This article is within the scope of WikiProject Oriental Orthodoxy, a collaborative effort to improve the coverage of articles on the Oriental Orthodox Church on Wikipedia. If you would like to participate, please visit the project page, where you can join
the discussion and see a list of open tasks.Oriental OrthodoxyWikipedia:WikiProject Oriental OrthodoxyTemplate:WikiProject Oriental OrthodoxyOriental Orthodoxy articles
This article is within the scope of WikiProject United Kingdom, a collaborative effort to improve the coverage of the
United Kingdom on Wikipedia. If you would like to participate, please visit the project page, where you can join
the discussion and see a list of open tasks.United KingdomWikipedia:WikiProject United KingdomTemplate:WikiProject United KingdomUnited Kingdom articles
The following Wikipedia contributor may be personally or professionally connected to the subject of this article. Relevant policies and guidelines may include
conflict of interest,
autobiography, and
neutral point of view.
George Chryssides gives in his Historical Dictionary of New Religious Movements (2nd ed. from 2012, art. 'BRITISH ORTHODOX CHURCH.') the following description of this denomination:
A Christian Church in the Eastern Orthodox tradition, the British Orthodox Church was established by Jules Ferrette (1828–1904), who was consecrated in the Syrian Orthodox Church, becoming bishop of Iona and its dependencies. Contacts with Syrian and other Orthodox churches lapsed, however, and British Orthodoxy became regarded as uncanonical. A revival occurred under the leadership of Hugh George de Wilmot Newman (1905–1979), known as Metropolitan Georgius of Glastonbury, who emphasized the history of British Christianity prior to the Great Schism of 1054. In 1994, his cousin, William Henry Hugo Newman-Norton, was consecrated as metropolitan of Glastonbury, and the organization gained recognition by other Orthodox churches. The British Orthodox Church now forms part of the Coptic Patriarchate of Alexandria and has jurisdiction over the United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland, the Isle of Man, and the Channel Islands. In common with other Orthodox churches, it uses the Gregorian calendar for its dating of festivals. Its liturgy is in English, and it has republished a number of theological writings in English. Membership is estimated to be between 5,000 and 10,000, with 12 churches in the United Kingdom. There is a British Orthodox Fellowship for seekers who do not wish to commit themselves to full membership of an Orthodox Church.
However:
The consecration and mission of Jules Ferrette is alleged and not a matter of fact; see the
Jules Ferrette WP article
Independent Bishops: An International Directory (p. 294) states Newman was Newman-Norton's uncle; see the
Abba Seraphim WP article
the 2009 Melton's encyclopedia of American religions states Seraphim was patriarch of Glastonbury from 1979 to 1994; see the
Abba Seraphim WP article
Seraphim was no consecrated patriarch in 1994, rather in 1994 he joined the Coptic Orthodox Church and
ceased calling himself patriarch