Evangelical Leader Rico Tice Leaves Church of England Following Blessing of Same-Sex Marriages
Rico Tice, a well-known Evangelical leader and former Church of England clergyman, has left from the denomination due to its departure from biblical orthodoxy. Tice, the former senior minister at All Souls, Langham Place in London, told Evangelicals Now that he now attends the International Presbyterian Church (IPC) in Ealing, London. He and five other leaders of CofE-connected parachurch organizations expressed their concerns to the CofE last October concerning the denomination’s recent decision to allow priests to bless same-sex couples, which was met with a lack of substantive response.
“Last October, I was one of six Evangelical leaders of parachurch organizations with connections to the Church of England who wrote to [Archbishop of Canterbury] Justin Welby and all the bishops explaining our deep ‘heaviness of heart, soul and mind’ about the church’s onward trajectory toward affirming same-sex marriage, specifically the new Prayers of Love and Faith,” he said.
“We called upon the archbishop to resist the influence of cultural values when they are in opposition to those of the Bible. We did this because it was harming our ability to work with orthodox people from other denominations — how could they trust us? We received no substantive response from him, and that was a key moment in my decision to leave.”
According to The Christian Post, the Church of England enacted its “Prayers of Love and Faith” guidelines last December, that permits priests to bless same-sex couples but does not require them to do so. Many evangelicals within the Church of England, however, opposed the measure.
Tice explained that he moved to the International Presbyterian Church in Ealing, London because it aligns with his values and was intrigued by the congregation’s emphasis on eldership, Reformed theology and the Westminster Confession. He also has a longstanding relationship with the church’s minister, Paul Levy.
Despite leaving the CofE, Tice still maintains his permission to preach at its congregations.
“But I think it vital that I demonstrated clear separation from a church that no longer affirms biblical orthodoxy, especially with regard to preaching repentance,” he said.
Currently, Tice’s role at the International Presbyterian Church includes evangelism and training on evangelism techniques like Christianity Explored, Hope Explored and The Word One to One.
During the interview with Evangelicals Now, he described the situation in the CofE as “utterly heartbreaking.”
“In retrospect, I was naïve about our current culture in the Church of England because I never thought I would see such a clear, pervasive denial of the Christian’s need to repent of each and every sin they commit,” he said.
The CofE’s decision on the blessing of same-sex couples comes amid a growing schism within the Anglican community concerning same-sex marriage and biblical orthodoxy.
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Milton Quintanilla is a freelance writer and content creator. He is a contributing writer for CrosswalkHeadlines and the host of the For Your Soul Podcast, a podcast devoted to sound doctrine and biblical truth. He holds a Masters of Divinity from Alliance Theological Seminary.
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