Talk:British Orthodox Church

Proposed Oriental Orthodoxy project

There is now a new proposed project at Wikipedia:WikiProject Council/Proposals#Oriental Orthodoxy for a group which would focus on articles relating to the Oriental Orthodox Church. Any individuals interested in working with such a group should indicate as much there, to allow us to know if there is enough support to actually begin such a project. Thank you. Badbilltucker 14:27, 11 January 2007 (UTC)

Problem with Chryssides

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:

1. The consecration and mission of Jules Ferrette is alleged and not a matter of fact; see the Jules Ferrette WP article
2. Independent Bishops: An International Directory (p. 294) states Newman was Newman-Norton's uncle; see the Abba Seraphim WP article
3. the 2009 Melton's encyclopedia of American religions states Seraphim was patriarch of Glastonbury from 1979 to 1994; see the Abba Seraphim WP article
4. Seraphim was no consecrated patriarch in 1994, rather in 1994 he joined the Coptic Orthodox Church and ceased calling himself patriarch

Veverve (talk) 15:42, 10 January 2022 (UTC)

Membership figures?

It seems odd that there is not even an estimate of the membership cited. That might lead one to believe that it is a very small number indeed, perhaps comprising no more than those mentioned in the article. Does anyone have reliable statistics that could be quoted here?
Bricology (talk) 08:32, 8 September 2024 (UTC)

I have so far been unable to locate any numbers independent of the church itself. Even the church's own numbers are highly ambiguous: my best guess would be that they number tens or hundreds, but that's little more than a guess. Jonathan A Jones (talk) 19:15, 8 September 2024 (UTC)

How odd that I should arrive here with the exact same question. My sense is that it is a tiny church, and I would suspect fewer than one hundred members, but it is nothing more than a sense. For that, they seem to have a very high ratio of senior clerics, including such oddities as the Archbishop of Caerleon-upon-Usk and Mafrian. It really would be good if someone could find some accurate figures. KJP1 (talk) 08:57, 26 October 2024 (UTC)