Salomão Barbosa Ferraz (18 February 1880 – 09 May 1969) was a Brazilian Roman Catholic

priest A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deity, deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in parti ...

and

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whose career took him through membership of several

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denominations from the

Presbyterian Presbyterianism is a historically Reformed Protestant tradition named for its form of church government by representative assemblies of elders, known as "presbyters". Though other Reformed churches are structurally similar, the word ''Pr ...

Church to the

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Biography

Ferraz was born in

Jaú Jaú is a city and municipality in the center of the state of São Paulo (state), São Paulo, in Brazil. The population is 151,881 (2020 est.) in an area of . The elevation is . The city takes its name from the native fish species ''Gilded catfish ...

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

on February 18, 1880. Originally a

minister, Barbosa Ferraz was ordained an

Anglican Anglicanism, also known as Episcopalianism in some countries, is a Western Christianity, Western Christian tradition which developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the ...

in 1917. He founded an ecumenical society, the "Order of Saint Andrew", in 1928, and was instrumental in organising a 'Free Catholic Congress' in 1936. At the close of this event he established a " Free Catholic Church" and was elected as the church's first bishop. The

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

halted his plans to be consecrated bishop by European Old Catholics, but Salomão Barbosa Ferraz was eventually consecrated by Carlos Duarte Costa following this bishop's excommunication by the

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in 1945. Barbosa Ferraz was also a member of

Freemasonry Freemasonry (sometimes spelled Free-Masonry) consists of fraternal groups that trace their origins to the medieval guilds of stonemasons. Freemasonry is the oldest secular fraternity in the world and among the oldest still-existing organizati ...

. Salomão Barbosa Ferraz in turn consecrated Manoel Ceia Laranjeira for the Free Catholic Church of Brazil in 1951, but sought reception into the

, which he achieved under

Pope John XXIII Pope John XXIII (born Angelo Giuseppe Roncalli; 25 November 18813 June 1963) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 28 October 1958 until his death on 3 June 1963. He is the most recent pope to take ...

, leaving Manoel Ceia Laranjeira at the head of the Free Catholic Church, then renamed the Independent Catholic Apostolic Church in Brazil. In 1959, Ferraz was received into the Roman Catholic Church. His reception met with some resistance and confusion in Rome, where it had been assumed that he was widowed or chaste. He was eventually named titular bishop of

Eleutherna Eleutherna (), also called Apollonia (), was an ancient city-state in Crete, Greece, which lies 25 km southeast of Rethymno in Rethymno (regional unit), Rethymno regional unit. Archaeologists excavated the site, located on a narrow northern ...

in 1963 and took part in the

Second Vatican Council The Second Ecumenical Council of the Vatican, commonly known as the or , was the 21st and most recent ecumenical council of the Catholic Church. The council met each autumn from 1962 to 1965 in St. Peter's Basilica in Vatican City for session ...

. Bishop Ferraz died in 1969, leaving a wife and seven children. Ferraz was a rare example of a legally accepted married bishop in the modern Roman Catholic history.FERRAZ, Hermes. ''Dom Salomão Ferraz e o Ecumenismo''. São Paulo, João Scortecci Editora, 1995. pp 78ff

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ferraz, Salomao Barbosa 1880 births 1969 deaths 20th-century Roman Catholic bishops in Brazil Participants in the Second Vatican Council 20th-century Presbyterian ministers Converts from Presbyterianism Converts to Roman Catholicism from Catholic Independent denominations Bishops of the Free Catholic Church Married Roman Catholic bishops People from Jaú Brazilian Roman Catholics