The Declaration of Principles

The Free Church of England otherwise called the Reformed Episcopal Church, in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, which is a branch of the Holy Catholic Church of the Lord Jesus Christ, united by faith to Him Who is the Head over all things to the Church which is His body; and recognising the essential unity of all who, by a like Faith, are united to the One Divine and Common Head, doth make declaration of its Principles as follows :

1. The "Free Church of England otherwise called the Reformed Episcopal Church in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland", holding "the faith once delivered unto the saints", declares its belief in the Holy Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments as the Word of God, and the sole Rule of Faith and Practice; in the creed "commonly called the Apostle's Creed"; in the Divine institution of the Sacraments of Baptism and the Lord's Supper; and in the Doctrines of grace substantially as they are set forth in the Thirty-nine Articles of Religion.

2. This Church recognises and adheres to Episcopacy, not as of Divine Right, but as a very ancient and desirable form of Church polity.

3. This Church, retaining a Liturgy which shall not be repressive of freedom in prayer, accepts the Book of Common Prayer, as it was revised, prepared and recommended for use by the General Convention of the Protestant Episcopal Church, A.D. 1785, reserving full liberty to alter, abridge, enlarge and amend the same, as may seem most conducive to the edification of the people, "provided that the substance of the faith be kept entire".

4. This Church CONDEMNS and REJECTS the following erroneous and strange doctrines as contrary to God's Word:

First
That the Church of Christ exists only in one order or form of ecclesiastical polity;

Second
That Christian Ministers are "priests" in another sense than that in which all believers are "a royal priesthood";
Third
That the Lord's Table is an altar on which the oblation of the Body and Blood of Christ is offered anew to the Father:

Fourth
That the Presence of Christ in the Lord's Supper is a presence in the elements of Bread and Wine:

Fifth
That Regeneration is inseparably connected with Baptism.

In accordance with the liberty given in Clause 3 of the above Declaration of Principles, this Church accepts the Book of Common Prayer of the Church of England, with such revisions as shall exclude sacerdotal doctrines and practices.

This Church, as a Reformed and Protestant Church, doth hereby re-affirm its constant witness against all those innovations in Doctrine and Worship whereby the primitive Faith hath been from time to time defaced or overlaid, and which at the Reformation were disowned and rejected.

This Church will maintain communion with all Christian Churches, and will set forward, so far as in it lieth, quietness, peace and love, among all Christian people.

What Does the FCE Believe? 

Together with Christians everywhere, we believe in the Holy Trinity - God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit: three Persons in One Godhead. We believe that Jesus Christ is the Incarnate Son of God, conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary. We believe that He was Crucified for our sake, that He died and was buried. We believe that He rose again on the third day, that He Ascended into Heaven and that through Him the Holy Spirit was made available to believers. We believe that we are made right with God by His Atoning sacrifice and that salvation is through the Grace of God, by faith in the blood of Jesus Christ. 

We believe that the Holy Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments are the inspired Word of God. We accept the three historic creeds of Christendom - the Apostles' Creed, the Nicene Creed and the Athanasian Creed - as summaries of Christian doctrine. As a church in the Anglican tradition, we hold to the expressions of faith found in the Book of Common Prayer and the 39 Articles of Religion. 

The FCE is Evangelical

What does "Evangelical" mean? It comes from the New Testament Greek word euangelion - Gospel, or (literally) Good News. So, to be Evangelical is to be of the Gospel, to proclaim the Gospel in word and deed, to live according to  the Gospel, and to worship according to the Gospel. The FCE worships according to the liturgy of the Book of Common Prayer, which is Gospel-based and teaches nothing that is not warranted by Scripture. The Book of Common Prayer order for Holy Communion has been called the only attempt to embody in Liturgical form the great Reformation doctrines of grace and of Justification by faith in Jesus Christ.

The FCE is Liturgical

A liturgy is a set form of service. This kind of worship goes right back to Old Testament  times; it is very ancient and honourable. The Psalms of David, for example, are a form of liturgical worship that were used in the Jerusalem Temple. Jesus gave His disciples a simple form of liturgy when He taught them the Lord's Prayer, and again when He instituted the Lord's Supper on the night He was betrayed.

Liturgical worship guarantees that all things are done 'decently and in order', as the Apostle Paul indicated they should be. It also guarantees that worship is not monopolized by the Minister, but that all Christians have their part to play in the offering of praise and thanksgiving to God.

The Liturgy of the FCE is that adopted by the C of E during the Reformation period. It is agreeable to Scripture, and compiled by Cranmer, Ridley and the English Reformers, with the help of great scholars from the continent like Bucer and Martyr.

The FCE is Episcopal

An Episcopal Church is one wherein oversight (Greek: episcope) is exercised by Bishops. A clergyman is  elected from among the Presbyters (the old Saxon word preost - 'priest' - means Presbyter, or Elder) of the Church and consecrated to the office of Bishop. In an Episcopal Church the functions of oversight, and of administering Confirmation and Ordination are vested in the Bishop alone. Currently the FCE has two Bishops.

We are proud of the fact that our Bishops stand in the Historic Succession of British Bishops, in unbroken line of descent from Saint Augustine of Canterbury, and we recognise and adhere to Episcopacy as a very ancient and desirable form of Church polity. We also recognise that Episcopacy  is not the only form of church polity and that the Church of God exists in other forms. We do insist, though, that our own Ministers (Bishops, Presbyters and Deacons) be Episcopally ordained and consecrated.

After the New Testament pattern, our Bishops are primarily Preachers, Pastors and Overseers of their dioceses; they are guardians and guarantors of the orthodoxy of Ministers under their oversight: they are not 'managers' or 'facilitators' to use the currently fashionable jargon.

The governance of the FCE is carried on through the Bishops in convocation with the rest of the clergy and the elected lay delegates from each parish, so that the Episcopacy of the FCE approaches closely the most  primitive pattern.

Who Can Become a Member of the FCE?

Any baptised Christian who desires it and who either joins a congregation or is enrolled as a 'scattered member' if we have no parish near them. Full membership is gained by Confirmation at the hands of a Bishop, or transfer of full membership from another Church. Those who have been full, adult,  members of another Church, in which Episcopal Confirmation is not the practice, may receive Confirmation if they wish, but it is not necessary for them to do so, unless they wish to hold any office within the FCE.

For more information on the Free Church of England please visit their website  HERE