Andrew John Lines (born 1960) is a British

Anglican Anglicanism, also known as Episcopalianism in some countries, is a Western Christianity, Western Christian tradition which developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the ...

bishop. Since June 2017, he has been the Missionary Bishop to Europe of the

Anglican Church in North America The Anglican Church in North America (ACNA) is a Christian denomination in the Anglican tradition in the United States and Canada. It also includes ten congregations in Mexico, two mission churches in Guatemala, and a missionary diocese in Cuba. ...

(ACNA), a province outside the

Anglican Communion The Anglican Communion is a Christian Full communion, communion consisting of the Church of England and other autocephalous national and regional churches in full communion. The archbishop of Canterbury in England acts as a focus of unity, ...

. In 2020, he became the first presiding bishop of the

Anglican Network in Europe The Anglican Network in Europe (ANiE) is a Christian denomination in the Anglican tradition with churches in Europe (primarily in England). Formed as part of the worldwide Anglican realignment, it is a member jurisdiction of the Global Fellowshi ...

, a "proto-province" recognized by the Global Fellowship of Confessing Anglicans. Since 2000, he has been Mission Director and CEO of Crosslinks. He is also the chairman of the executive committee of the Anglican Mission in England (AMiE), the missionary arm of

GAFCON The Global Fellowship of Confessing Anglicans (branded as GAFCON or Gafcon) is a communion of conservative Anglicanism, Anglican churches, aligned with the Confessing Movement, that formed in 2008 in response to ongoing theological disputes in th ...

in England. In June 2017, it was announced that he would be made a bishop for ACNA and GAFCON; he was consecrated on 30 June 2017.

Early life and education

Lines was born in 1960. He studied at

University College, Durham University College, informally known as Castle, is the oldest constituent college of Durham University in England. Centred on Durham Castle on Palace Green, it was founded in 1832 by William van Mildert, Bishop of Durham. As a constituent ...

, graduating with a

Bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...

(BA) degree in 1982. He trained for ordained ministry at the All Nations Christian College in

Ware, Hertfordshire Ware is a town and civil parish in the East Hertfordshire district, in the county of Hertfordshire, England. It is close to the county town of Hertford. In the 2021 United Kingdom census, 2021 Census, the parish had a population of 19,622. Hist ...

Military service

Lines was sponsored through university by the

British Army The British Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of the United Kingdom. the British Army comprises 73,847 regular full-time personnel, 4,127 Brigade of Gurkhas, Gurkhas, 25,742 Army Reserve (United Kingdom), volunteer reserve perso ...

: he held an undergraduate cadetship from 1979 to 1982. On 31 August 1979, he was made a second lieutenant (on probation) (undergraduate cadetship). On 19 July 1982, he was made a second lieutenant (on probation). He then underwent officer training at the

Royal Military Academy Sandhurst The Royal Military Academy Sandhurst (RMAS or RMA Sandhurst), commonly known simply as Sandhurst, is one of several military academy, military academies of the United Kingdom and is the British Army's initial Commissioned officer, officer train ...

. In May 1983, having completed his training, Lines' commission in the

Royal Tank Regiment The Royal Tank Regiment (RTR) is the oldest tank unit in the world, being formed by the British Army in 1916 during the World War I, First World War. Today, it is an Armoured warfare, armoured regiment equipped with Challenger 2 main battle tanks ...

was confirmed. His rank and seniority were then adjusted: he was confirmed as a second lieutenant (backdated to 19 July 1982) and granted seniority in that rank from 1 August 1978; he was promoted to

lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a Junior officer, junior commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations, as well as fire services, emergency medical services, Security agency, security services ...

(backdated to 19 July 1982) with seniority from 1 August 1980. He served in the 2nd Royal Tank Regiment, and was based in London. He was promoted to

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

on 1 February 1985. He resigned his commission on 19 September 1988, thereby leaving the British Army.

Ordained ministry

Lines was ordained for the South American Mission Society (SAMS) as a

deacon A deacon is a member of the diaconate, an office in Christian churches that is generally associated with service of some kind, but which varies among theological and denominational traditions. Major Christian denominations, such as the Cathol ...

in 1997 and as a

priest A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deity, deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in parti ...

in 1998. From 1991 to 1999, he was a

missionary A missionary is a member of a Religious denomination, religious group who is sent into an area in order to promote its faith or provide services to people, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care, and economic development.Thoma ...

in Paraguay. He was made an honorary canon of the Diocese of Paraguay in 2000. In October 2000, Lines was appointed General Secretary of Crosslinks and he returned to England. His title was later changed to Mission Director and chief executive officer (CEO). From 2001, he also held permission to officiate in the Diocese of Southwark of the

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the State religion#State churches, established List of Christian denominations, Christian church in England and the Crown Dependencies. It is the mother church of the Anglicanism, Anglican Christian tradition, ...

