Access to new oil or gas boilers has been restricted under a Church of England commitment to reach net zero carbon emissions by 2030.
A Telegraph investigation can reveal that the policy has left dozens of churches in the cold for months on end, with rural churches bearing the brunt of the policy.
Priests and wardens have warned that the green energy drive is putting parishioners’ health at risk, driving down church attendance and causing damp to rot historic buildings.
The Grade I-listed St John the Baptist Church in the village of Tideswell, Derbyshire, has been without heating for 18 months.
Mike Burrell, the assistant churchwarden, said: “You have to come to the conclusion that the Church of England is almost deliberately killing rural churches.”
Peter Robinson, his fellow warden, agreed, saying the target amounted to “a process of killing” the church.
The Church of England set its net zero goal in February 2020, when General Synod, its legislative body, pledged to eliminate carbon emissions by 2030.
In July 2022, Synod introduced a rule requiring parishes to obtain a faculty – the Church’s version of planning permission – before installing a new fossil fuel boiler. Parishes must also prove that no viable green alternative exists.
The Church recommends heat pumps, electric boilers, solar panels and low-energy options like under-pew heaters.
But many older, poorly insulated stone churches are not suited to these technologies. Heat pumps often fail to warm large, draughty naves, while fragile or undersized roofs cannot support solar panels.
Even when technically possible, the cost of green technology is prohibitive.
Clergy and wardens told The Telegraph they had been quoted between £70,000 and £400,000 to install air-source heat pumps, with rural churches facing an additional £60,000 or more to upgrade their electricity supply.
Although Synod pledged £190 million over 10 years from 2022 to support the net zero target, many parishes have said the available grants do not cover the additional costs.
Falling attendance has only made matters worse. Since 2013, average Sunday worship has dropped by a record amount, from 788,000 to 557,000.
‘People will freeze or fall sick’
The Rev Marcus Walker, the rector of St Bartholomew the Great Church in central London, led opposition to the net zero policy in Synod. His church lost heating in the winter of 2022.
“It’s ridiculous,” he said. “Some people would rather our churches were empty so long as they were more green.
“They make it so difficult to put in a boiler they hope you’ll just give up. But while they force you through this process, your church is cold and people will freeze, fall sick, and go elsewhere. It’s hard to believe their priority is people coming to God and worshipping him.”
Mr Walker experienced the dangerous effects of the target first hand when he collapsed in the church.
He said: “I remember during that long Christmas without heating, I was leading a school carol service. I stood up, and my legs had gone numb – I collapsed forward.
“If I hadn’t had a prayer stall in front of me, I would have fallen face-first onto the floor without any means to stop myself because my legs were just frozen.”
It took seven months for St Bartholomew’s to get permission to install a new gas boiler. The church had to spend £30,000 on architects fees to justify the purchase, pushing them into a deficit.
Frail parishioners sit under blankets
Meanwhile, the medieval church of St James the Great in Dursley, Gloucestershire, has been without central heating since its boiler broke down in late 2023. Janet Vonberg, its warden, said frail parishioners had endured a second winter under blankets.
“The worst was this winter,” she said, explaining that the portable electric heaters they were using “had broken due to overuse”.
“We gave up on that so we resorted to blankets this winter for our frailer members who remarkably kept on coming. They sat through the cold stoically,” she said.
A spokesman for the Diocese of Gloucester blamed the church for the two-year delay, saying it had failed to provide sufficient information but that heating would be installed soon.
In the village of Chislet, Kent, the church of St Mary the Virgin is now in its fourth year without central heating.
Colin Dawson, the acting warden, said: “We tried to get permission to put a new boiler in, and we just about raised the money but it was refused by the diocese... because they said that we can’t put fossil fuels in.”
Churches can now only install new gas or oil-powered boilers if they can convince the diocese it would be impossible for them to switch to a greener heating system.
Across the county, Rev Liz Cox, of the St Mary Magdalene church in Gillingham, secured approval for a new gas boiler late last year after arguing that the church would not survive another winter in the cold and there was no viable eco alternative.
“We knew that if we didn’t have heating on – quite apart from the fact I’ve got a fair number of elderly, fragile people in my congregation, and I didn’t particularly want to kill them all off with pneumonia – that we were going to damage the building,” she said.
The 2022 rule change that made it harder for churches to install gas or oil boilers was written into ecclesiastical law.
Churches break law to protect congregations
Some churches told The Telegraph they had no choice but to break the law to protect their parishioners.
One warden, who installed a gas boiler without permission, said: “I always ask, ‘What would Jesus say? What would Jesus do?’ It’s a bit trite, but it gets you through.”
Parishes found to have illegally installed gas boilers risk financial and reputational damage. Priests may face Clergy Discipline Measure penalties, wardens could be disqualified and parishes forced to remove boilers and cover court costs.
However, in recent cases judges have granted retroactive permission for unlawfully installed fossil fuel boilers, acknowledging churches had no other option.
A Church of England spokesman said: “Energy bills in recent years have been eye-wateringly high and a source of real concern for our churches who work so hard to serve their communities. Making church buildings more energy efficient is already helping many parishes save thousands of pounds on bills while also making them warmer in winter.
“For some churches – but not all – this will involve a different heating system when they are due for replacement. But our 16,000 church buildings are all different – indeed for many small, older church buildings in rural areas no work would be necessary at all.”
The Dioceses of Canterbury and Derby have been contacted for comment.