| Revision as of 08:55, 17 April 2007 editPeterfarrington (talk | contribs)9 edits →History← Previous edit | Revision as of 08:56, 17 April 2007 edit undoPeterfarrington (talk | contribs)9 edits →OrganisationNext edit → | ||
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| * Eparchy of Great Britain | * Eparchy of Great Britain | ||
| His Grace Bishop Stephen, British Eparch | His Grace Bishop Stephen, British Eparch | ||
| (Now appears to have ceased activity and Stephen Robson has repudiated his episcopate) | |||
| * Eparchy of Switzerland | * Eparchy of Switzerland | ||
Revision as of 08:56, 17 April 2007
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The Celtic Orthodox Church is an indigenous, Autocephalous Orthodox Church in Europe with representation in the United Kingdom for over 100 years. The head of the Church carries the title of Metropolitan of Dol and titular Bishop of Iona, with residence in Saint-Dolay (Monastery of the Holy Presence ) in Brittany (current titular : H B Mael since 1995). It does not maintain canonical ties with any other Orthodox Christian body.
History
Established as the Orthodox Church of the British Isles in 1866, their historic Apostolic Succession was derived from the Syriac Orthodox Church of Antioch. With the sanction of the Patriarch Ignatius Jacobus II having first been obtained, on 2nd June 1866, Mar Julius, Metropolitan Bishop of Emesa consecrated Jules Ferrette as Bishop Julius and gave him the title of Bishop of Iona and its Dependencies. This consecration, in Syria, was witnessed and the instrument of consecration was verified before the British Consul at Damascus. Bishop Julius was not consecrated to form a British Diocese of the Syrian Church, but was dispatched with authority to erect an indigenous Orthodox Church in Western Europe which would not in any way be subject to Antioch. In this way an Orthodox Church for Britain was restored, its spiritual ancestor having given way to Rome following the Synod of Whitby (664) and the Council of Hereford (673).
Like many churches, the British Eparchy has had a mixed history. Bishop Julius was not well received in 1866 and many of his successors had great difficulty in maintaining the Church and its Orthodox Faith. Objections were made by both Protestant churches and other Orthodox Churches, but gradually the Church not only survived, but also grew. By 1994 the Church had gained such stature that the Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria received the British Diocese within its jurisdiction, accepting its Orders. The senior British bishop having joined the Coptic Orthodox Patriarchate of Alexandria, the remaining members of the Holy Synod of Bishops elected Bishop Mael (the Abbot of the Monastère de la Saint-Présence) to be Primate and Metropolitan. The Orthodox Church of the British Isles took the title, British Orthodox Church with the unanimous agreement of all her priests at an important Synod held in London. The Orthodox Church of the British Isles did not continue in existence since all of the members and clergy of the OCBI joined the Coptic Orthodox Patriarchate of Alexandria and became the British Orthodox Church by a formal, legal change of name.
Those French members who rejected the opportunity of joining the Coptic Orthodox Patriarchate of Alexandria now assumed the title of the French Eparchy: L'Eglise Orthodoxe Celtique (the Celtic Orthodox Church) to indicate that its jurisdiction covered the area of the old Celtic missions.
In 1998 several of the priests of the British Orthodox Church who had become priests in the Coptic Orthodox Patriarchate of Alexandria left the wider Orthodox communion and chose to return to the independent Christian movement, eventually most of them were received independently of one another by Mar Mael and L'Eglise Orthodox Celtique, though some joined other small independent groups.
By 1998 the Church in Britain was given the status of an Eparchy or Province and in 1999 a new Bishop Eparch was elected and Consecrated for Britain, he had been one of those British priests who had chosen to leave the Coptic Orthodox Patriarchate.
In early 2007 the British Eparchy of the Celtic Orthodox Church collapsed due to Stephen Robson repudiating his episcopate and seeking entry to the Episcopal Vicariate of Great Britain and Ireland under Bishop Basil of Amphipolis. In March 2007, Father Timothy Curtis of the Celtic Orthodox Church had been received as a priest by Bishop Basil, though it is not clear if he underwent any ordination at his hands. Since Stephen Robson had repudiated his episcopate, thereby bringing into doubt all of his episcopal actions, including the ordination of Father Timothy Curtis, an ordination would appear to be required. It would seem that some other clergy of the British Eparchy have also sought entry into the Vicariate, but in April 2007 no other clergy had appeared on the Vicariate website.
Indeed Stephen Robson was still acting as a bishop in February 2007, though having given up his episcopal status at that time, and performed a baptism as an Orthodox bishop - http://www.baptism.org.uk/public.htm.
It is therefore not clear what the status of the other clergy of the British Eparchy is at present. All mention of the Eparchy has been removed from the French Celtic Orthodox websites, Stephen Robson has repudiated his episcopate, and it seems that some of the clergy are still waiting to see if they will be received by Bishop Basil of Amphipolis.
Organisation
- Eparchy of France
His Beatiude Mael, Metropolitan His Grace Bishop Marc, Abbot
- Eparchy of Great Britain
His Grace Bishop Stephen, British Eparch (Now appears to have ceased activity and Stephen Robson has repudiated his episcopate)
- Eparchy of Switzerland
Archpriest Dimitri Mottier, Swiss Administrator
- Eparchy of America
- Eparchy of Australia