The Glorious Church, founded by Sri Lankan preacher Jerome Fernando, says it has become the first Sri Lankan-founded church to register with the Charity Commission for England and Wales.
The claim came in a statement issued by Fernando’s office and reported by Daily Mirror on Wednesday. The statement said the church continues to expand and formalise its operations across four branches in the United Kingdom, and that a new office had recently been opened on Buckingham Palace Road in London.
The church said it now plans to expand its administrative and legal operations for the European region from its London base, describing the move as a step towards a goal of establishing “a branch in every nation”.
What the register shows
The Charity Commission register lists a charity named The Glorious Church UK Ministries under number 1215511. Its governance record gives a single entry in its registration history: a charitable incorporated organisation registration dated 24 October 2025 — roughly ten months before Wednesday’s announcement.
The entry records the charity’s objects as advancing the Christian faith, and its area of operation as “throughout London”. It is marked as recently registered, meaning it is not yet required to file information. Daily Mirror’s report, which relayed the church’s statement, did not give a registration date.
The claim to be the first Sri Lankan-founded church on the register has not been independently verified. It is the church’s own characterisation.
The founder’s legal position
Daily Mirror’s report did not address the criminal proceedings against Fernando in Sri Lanka.
He was arrested by the Criminal Investigation Department in December 2023 and charged under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights over a statement criticising the Buddha made during a sermon, and was remanded by the Colombo Fort Magistrate’s Court. Ada Derana reported on 3 January 2024 that he was granted bail by Magistrate Thilina Gamage on a cash bail of Rs. 500,000 and two personal bails of Rs. 10 million each, was barred from leaving the country, and was ordered to refrain from further statements that could disturb religious harmony.
The Sunday Times reported in December 2023 that the CID had opened a separate money-laundering inquiry into his financial transactions and the flow of funds to his church from abroad, focused on the origin of money channelled into Sri Lanka to maintain the Miracle Dome complex in Katunayake. That report noted the church was not registered with the Ministry of Buddhasasana, Religious and Cultural Affairs as a place of worship.
The current status of either proceeding was not stated in Wednesday’s report, and no verified Sri Lankan newsroom other than Daily Mirror had published the announcement as of Wednesday night.
