Phillip Geoffrey Wiles

Philip Geoffrey Wiles was born in Richmond, England, on 27 July 1921, the youngest child (of 7) of Ralph Cunnington Wiles (1877–1964), the manager of the  enquiries department of a Richmond architect (later listed as 'Stone Restorers'), and Florence nee Gardner (1884–1960). At the time, his family were living on Grosvenor Road, Richmond. The family were active in their local Baptist Church.  Around the age of 10, Wiles had a spiritual experience that prompted him to offer his life to God. 

When the War broke out, he joined the Army which, after the victory in North Africa, resulted in the landing in Italy. On 9 July 1943, Wiles landed at Augusta, Sicily as part of the Allied invasion. Two landing ships near his were hit by bombs and sunk. His faith and sense of calling, in the midst of death and destruction, posed the question: what was his life being saved for?. While sheltering from German bombs, he had a profound experience that solidified his commitment to God. As the Eighth Army fought its way up the Peninsula, he found himself stationed in the northeastern region near Trieste.  All the while, Philip experienced a growing conviction that he was called to Christian service. He had already shared this feeling with his family. During his service he was transferred to a remote lighthouse with seven other soldiers. He initially felt isolated and uncertain about his purpose there. Several events encouraged him to think that there was a calling to Italy, however. One of the soldiers at the lighthouse asked Philip about the difference between their religions, leading to daily conversations and the soldier's conversion. On another occasion he gave a Gospel of John to the woman who did their laundry. The woman's husband read the entire Gospel and requested a Bible. Philip, despite not speaking much Italian, started a nightly Bible study with the lighthouse keeper, which drew in local farmers and became an impromptu evangelistic gathering. Writing to his father about these events, Ralph suggested that perhaps God was indeed calling him to Italy. When he confided in the lighthouse keeper about his belief that God was calling him back to Italy, the keeper's enthusiastic encouragement further affirmed his growing conviction.

After his discharge, Wiles returned to England. He then spent several years in Bible school and mission work, further equipping him for ministry. He met Margaret Elaine (Peggy) nee Ingle (1917–2017), who had been living in Italy before the war and during the War worked for the BBC. In 1948, at Lewisham, they married: they would have four children together and serve together over a lifelong ministry.  Wiles began his ministry working as the deputational secretary for the Baptist Spezia Mission. In 1950 he did a deputation tour of England, raising money and support for the Mission for Italy, speaking in places such as the Christian Workers Union Hall, Portadown and Plymouth Central Hall.  Despite facing anxieties and warnings from others about the challenges of raising a young family in a foreign country without a guaranteed salary, in 1951 he and his wife made the decision to go to Italy permanently. He then took his family to rural Trieste, where they faced hostility from local priests and struggled to see genuine conversions.  Philip and his family moved to Udine, where he had met many people during the War, and started holding meetings in their home. This eventually led to establishing a small church building. However, Philip continued to experience a sense of futility and frustration in his ministry. He did however, lead a number of people to Christ, including Peppino Petris. Before a planned campaign with a Swiss preacher, Philip felt compelled to pray for himself and seek a deeper experience of the Holy Spirit, particularly in light of the lack of fruit in his ministry. A Pentecostal soldier, whom Philip had known through hosting soldiers in his home, challenged Philip's understanding of the Holy Spirit. This encounter, along with the soldier's prayer, led Philip to a profound experience of God's presence, which he initially resisted out of fear. When Wiles attended a convention for American servicemen and their families, he encountered a vibrant expression of faith and the power of the Holy Spirit. This experience marked a turning point in his ministry. 

The baptism of the Holy Spirit brought new power and effectiveness to Philip's ministry. Wiles began experiencing and witnessing the power of God for healing and deliverance. He shared personal testimonies of miraculous healing, including his son's recovery from burns and a slipped disk that he himself was healed from. This experience became the basis for Wiles' message relating to the necessity of allowing God to break down human pride, traditions, and resistance to make room for His power and presence. The work in Udine grew, and he began collaborating with the Assemblies of God in Italy, seeing significant expansion throughout the country. It had particuar impact in Catania, Sicily, where he played a pivotal role in the early days of the Evangelical Pentecostal Church in Italy. Wiles held numerous meetings in a garage in Catania, with other ministers holding revival meetings in tents ("tende della salute") in the city, drawing large crowds and resulting in numerous conversions. This led to the establishment of the "Opera Gesù Cristo, il Signore" and the "Chiese Gesù Cristo, il Signore." 

