Orthodoxy & evangelicals – what’s the appeal?
The news that a church affiliated to the Fellowship of Independent Evangelical Churches (FIEC) has become Orthodox (see this en article) will have come as a shock to many.
An evangelical Anglican congregation defecting? Possibly we could understand that, since it would be used to formal liturgy and bishops etc; but an FIEC church...!
Ex-FIEC church explains switch to Eastern Orthodoxy
Lydia Houghton
The leader of a former FIEC-affiliated church which became Eastern Orthodox in September has been explaining why they made the move.
Hope Church Halifax, which was part of the Fellowship of Independent Evangelical Churches, has become St Hilda’s Orthodox Church, part of the Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese of the British Isles and Ireland. It now uses a Roman Catholic building, St Malachy’s, for its services.
Biblical orthodoxy
The news that a former FIEC-affiliated church has now become Eastern Orthodox (click here to read the article) is an interesting development.
It is a not untrodden path. One of the most influential Orthodox figures in the UK of the last century, the late Kallistos Ware, grew up in an evangelical home; and some while ago, Peter Gillquist, a former leader in Campus Crusade for Christ, led a whole group over to Orthodoxy in the USA.