John Thomas Seccombe (1834 - January 27, 1895) was an English medical doctor, translator, and episcopus vagans associated with

Frederick George Lee Frederick George Lee (6 January 1832 in Thame, Oxfordshire – 22 January 1902 at Lambeth, London) was a priest of the Church of England and a religious author. He co-founded the Order of Corporate Reunion. Biography Lee was trained in Ripon Coll ...

and

Thomas Wimberley Mossman Thomas Wimberley Mossman (1826 - July 6, 1885) was a Church of England priest, novelist, translator, episcopus vagans and Ritualist leader associated with the Order of Corporate Reunion (OCR). He was born in Skipton, North Yorkshire. Ordained pri ...

in the Order of Corporate Reunion. Seccombe received the M.D. from the

University of St Andrews (Aien aristeuein) , motto_lang = grc , mottoeng = Ever to ExcelorEver to be the Best , established = , type = Public research university Ancient university , endowment ...

in 1862, and was a member of the

Royal College of Surgeons The Royal College of Surgeons is an ancient college (a form of corporation) established in England to regulate the activity of surgeons. Derivative organisations survive in many present and former members of the Commonwealth. These organisations a ...

; he was also fellow of the

Royal Astronomical Society (Whatever shines should be observed) , predecessor = , successor = , formation = , founder = , extinction = , merger = , merged = , type = NGO ...

and a member of the Odd Fellows. Seccombe married twice, first to Elizabeth Margaret Clout; his eldest son

Thomas Seccombe Thomas Seccombe (1866–1923) was a miscellaneous English writer and, from 1891 to 1901, assistant editor of the ''Dictionary of National Biography'', in which he wrote over 700 entries. A son of physician and episcopus vagans John Thomas Se ...

was an assistant editor of the

Dictionary of National Biography The ''Dictionary of National Biography'' (''DNB'') is a standard work of reference on notable figures from British history, published since 1885. The updated ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' (''ODNB'') was published on 23 September ...

. He had five further children with his second wife, Ellen Bates. In addition to medical activities and correspondence with

Louis Pasteur Louis Pasteur (, ; 27 December 1822 – 28 September 1895) was a French chemist and microbiologist renowned for his discoveries of the principles of vaccination, microbial fermentation and pasteurization, the latter of which was named afte ...

, he was considered an expert on campanology and local antiquarian matters, and he served as a

Justice of the Peace A justice of the peace (JP) is a judicial officer of a lower or ''puisne'' court, elected or appointed by means of a commission ( letters patent) to keep the peace. In past centuries the term commissioner of the peace was often used with the sa ...

for Norfolk from 1886 to 1895. Henry R. T. Brandreth contends that Seccombe, originally an Anglican layman, had become an Orthodox Christian in the early 1860s in London. He may have been consecrated to the episcopate in 1867 by

Jules Ferrette Jules Ferrette, also spelled Julius Ferrette (22 April 1828 – 10 October 1904 or in 1903), was allegedly bishop of Iona; he is allegedly the founder of the Ancient British Church. Biography Ferrette was born in Épinal, France, possibly of Prot ...

, "Bishop of Iona" in the

Ancient British Church The Ancient British Church was a British religious movement supposedly founded in the 19th century by Jules Ferrette (Mar Julius) and Richard Williams Morgan (Mar Pelagius). The Ancient British Church ceased to exist in 1944. Foundation Jules Fer ...

. Brandreth identifies Seccombe as "the principal mover in inaugurating the Order of Corporate Reunion, or at least in laying down the line in which it was to follow." Seccombe assumed the name and title "Lawrence, Bishop of Caerleon" after supposed consecration as a bishop in 1877 in Italy, and worked with Lee and Mossman to reordain clergy of the

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Britain ...

with a view to establishing a body with unquestionably valid holy orders that could be received into the

Roman Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

. Seccombe is believed to have assisted Welsh nationalist

Richard Williams Morgan Richard Williams Morgan (1815–1889), also known by his bardic name Môr Meirion, was a Welsh Anglican priest, Welsh nationalist, campaigner for the use of the Welsh language and author. Morgan's outspoken criticism of English bishops in Wales w ...

in the consecration of Charles Isaac Stevens (1835–1917), second patriarch of the Ancient British Church (1889–1917) and primus of the

Free Protestant Episcopal Church The Free Protestant Episcopal Church (FPEC), later named The Anglican Free Communion and now entitled the Episcopal Free Communion, was formed in England on 2 November 1897 from the merger of three smaller churches. Others were to join later. ...

of England (1900–1917).

Bibliography

*
Κατηχησις. The Great Catechism of the Holy Catholic, Apostolic and Orthodox Church
' (London: Simpkin, Marshall & Co., 1867) *
The Holy Canons of the Seven Œcumenic Synods Translated from the Original Greek
' (London: Simpkin, Marshall & Co., 1867) *
Science, Theism and Revelation, Considered in Relation to Mr. Mill's Essay on Nature, Religion and Atheism
' (London: Simpkin, Marshall & Co., 1875) *"The Church of Terrington St. Clement" in ''Norfolk Archaeology'' (Norwich: Agas H. Goose, 1895), Vol. 12, pp. 1–12.

References

*Obituary: "John Thomas Seccombe, M.D., J.P" in ''The British Medical Journal'', Feb 16, 1895; 1(1781), p. 400. *H.R.T. Brandreth, ''Dr. Lee of Lambeth'' (London: Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge, 1951), pp. 120–121, 124–144. *H.R.T. Brandreth, ''Episcopi Vagantes in Church History'' (London: Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge, 1961), pp. 105–107, 117. *

Michael Yelton Michael Yelton is an English lay authority of the history of the Church of England, particularly the Anglo-Catholic movement. He is secretary of the Anglo-Catholic History Society and a retired as a county court judge on 22 April 2020. Works *' ...

, ''Anglican Papalism: A History'' (2005), p. 193. {{morecat, date=August 2023 1834 births 1895 deaths