Jules Ferrette

Jules Ferrette, was a Bishop of Iona (1828–1904) and founder of the Catholic Apostolic Church of the West (later known as the British Orthodox Church).

A Frenchman of Protestant parentage, he was born in Épinal (Vosges), France on 22 April 1828. According to his own account, when he was a boy of 14 he obtained access to the library of an eminent writer, in which there were a great many works of the Eastern fathers and Anglican divines. From reading these he reached the conclusion that most of the divisions of Christendom were unnecessary and capable of readjustment. He was received into the Catholic Church in 1850 and became a Dominican under the name 'Frere Raymond'. Studied philosophy and theology at Grenoble and Rome. Ordained to the minor orders 10 June 1854, subdeacon 23 December 1854, deacon 7 April 1855 and priest 2 June 1855. Served at Dominican Mission in Mesopotamia & Kurdistan January-June 1856 but left the Catholic Church. He worked with the Presbyterian Mission in Damascus from 1858 till 1865 and assisted Lord Dufferin's Mission to the poor Christians of Mount Lebanon from 1860 to 1862. He was consecrated as Bishop of Iona and its dependencies at Homs (Emesa) on 2 June 1866 at the hands of Mutran Boutros (later the Syrian Orthodox Patriarch Ignatius Boutros IV) acting solus. He died in Geneva on 10 October 1904.

References

* Abba Seraphim, "Flesh of Our Brethren: An historical examination of Western episcopal successions originating from the Syrian Orthodox Patriarchate of Antioch" (2006)
* The Blackwell Dictionary of Eastern Christianity (1999)