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The Celtic Orthodox Church is a small autocephalous church, formerly known as the Catholic Apostolic Church (Catholicate of the West) and, before that, as the Ancient British Church which was constituted by the Syriac Orthodox Church of Antioch.
The Celtic Orthodox Church is represented in France, Switzerland, USA, Australia and the UK.
However, as an autocephalous church, the Celtic Orthodox Church is not, and never has been, subject to the Syriac Orthodox Church nor is it in any way part of the Oriental Orthodox Church. It is Western Orthodox.
The Celtic Orthodox Church is neither Monophysite nor Miaphysite in theology. Its position with regard to the Ecumenical Councils might best be described as Pro-Chalcedonian, that is to say it accepts the teaching of all seven councils, but acknowledges that only the first three were truly ecumenical. The Celtic Orthodox Church, therefore, shares the Eastern Orthodox doctrine that Christ, the second Person of the Holy Trinity, is one Person with two Natures as defined at the Council of Chalcedon.
History
Origins
In 1866, with the sanction of Patriarch Ignatius Ya'qub (Jacob) II of the Syriac Orthodox Church of Antioch, Mar Julius (Jules Ferrette) was consecrated by Mar Boutros (Boutros ibn Salmo Mesko) who later became Patriarch Mor Ignatius Peter IV of Antioch, with the remit to form an indigenous Orthodox church in Western Europe, which was not in any way subject to the Syriac Orthodox Church or the Patriarch of Antioch. The consecration was witnessed by the British Consul at Damascus. Mar Julius was given the title of Bishop of Iona and its Dependencies.
Ancient British Church
From 1866 to 1944 the church was known as the Ancient British Church, although in November 1897 a merger with the Free Protestant Church and the Nazarene Episcopal Church formed the ‘Free Protestant Episcopal Church.’
Catholic Apostolic Church (Catholicate of the West)
In 1944 the Ancient British Church was united with the Old Catholic Church, the British Orthodox Catholic Church and the Independent Catholic Church. The church then became known as the Catholic Apostolic Church (Catholicate of the West). Catholicate was dropped in 1953.
Celtic Orthodox Church
When in 1994, Abba (Mar) Seraphim, following negotiations with Pope Shenouda III, took the UK branch of the Catholic Apostolic Church into union with the Coptic (Oriental) Orthodox Church, taking the name British Orthodox Church, the Holy Synod of the Breton branch of the Catholic Apostolic Church, who had decided against joining the Coptic Church, elected Mgr Mael (Paul-Eduard de Fournier de Brescia), to be primate of the continuing Catholic Apostolic Church. The church assumed the name L'Église Orthodoxe Celtique (the Celtic Orthodox Church) to indicate that its jurisdiction covered the areas of the original Celtic missions.
Communion of Western Orthodox Churches
Since 25 December 2007, the Celtic Orthodox Church has been united with the French Orthodox Church and the Orthodox Church of the Gauls, forming the Communion of Western Orthodox Churches (CWOC). There are other groups who use the words 'Celtic' and 'Orthodox' in their titles. These are not the subject of this article.
Western Orthodoxy
Despite deriving from the Syriac Orthodox Church, the Celtic Orthodox Church is not an Oriental Orthodox Church. Its theology and faith accord with the Eastern Orthodox Churches, enriched by the spirituality of the Celtic saints of the West. Their Liturgy is not Byzantine but reconstructed from fragments of Celtic manuscripts, notably that of Bobbio. The Celtic Orthodox Church is not part of the Western Rite Orthodox movement.
The Celtic Orthodox Church is neither Monophysite nor Miaphysite in theology. Its position with regard to the Ecumenical Councils might best be described as Pro-Chalcedonian, that is to say, it accepts the teaching of all seven councils, but acknowledges that only the first three were truly ecumenical. The Celtic Orthodox Church, therefore, shares the Eastern Orthodox doctrine that Christ, the second Person of the Holy Trinity, is one Person with two Natures as defined at the Council of Chalcedon.
Influences
The ethos of the Celtic Orthodox Church is in the first instance influenced by the teaching and examples of the Celtic heritage. St Francis of Assisi with his closeness to Nature and his promulgation of poverty is also an influence, as is the hermit Clodoald, later Tugdual, (Jean-Pierre Danyel – 1917-1968).
Tugdual, after trying various denominations and receiving priestly orders twice, settled into an ascetic way of life in woodland near Saint Dolay in Brittany. Here, in 1957, he became the first bishop of the revived and short-lived Holy Celtic Church. After his death, his hermitage was occupied by a small group of monks living in the South of France, their leader being Fr Paul-Eduard de Fournier de Brescia. These monks, who had been received into the Catholic Apostolic Church, built the Monastery of the Holy Presence on the site of Tugdual’s hermitage. Thus, Tugdual’s legacy was brought into the Catholic Apostolic Church.
Tugdual left many notebooks and letters setting out his unique spiritual insight. In 1996 the Celtic Orthodox Church canonised him and he became St Tugdual the New.
List of Patriarchs/Primates
The following are the patriarchs/primates in succession:
- Mar Pelagius I (Richard Williams Morgan), consecrated in 1874 by Julius Ferrete.
- Mar Theophilus I (Charles Isaac Stevens), consecrated in 1879 by Mar Pelagius. (1889 to 1917)
- Mar Jacobus I Antipas (James Martin), consecrated in November 1890 by Leon Chechemian. (1917 to 1919)
- Mar Andries I (Andrew Charles Albert McLaglan), consecrated in 1897 by Leon Chechemian and Mar Jacobus I Antipas. (1919 to 1928)
- Mar Jacobus II (Herbert James Monzani-Heard), consecrated in 1922 by Mar Andries I. (1928 to1945)
- Mar Georgius I (Hugh George de Willmott Newman), consecrated in 1944 by Mar Basilius (William Bernard Crow). (1945 to 1979)
- Mar Seraphim I (William Henry Hugo Newman-Norton), consecrated in 1977 by Mar Georgius, (1979)
- Mgr Mael I (Paul-Eduard de Fournier de Brescia), consecrated in 1980 by Mar Seraphim (1994 to 2014)
- Mgr Marc I (Jean-Claude Scheerens), consecrated in 1998 by Mgr Mael. (2014 to present)
NB The first eight are common with the British Orthodox Church
See also
References
- Leon Chechemian may have been earlier (1879) consecrated by Leon Chorchorunian. According to Bain ("Bishops Irregular: an international directory of independent bishops", 1985), Brandreth ("Episcopi Vagantes and the Anglican Church", 1961) considers the claim that Chechemian was consecrated by Chorchorunian as doubtful.
External links
- French Eparchy (in French and English)
- Communion of Western Orthodox Churches (In French)
- St Gwenn's Celtic Orthodox Parish
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