REDEMPTION

Billy Graham’s Grandson Starting a Church in Florida After 2015 Sex Scandal

Tullian Tchividjian is leading his own church for the first time since a 2015 sex scandal forced him to resign.

Tullian Tchividjian, the grandson of famous pastor Billy Graham, is leading his own church for the first time since a 2015 sex scandal forced him to resign. Tchividjian, 47, is among a group of people starting The Sanctuary, a new unaffiliated church that is meeting every Sunday at the Hilton Garden Inn in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, until they can find a permanent location, The Palm Beach Post reports. Tchividjian was forced to resign from his position as a senior pastor of Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church in northern Fort Lauderdale when he “violated a morality contract” by having an extramarital affair, according to a filing in his divorce case. Tchividjian has said that there was no element of sex abuse or emotional manipulation in the affair. However, the woman involved in the affair called it pastoral abuse and sexual misconduct, saying that Tchividjian groomed her and abused his position of power over her.