Evangelical Connexion of the Free Church of England

Following many years of gradual decline, the Free Church of England finally splintered into two parts in the early years of the 21st Century. Having a glorious history of evangelical witness, coming forth from the Countess of Huntingdon's Connexion, and being a "Reformed Protestant" denomination (see Article 4 of the Declaration of Articles of the FCE) it had been infiltrated by Freemasons and by churchmen for whom doctrine was something of a dirty word.

Instead of turning to Scripture, where it is clear that true doctrine is the only way to true Christian unity, some of the leaders at the time faced away from that and grasped hold of the flawed message of the indiscriminate ecumenical movement - 'love everyone'. Those who continued to hold that the only way to show love is to tell God's truth, which means that the modern ecumenical movement must be eschewed, found themselves hounded out of the main body of the FCE.

Initially there were efforts to set up a conservative evangelical group made up of members from both within and from outside the FCE called the 'Fellowship of Reformed Evangelicals'. This was an attempt to continue to fight for the soul of the FCE and seek to keep it true to its founder's intentions. The format would have been similar in style to 'Reform', and would have enabled the FCE to continue without the split that has now occurred. However, the invective directed at this group, and the continued hounding of those in this group who were in the FCE and who sought to remain Protestant, Reformed and Evangelical, meant that it did not last for long.

Some within the leadership of the FCE brought pressure to bear on Bishop Arthur Bentley-Taylor (a true evangelical) in the form of false and ludicrous personal accusations, and sought to bring in ministers to the FCE who are clearly not protestant and who hold not to the FCE position of 'Sola Scriptura' but instead to the very different Anglican 'three-legged stool' of Reason, Tradition and Scripture as equal. Eventually the pressure became too much to bear and a meeting was held in the Methodist Church in Swanwick, Derbyshire, where the 'Free Church of England - Evangelical Connexion' was founded.

The initial make-up consisted of two bishops, about half the FCE clergy and half the FCE laity - these represented approximately half of the FCE in total. All were committed to the FCE as a church that was NOT to be 'broad' in character but which was to reject indiscriminate ecumenism, to reject Freemasonry, and to embrace the "Word of God as the Sole Rule of Faith and Practice" (Article 1 of the FCE Declaration of Articles). The group continues and goes from strength to strength, not only having its congregations in the UK but also now having one minister in the USA (with others from there seeking to join it); further, at least one congregation in the London area which the FCE claim for themselves is ministered to by a Connexion minister and has begun to assert its independence from the old FCE by such practical means as joining Affinity (the old 'British Evangelical Council').

The Evangelical Connexion of the Free Church of England has a rosy future as a truly English Protestant Church.