Tullian Tchividjian, Billy Graham’s Grandson, Resigns From Presbyterian Church Following Affair

by Olivia Truffaut-WongJune 23, 2015, 10:46 pmNews, News Feed >

Tullian Tchividjian, Billy Graham’s grandson, has resigned from his position as senior pastor of a South Florida church after admitting to an extramarital affair.

Tullian Tchividjian Resigns Following “Moral Failure”

Tchividjian, who has been a senior pastor at Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church since 2009, announced his resignation on Sunday, writing that his resignation was due to “ongoing marital issues.” In a statement given to The Washington Post, Tchividjian claimed that he returned from a recent trip to discover that his wife was having an affair. Tchividjian then stated that he took a sabbatical to focus on his marriage and his separation from his wife led him to have an affair of his own.

“Sadly and embarrassingly, I subsequently sought comfort in a friend and developed an inappropriate relationship myself. Last week I was approached by our church leaders and they asked me about my own affair. I admitted to it and it was decided that the best course of action would be for me to resign,” Tchividjian said in his statement.

“Both my wife and I are heartbroken over our actions and we ask you to pray for us and our family that God would give us the grace we need to weather this heart wrenching storm. We are amazingly grateful for the team of men and women who are committed to walking this difficult path with us. Please pray for the healing of deep wounds and we kindly ask that you respect our privacy,” Tchividjian added.

Tchividjian, 42, has been married to his wife, Kim, since 1994. Together they have three children and one grandson. Kim released her own separate statement, distancing herself from her husband’s original announcement, saying, “The statement reflected my husband’s opinions but not my own.”

Kim also requested that the public respect their privacy and thanked her supporters.

Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church also released a separate statement on Tchividjian, noting that Tchividjian resigned after a “moral failure.”

“Several days ago, Pastor Tullian admitted to moral failure, acknowledging his actions disqualify him from continuing to serve as senior pastor or preach from the pulpit, and resigned – effective immediately,” reads the official statement.

The Church also stated that they do not yet have a replacement for Tchividjian.

Tchividjian is known as a somewhat reformed evangelical Christian. Throughout his career as an Evangelical Christian leader, Tchividjian has distanced himself from politics, and instead founded the Liberate ministry, which has been temporarily closed in light of his recent resignation.

An active Twitter user, Tchividjian has shared a few choice words of wisdom to share with his followers since his resignation, including one that reads, “No vertical condemnation does not mean no horizontal consequences. Surrender early.”

Article by Olivia Truffaut-Wong

Olivia Truffaut-Wong was born and raised in Berkeley, California, where she developed her love of all things entertainment. After moving to New York City to earn her degree in Film Studies, she stayed on the East Coast to follow her passion and become an entertainment writer. She lives on a diet of television, movies and food.