved2 January2023.
  21. ^Calvin Robinson was Ordained to the Diaconate.Free Church of England, 26 June 2022. Archived fromthe originalon 3 July 2022. Retrieved 31 October 2022
  22. ^Andrew Gross (21 June 2016)."Archbishop Foley Beach addresses Provincial Council 2016".The Anglican Church in North America.Retrieved16 January2023.

Further reading

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