The Evangelical Alliance (EA) is a national

evangelical Evangelicalism (), also called evangelical Christianity or evangelical Protestantism, is a worldwide interdenominational movement within Protestant Christianity that affirms the centrality of being " born again", in which an individual expe ...

alliance, member of the World Evangelical Alliance. Founded in 1846, the activities of the Evangelical Alliance aim to promote evangelical Christian beliefs in government, media and society. The Evangelical Alliance is based in

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

, with offices in

Cardiff Cardiff (; cy, Caerdydd ) is the capital and largest city of Wales. It forms a principal area, officially known as the City and County of Cardiff ( cy, Dinas a Sir Caerdydd, links=no), and the city is the eleventh-largest in the United Kingd ...

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...

and

Belfast Belfast ( , ; from ga, Béal Feirste , meaning 'mouth of the sand-bank ford') is the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan on the east coast. It is the 12th-largest city in the United Kingdom ...

History

The Evangelical Alliance was founded in 1846 by

Ridley Haim Herschell Ridley Haim Herschell (7 April 1807 – 14 April 1864) was a Polish-born British minister who converted from Judaism to evangelical Christianity. He was a founder of the British Society for the Propagation of the Gospel Among the Jews (1842) and ...

, Rev. Edward Steane – a

Baptist Baptists form a major branch of Protestantism distinguished by baptizing professing Christian believers only ( believer's baptism), and doing so by complete immersion. Baptist churches also generally subscribe to the doctrines of soul compe ...

pastor from Camberwell – John Henderson and

Sir Culling Eardley, 3rd Baronet ''Sir'' is a formal honorific address in English for men, derived from Sire in the High Middle Ages. Both are derived from the old French "Sieur" (Lord), brought to England by the French-speaking Normans, and which now exist in French only as ...

.Rosemary Chadwick, ‘Steane, Edward (1798–1882)’, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 200
accessed 30 July 2014
/ref> Eardley became the organisation's first chairperson, leading the Alliance in its various campaigns for religious freedom; in 1852, Eardley campaigned on behalf of the Tuscan prisoners of conscience Francesco Madiai and Rosa Madiai, who had been imprisoned for their Protestant faith.

Overview

The Evangelical Alliance works across 79 different denominations of Christianity, 750 organisations, and has 3,300 member churches. The Evangelical Alliance's CEO is Gavin Calver. Peter Lynas is the UK Director, with Fred Drummond acting as Director of Scotland and Siân Rees as Director of Wales. A number of

Members of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...

are associated with the Evangelical Alliance: Conservative MP and former Conservative Party leadership candidate Stephen Crabb is associated with the Alliance through Gweini (The Council of the Christian Voluntary Sector in Wales); Conservative MP Stuart Anderson is associated with the Alliance through the Freedom Church; and Conservative MP for Congleton

Fiona Bruce Fiona Elizabeth Bruce (born 25 April 1964) is a British journalist, newsreader, and television presenter. She joined the BBC as a researcher for '' Panorama'' in 1989, and has since become the first female newsreader on the ''BBC News at Ten' ...

is a member of the Evangelical Alliance. Member organisations include Tearfund, an organisation originally established by the Alliance.

Positions

The Evangelical Alliance has historically supported ecumenism – the principle of unity between different church doctrines – with the Roman Catholic Church, an approach criticised by some as in direct contradiction to the beliefs of the Evangelical Alliance's founders. In 2019, the Alliance supported the 'Thy Kingdom Come' initiative – an event organised by the Archbishops of York and Canterbury to bring more people to Christianity through a sustained period of prayer from the dates of the

Feast of the Ascension The Solemnity of the Ascension of Jesus Christ, also called Ascension Day, Ascension Thursday, or sometimes Holy Thursday, commemorates the Christian belief of the bodily Ascension of Jesus into heaven. It is one of the ecumenical (i.e., shared by ...

to Pentecost annually. According to a 2016 '' Private Eye'' report, the Evangelical Alliance is openly opposed to

homosexuality Homosexuality is romantic attraction, sexual attraction, or sexual behavior between members of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality is "an enduring pattern of emotional, romantic, and/or sexual attractions" to pe ...

and

same-sex relationships A same-sex relationship is a romantic or sexual relationship between people of the same sex. ''Same-sex marriage'' refers to the institutionalized recognition of such relationships in the form of a marriage; civil unions may exist in countries ...

, preaching

sexual abstinence Sexual abstinence or sexual restraint is the practice of refraining from some or all aspects of sexual activity for medical, psychological, legal, social, financial, philosophical, moral, or religious reasons. Sexual abstinence is distinct from ...

for those with same-sex attractions, with membership for openly lesbian and gay people open only to those who " come to see the need to be transformed" from their same-sex attraction. However the Evangelical Alliance's website distinguishes between same-sex attraction and same-sex sexual relations, rejecting only the latter: "We encourage evangelical congregations to welcome and accept sexually active lesbians and gay men. However, they should do so in the expectation that they, like all of us who are living outside God’s purposes, will come in due course to see the need to be transformed and live in accordance with biblical revelation and orthodox church teaching. We urge gentleness, patience and ongoing pastoral care during this process and after a person renounces same-sex sexual relations."

References

External links

* * {{Authority control National evangelical alliances Christian organisations based in the United Kingdom Evangelical denominations established in the 19th century 1846 establishments in the United Kingdom Evangelicalism in the United Kingdom Organisations based in the London Borough of Islington Religion in the London Borough of Islington Religious organizations established in 1846

History

Overview

Positions

References

Further reading

External links