On January 10, the Charity Commission announced it will allow an Exclusive Brethren church to register for charitable status after it turned the group down in 2012.
In its previous arguments against the church, the regulator criticised the church’s trustees (Preston Down Trust – PDT) on grounds that the group did not meet the ‘public benefit’ requirement of the Charities Act 2006 and that the trust’s communion services are reserved for members only. PDT will now be able to register as a charity on the condition that its trust deed, a binding document, reflects clearer ‘doctrines and practices’.
Colin Hart, Director of The Christian Institute, also welcomed the news: ‘It’s a victory for religious freedom. They made representations as a third party to the Charity Tribunal, in a bid to protect religious liberty, as the case could have set a dangerous precedent for all churches over how Holy Communion is administered’.
