History of CTE

A brief history of CTE

Find out more about CTE’s history, and the ‘Churches Together’ model which was established following the historic 1987 Swanwick conference…

Why and how CTE was established

A more detailed overview of how CTE came to be established in 1990.

The ‘Swanwick Declaration’

The ‘Swanwick Declaration’ of 1987 marked the transition from a Council of Churches model of working to the Churches Together model.

The Pilgrim Prayer

A prayer prayed as part of the Swanwick Declaration in 1987, which led to the founding of CTE in 1990.

Called To Be One

This book was written as a resource for the Called To Be One process, through which the member churches of CTE agreed to discuss with one another the nature of the visible unity of the church. Originally published in Spring 1996.

Theos report on CTE, 2017

The report ‘That they all may be one: Insights into Churches Together in England and contemporary ecumenism’

The British Council of Churches

The British Council of Churches was created in 1942.

Churches Together in England and the Free Churches

When Churches Together in England (CTE) was established in 1990, the Free Churches had already worked together for over a hundred years. In 1940 the Free Church Federal Council was created, bringing together a number of predecessor bodies.