. In addition, he is Chairman of the Anglican Mission in England, the missionary arm of

in England, and Chairman of the GAFCON UK Task Force. On 5 June 2017, Lines was received into the Diocese of the South of the

(ACNA), an

Anglican realignment The Anglican realignment is a movement among some Anglicans to align themselves under new or alternative oversight within or outside the Anglican Communion. This movement is primarily active in parts of the Episcopal Church (United States), Episco ...

ecclesiastical province that is outside of the

Episcopal ministry

On 8 June 2017, it was announced that Lines had been chosen as the Missionary Bishop to Europe of the

(ACNA). On 26 June 2017, he was officially elected a "Bishop for Special Mission" by the College of Bishops of ACNA. He was

consecrated Sacred describes something that is dedicated or set apart for the service or worship of a deity; is considered worthy of spiritual respect or devotion; or inspires awe or reverence among believers. The property is often ascribed to objects (a ...

a bishop on 30 June 2017; the

principal consecrator A consecrator is a bishop who ordains someone to the episcopacy. A co-consecrator is someone who assists the consecrator bishop in the act of ordaining a new bishop. The terms are used in the canon law of the Catholic Church, Lutheran Churches, ...

was Foley Beach, Archbishop of the ACNA, and he was assisted by GAFCON-linked bishops of the Anglican Communion. As Missionary Bishop, he provides oversight to those Anglican churches in Europe that exist outside of current Anglican structures (such as the Church of England,

Scottish Episcopal Church The Scottish Episcopal Church (; ) is a Christian denomination in Scotland. Scotland's third largest church, the Scottish Episcopal Church has 303 local congregations. It is also an Ecclesiastical province#Anglican Communion, ecclesiastical provi ...

and the Convocation of Episcopal Churches in Europe). One priest of the Scottish Episcopal Church stated that his consecration "offers new life for bereft orthodox Anglicans in Scotland". On 24 November 2017 the congregation of Christ Church, Harris, a Scottish Episcopal church in the

Western Isles The Outer Hebrides ( ) or Western Isles ( , or ), sometimes known as the Long Isle or Long Island (), is an island chain off the west coast of mainland Scotland. It is the longest archipelago in the British Isles. The islands form part ...

, announced that they could no longer remain under the oversight of their local bishop, Kevin Pearson, Bishop of Argyll and the Isles, owing to his support of the SEC's approval of same-sex marriage. They would instead be receiving the episcopal ministry of Andy Lines.

Controversy

The creation of a missionary bishop by GAFCON and the ACNA has been regarded as controversial. In a June 2017 pastoral letter Justin Welby, the Archbishop of Canterbury and head of the Anglican Communion, stated the following: Lines' consecration was welcomed by two bishops of the Church of England: Julian Henderson, the Bishop of Blackburn, and Keith Sinclair, the Bishop of Birkenhead.

Views

Lines holds a complementarian position on women's ministry and leadership. He has spoken out against

homosexuality Homosexuality is romantic attraction, sexual attraction, or Human sexual activity, sexual behavior between people of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality is "an enduring pattern of emotional, romantic, and/or sexu ...

. On 3 September 2016, he described the appointment of Nicholas Chamberlain as Bishop of Grantham as "divisive" and stated that "Christian leaders are to be above reproach"; Chamberlain had revealed that he was in a

celibate Celibacy (from Latin ''caelibatus'') is the state of voluntarily being unmarried, sexually abstinent, or both. It is often in association with the role of a religious official or devotee. In its narrow sense, the term ''celibacy'' is applied on ...

homosexual relationship on 2 September 2016, almost a year after his consecration.

Personal life

Lines is married to Mandy. Together they have three children: a son and two daughters.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lines, Andy 1960 births Living people 20th-century English Anglican priests Bishops of the Anglican Network in Europe Evangelical Anglican bishops Alumni of University College, Durham Royal Tank Regiment officers Complementarianism Anglican missionaries in Paraguay Anglican realignment people