CONNECTICUT: Flagship Charismatic Episcopal Church to Be Demolished St. Paul's Darien will be razed to make way for multimillion-dollar homes
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By David W. Virtue, DD
April 5, 2026
The former flagship parish of the Episcopal Diocese of Connecticut — St. Paul's, Darien — is being demolished to make way for multimillion-dollar homes, according to local news reports.
St. Paul's was for decades the leading charismatic parish in the Episcopal Church, shaped by the vision of the Rev. Everett L. "Terry" Fullam, who served as rector from 1972 to 1989. Under his leadership, the congregation became one of the most active and fastest-growing churches in the United States, with a focus on renewal through the work of the Holy Spirit.
Fullam had come under the influence of Dennis Bennett, an Episcopal clergyman widely regarded as the most prominent progenitor of the modern charismatic movement. The movement's beginning is often dated to April 3, 1960, when Bennett announced from the pulpit of his church in Van Nuys, California, that he had received the Baptism of the Holy Spirit and spoken in tongues.
Through Bennett's influence, Fullam became a leading voice of the charismatic renewal then sweeping the country — and a counterweight to the Episcopal Church's accelerating drift toward theological revisionism.
Fullam left St. Paul's in 1989 to pursue a wider global ministry.
In a 2004 interview with this writer at an Anglican Mission in America conference in Destin, Florida, Fullam — then 72 and using a power chair following a stroke — said he did not believe the Episcopal Church could be reclaimed. "I blame the seminaries," he said, "because they do not give proper instruction." Asked whether the Episcopal Church was finished as a major Christian denomination in America, he replied simply: "Yes, I think ECUSA is finished." He praised Trinity Episcopal School for Ministry (now Trinity Anglican Seminary) and Nashotah House as the best remaining sources of hope for any kind of renewal. Fullam died in 2014.
Following Fullam's departure, a succession of charismatic clergy led St. Paul's, but the church eventually became embroiled in serious legal disputes.
The most damaging involved the Rev. George I. Kovoor, who was fired amid allegations that he had misrepresented his background during the hiring process. The vestry sought his removal, which resulted in a lawsuit that also named Bishop Ian Douglas, who had supported Kovoor. A settlement was reached in 2020, with all accusations against Kovoor withdrawn and his position as rector restored. But the damage was done. The legal battle had emptied the pews, and the congregation could not recover.
A group of former wardens and vestry members chose to continue worship independently, forming what they called New St. Paul's Church. The original parish closed, and the property fell into disuse and disrepair. The diocese has not disclosed the sale price; its gay bishop Jeffrey Mello stated that the proceeds would be directed toward ministry objectives.
St. Paul's nearly 60-year history stands as a documented example of charismatic evangelical renewal within American Episcopalianism — and its collapse as a cautionary one. The rise and fall of the charismatic movement in the Episcopal Church coincided with the denomination's increasing embrace of revisionist theology, same-sex marriage, and progressive theological priorities — trends that many observers believe will continue to erode its membership and influence.
Terry Fullam is gone. The building that bore witness to his ministry soon will be too. The faith he proclaimed endures.
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