In March 1965, Wiles led a mission in Crotone. Initially experiencing difficulties, the mission concluded with a powerful spiritual outpouring, impacting many. On 2 March during this campaign, his future son-in-law, Salvatore Loria, had a profound spiritual encounter during the mission led by Wiles in Crotone, sparking a life-long ministry in communication.  Wiles' ministry extended beyond his own denomination, reaching out to other churches and promoting unity within the Body of Christ.  He did not always accept invitations to merely preach - he thought most churches already had good preachers. Instead he emphasized, first, a rigorous exposition of the Word of God (as detailed in his book Predica la Parola), and secondly the unction of the Holy Spirit to bring hearers to salvation. 

In the early 1970s Wiles left his itinerant work with the ADI to operate independently. In 1974, a group of Pentecostal believers from Catania, met during his numerous preaching trips there, asked him to come and take over their spiritual guidance. Among these were the Ciaccio family, who had come to faith via the testimony of a family (the Di Francia family) from Vittoria, in provincia Ragusa, who had directed them to the ADI church in Via De Felice.  The Wiles' moved to Catania, and began to meet with them in the Ciaccio family garage; shortly thereafter, the church of Via Mascagni was founded. Already connected to dozens of Churches throughout the mezzogiorno, in the 1970s. Wiles founded the association Chiese Cristiane “Gesú Cristo è il Signore” (“Jesus Christ Is Lord” Churches) as an overarching fellowship for the churches which related to his ministry. Organized around an apostolic form of government (Wiles was referred to as an apostle), at foundation it included 35 churches with about 3,000 adherents. 

Wiles' ministry has been picked up by many disciples and successors, who have continued his work on both local and regional scales. He was particularly influential in drawing members of the uniformed services into leadership in his churches. Giovanni Perri, for instance, entered the circles around Filippo Wiles after his father Gilberto, a policeman from Cosenza, was transferred to Catania in 1975 and (after long seeking a deeper spirituality) was converted. Gilberto and the family were transferred again in 1979, this time to Reggio Calabria where Gilberto was head of the Traffic Police: they began attending the Evangelical Church there led by Giulio Ielo. Gilberto, through the influence of visiting pastor Goldberg, became the pastor of this church in the early 1980s. The church grew rapidly, moving several times to ever larger buildings and founding both social outreach (IPF - Istituto Per La Famiglia Onlus in 1994) and in 1994 a Christian political concern movement PA.C.E. (Patto Cristiano Esteso). Giovanni also joined the police, training in Rome and being stationed in the Ndrangheta centre of Vibo Valentia, Calabria. There he too started caring for the local congregation, which began with three families and grew to 100 members by 2009. As well as IPF, he created cooperative services like Vibosalus, and elevated the church in Vibo to full independent status in connection with the Church in Reggio under the missional concept of the 'chiesa di filadelfia' (the Church of Love).  Likewise, Ottavio Prato came out of youth delinquency and then a military career to be converted in under the "Tent of Health" (1980). In 1982, Wiles appointed him deacon in the church in Catania, and the next year as an elder. In 1994, he was consecrated as Wiles' successor as pastor of the Catania church. Another former policeman influenced to enter the pastoral ministry was Nicola Spuria, who in 1985 was a member of the Anti-Mafia Squad in the Catania Police Force. 

He continued to serve effectively in ministry, to preach powerfully, and offer counsel to others until his death at 93 years old. 

Phillip Geoffrey Wiles died in Catania on 30 July 2014. His funeral was held on 1 August 2014. The Evangelical Alliance in Italy, with which he was involved for many years, commemorated his legacy by remembering 'his missionary commitment and his sensitivity for "the importance of the unity of the people of God"... With his passion for lost souls, his discretion, delicacy and confidentiality, with his intelligence and theological preparation and, above all, with the anointing of the Holy Spirit, he managed to complete the purpose of his existence: to glorify the name of Jesus Christ, his and our Lord and Savior".  

Sources:

Evangelici.net, 'Catania saluta Filippo Wiles', https://evangelici.net/notizie/dall_italia/2014/catania-saluta-filippo-wiles/.

Chiesa Cristiana 'Gesú Cristo è il Signore', Funerale Filippo Wiles Integrale, online video, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tSOnw2WwG2c.

Lambert, Lance, 'The Testimony of Philip Wiles (with subtitles)', podcast, 25 Apr 2023, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S3efJeXi5Ls.