General Assembly of Unitarian and Free Christian Churches
The General Assembly of Unitarian and Free Christian Churches (GAUFCC, German: General Assembly of Unitarian and Free Christian communities ) is a Unitarian and liberal - Christian church in the United Kingdom .
The GAUFCC was founded in 1928. The seat is in Essex Hall in London . The association is a member of the International Council of Unitarians and Universalists .
history
As early as the 17th century, representatives of anti-Trinitarianism can be found in England . This is mainly due to the literary influence of Socinianism under Fausto Sozzini . The first Unitarian congregation, however, was not founded by Joseph Priestley and Theophilus Lindsey until 1774 at Essex Street Chapel in London , which is now the headquarters of the nationwide GAUFCC. In 1791, the Unitarian Book Society for literature had already established itself as a nationwide literary society that had set itself the task of disseminating Unitarian / anti-Trinitarian literature. In 1806 the Unitarian Fund for Mission Work followed , which mainly looked after newly established churches. Since the British Unitarians, with their rejection of the Trinity, did not fall under the Act of Tolerance of the English Parliament of May 24, 1689 (unlike the other church nonconformists ), Unitarianism was formally illegal until the so-called Unitarian Relief Act (also known as Trinity Act ) of 1813 . The Unitarian Relief Act of 1813 also tolerated Unitarian worship services, but did not guarantee them equivalent civil rights , which was opposed in particular by the Unitarian Association for civil rights founded in 1828 .
In 1828, the three organizations named finally united to form the British and Foreign Unitarian Association (German: British and Foreign Unitarian Society ), which resulted in the first national umbrella organization of British Unitarians. This in turn merged in 1928 with the Sunday School Association to form the General Assembly of Unitarian and Free Christian Churches (GAUFCC), which still exists today . The Unitarian congregations in Scotland founded the Scottish Unitarian Association (German: Scottish Unitarian Society ), which is still in existence today and is a member of the GAUFCC. In order to strengthen the Christian tradition within the British Unitarians again, the Unitarian Christian Association (UCA, German: Unitarian Christian Society ) was founded in 1991 . There is a close cooperation with the Irish Non-Subscribing Presbyterian Church of Ireland .
management
- 1928: Reverend HH Mellone
- 1928: Reverend R. Travers Herford
- 1929-1949: Reverend Mortimer Rowe
- 1949-1969: Reverend John Kielty
- 1969–1979: Reverend Brian L. Golland
- 1979-1994: Roy W. Smith
- 1994-2007: Jeffrey J. Teagle
- 2007-2009: Reverend S. Dick
- 2009: Derek McAuley