The Protestant Truth Society (PTS) is a Protestant religious organisation based in

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

History of the organization

It was founded by

John Kensit John Kensit (12 February 1853 – 8 October 1902) was an English religious leader and polemicist. He concentrated on a struggle against Anglo-Catholic tendencies in the Church of England. Life history Kensit, a bookseller from London, had in his ...

in 1889, to protest against the influence of

Roman Catholicism The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwide . It is am ...

within the

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Britain ...

and the nation. In 1898 it sent out the first band of "Wickliffe Preachers" to spread the message. To train the "Wickliffe Preachers", it established the Kensit Memorial Bible College in

Finchley Finchley () is a large district of north London, England, in the London Borough of Barnet. Finchley is on high ground, north of Charing Cross. Nearby districts include: Golders Green, Muswell Hill, Friern Barnet, Whetstone, Mill Hill and H ...

in 1905; this opened in 1908.

Contemporary activities

The PTS is still active and is based in

Fleet Street Fleet Street is a major street mostly in the City of London. It runs west to east from Temple Bar at the boundary with the City of Westminster to Ludgate Circus at the site of the London Wall and the River Fleet from which the street was na ...

, London. It stores the weapon used in the killing of

, previously owned by

F.E. Smith Frederick Edwin Smith, 1st Earl of Birkenhead, (12 July 1872 – 30 September 1930), known as F. E. Smith, was a British Conservative politician and barrister who attained high office in the early 20th century, in particular as Lord High Chan ...

. It has organised protests against Catholic services at

Hampton Court Palace Hampton Court Palace is a Grade I listed royal palace in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, southwest and upstream of central London on the River Thames. The building of the palace began in 1514 for Cardinal Thomas Wolsey, the chie ...

. A bookstore in

is a particular ministry maintained by the Society.

Current, prominent members

The current chairman of PTS is the Reverend Dominic Stockford, Pastor of Christ Church, Teddington. The Society's current vice-chairman is Rev Edward Malcolm, pastor at St Mary's, Castle Street, in Reading.

Past affiliation

Noted members of PTS have included the Rev

Robert Anderson Jardine The Reverend Robert Anderson Jardine (1878–1950), who published a memoir as R. Anderson Jardine, was an ordained priest of the Church of England and vicar of a parish in Darlington in the north of England. He is best known for performing the ma ...

, who, in 1937, conducted the wedding of the

Duke of Windsor Duke of Windsor was a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created on 8 March 1937 for the former monarch Edward VIII, following his abdication on 11 December 1936. The dukedom takes its name from the town where Windsor Castle, a ...

and

Wallis Warfield Wallis, Duchess of Windsor (born Bessie Wallis Warfield, later Simpson; June 19, 1896 – April 24, 1986), was an American socialite and wife of the former King Edward VIII. Their intention to marry and her status as a divorcée caused ...

, for which action Mr. Jardine was subsequently prevented from returning to his parish duties at Darlington, England.

Varied piety assessments of the Duke and Duchess of Windsor

In contrast to the Bishop of Bradford, the Rt. Rev.

Alfred Blunt Alfred Walter Frank Blunt (24 September 1879 – 12 June 1957) was an English Anglican bishop. He was the second Bishop of Bradford from 1931 to 1955 and is best known for a speech that exacerbated the abdication crisis of King Edward VIII. Birt ...

whose public doubts about then King Edward VIII's religious convictions first broke the story of the Abdication Crisis in the British press, Mr. Jardine was later noted by the New York Times as having stressed his belief in the 'deeply' apparent piety of the Duke and Duchess and defended by PTS.

References

External links

Official site
Protestantism in the United Kingdom Abdication of Edward VIII {{Christian-org-stub