A church in London has begun charging attendees an entrance fee of more than $8 per person, making it the first British parish to do so.

While officials at Saint Bartholomew the Great have offered parish members an annual pass for under $62, the fact they are charging attendees at all has brought new attention to the growing problem of insufficient church funding in Britain, The Mail on Sunday said.

Citing rising repair costs and declining congregation numbers, Saint Bartholomew officials said they were forced to introduce the entrance fees to remain operational.

They said the church could not maintain its operations based on the limited funds they had received for being a filming location for movies such as "Four Weddings and a Funeral" and "Shakespeare in Love."

But some locals fear charging people to enter the church will have an opposite effect and ultimately drive off potential worshipers.

"It's a great pity. St. Bart's has traditionally been somewhere you pop into and unfortunately this looks like another reason not to go to church," writer Ian Hislop told the newspaper.  // Copyright 2007 by United Press International



Publication date: 18 November 2007   

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