Abba Seraphim

Abba Seraphim (born William Henry Hugo Newman-Norton, 27 February 1948) is an English independent Oriental Orthodox bishop. He is the Patriarch of Glastonbury and head of the British Orthodox Church[1] with the title of "His Beatitude Patriarch Seraphim, the British Patriarch of Glastonbury". In 1975 he also succeeded William Bernard Crow as head of the Order of the Holy Wisdom.[2]

His Beatitude

Abba Seraphim
Patriarch of the British Orthodox Church
Abba Seraphim
ChurchBritish Orthodox Church
MetropolisMetropolis of Glastonbury
SeeGlastonbury, United Kingdom
Appointed28 February 1979
PredecessorMar Georgius
Personal details
Birth nameWilliam Henry Hugo Newman-Norton
Born (1948-02-27) 27 February 1948
DenominationIndependent Oriental Orthodox
Coat of arms

Life and ministry

On 4 October 2015 the Coptic Orthodox Patriarchate, in response to a request from the British Orthodox Church, agreed to the British church returning to its pre-1994 status as an independent jurisdiction, with Seraphim as primate. This action led to a restoration of the situation in which the British Orthodox Church was not in communion with any of the Oriental Orthodox churches.[3]

On 7 January 2019, it was announced that Metropolitan Seraphim would be known as "His Beatitude Patriarch Seraphim". The church he leads continues to be known as the British Orthodox Church - Metropolis of Glastonbury. He is now to be considered the VIIth patriarch, having ceased to use the title of Patriarch during the period of union with the Coptic Orthodox Church out of courtesy to Pope Shenouda III.[4]

See also

References
  1. "About the British Orthodox Church". Retrieved 8 November 2015.
  2. https://sites.google.com/site/gnostickos/bbishopsnewmannorton
  3. "Joint announcement from the Coptic Orthodox Church in the United Kingdom and the British Orthodox Church of the British Isles" (PDF) (Press release). 5 October 2015. Retrieved 8 November 2015.
  4. "Announcement of the restoration of title of Patriarch". 7 January 2019. Retrieved 21 January 2019.
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