The induction took place at a service held at the Bunyan Meeting Free Church in Bedford last week.

Rev Heaney was elected by the members of the Free Churches Group to serve a period of four years.

He succeeds Salvation Army Commissioner Elizabeth Matear, who has served as Moderator since 2007.

The Free Churches Moderator represents the twenty-four denominations in membership with the Free Churches Group at significant national occasions and generally in the public arena.

The Moderator also serves as a patron to over forty Christian and charitable organisations.

The Moderator is ex-officio a President of Churches Together in England, alongside the Archbishop of Canterbury, the Archbishop of Westminster and Bishop Jana Jeruma-Grinberga of the Lutheran Church.

The service of induction was held in the historic Bunyan Meeting Church, which is affiliated to both the Congregational Federation and the Baptist Union and, with its museum, is a focus for the life and writings of John Bunyan, author of Pilgrim’s Progress.