London congregation joins alternative Anglican denomination, questions C of E’s ‘theological trajectory’
Written by Sunny Unachi on 28th January 2019
A vicar in south London has announced his congregation is joining an alternative Anglican denomination as he criticised “hostility to evangelical church planting” during “decades” by his local Church of England diocese.
Andy Palmer, who announced that Christ Church Balham is joining the Free Church of England described a “dominance of theological liberalism in the Diocese of Southwark.
The senior minister said: “We have made the decision to join the Free Church of England (FCE) denomination, which we believe will help us secure the gospel ministry here in Balham for generations to come…” Similarly to the Anglican Mission in England (AMiE), the FCE is an evangelical Anglican denomination. It is a supporter of GAFCON – a global movement of conservative evangelical Anglicans.
Rev Palmer continued: “Given the theological trajectory of the Church of England, many churches like us across the country are now looking elsewhere for alternative oversight from evangelical bishops.”
