Leon Chechemian

Leon Chechemian (Mar Leon (According to Anson, the Ancient British Church archives "cannot produce documentary evidence" that Chechemian used the religious title of "Mar".) He is also considered an episcopus vagans.

Early life Chechemian or Checkemian was born in Malatya, Eastern Anatolia to parents Jacob and Rose (née Gruchian). His family were originally Armenian Apostolic and converted to Armenian Catholicism when he was 13.

Ministry, 1866-circa 1879 Chechemian was ordained as a priest on 27 November 1866 by Leon Chorchorunian (lived 1822–1897), the Armenian Catholic Church's archbishop of Malatya.

In this capacity, Chechemian served at Besui (1866–1868), Aintab (1868), Gurum (1868–1877) and then moved to Malatya.

At Malatya, probably in 1878 or thereabouts, Chechemian was blessed as vardapet, a highly educated celibate priest, or archimandrite, who is a doctor of theology. A vardapet may hold rank similar to that of a bishop, though without the power to ordain priests.

In 1890, Chechemian was described as "an Armenian Catholic priest of the highest degree" who received "his degree of very honourable doctor" from Chorchorunian on 23 April 1878, and was later, while in Constantinople, "referred to as a prominent, well known dignitary." However, Bain also notes that Henry Brandreth considers it doubtful that Chorchorunian ever consecrated Chechemian as a bishop.

If Bain is correct that there was this 1879 consecration on 23 April 1879, it took place precisely twelve months after the date on which it is known that Chechemian had been blessed as a vardapet, 23 April 1878. An alternative possibility might be that Bain's 23 April 1879 date is a transcription error for 23 April 1878 and that Bain (or Bain's sources) did not appreciate the significant and important distinction between a vardapet and a bishop.

Brandreth noted that Chechemian was "said to have been" a titular bishop who "had no jurisdiction to perform consecrations"; his doubt about whether Chechemian was consecrated as a bishop by Chorchorunian is supported by others. An 1890 letter to the editor from a promoter of Chechemian to the Belfast News Letter never referred to Chechemian as a bishop.

According to Bertil Persson, "Checkemian has not, as has been stated, been consecrated a Bishop in The Armenian Catholic Church."

While Persson did not write in a section about "The apostolic succession of the Apostolic Episcopal Church from the Armenian Catholic Church" that Chechemian was consecrated as bishop by Chorchorunian, Persson had not removed that section but equivocated that Chechemian was only "blessed as vardapet" by Chorchorunian in 1878. A vardapet "receives a scholarly degree" through ordination and receives a crozier "which symbolizes wisdom and authority to teach and to preach", nevertheless a vardapet is not a bishop but monk.

The 1893 edition of Crockford's Clerical Directory did not note any prior episcopal status.

Death, 1920 Chechemian died on 3 December 1920.

Leadership succession Stevens died on 2 February 1917. Martin (Mar Jacobus I Antipas (According to Anson, the Ancient British Church archives "cannot produce documentary evidence" that Martin used the religious title and name "Mar Jacobus".)

Lee and Seccombe, together with Thomas Mossman were the three founders and leaders of the Order of Corporate Reunion. The three of them claimed to have been secretly consecrated (c. 1877) as bishops. There has been much speculation and conjecture as to who their consecrators were. Owing to the secrecy that long surrounded these consecrations, it may be difficult to establish the facts definitively. However, the website of the Order of Corporate Reunion (as at 2015 led by Peter Paul Brennan) asserts that the consecrators were Dominicus Agostina (cardinal patriarch of Venice), Luigi Nazari di Caliana (archbishop of Milan), Vincentius Moretti (a cardinal), and Ignatios Ghiurekian (a Byzantine archbishop and abbot-general of Ordo Mechitaristarum Venetiarum from the island of St Lazarus near Venice), and that they acted with the authority of Pope Pius IX.

(D) from Richardson Alfred Spencer Richardson was consecrated on 22 June 1879 in the Reformed Episcopal Church in Philadelphia, USA by William Rufus Nicholson, a bishop of the Reformed Episcopal Church, USA. WR Nicholson was consecrated for the Protestant Episcopal Church, USA on 24 February 1876 by Charles Edward Cheney who was consecrated (14 December 1873) by George David Cummins, American Episcopal assistant bishop of Kentucky, USA, and who was consecrated (15 November 1866) by John Henry Hopkins, Episcopal bishop of Vermont, USA. The line of succession to Hopkins is traceable from William Sancroft (enthroned archbishop of Canterbury, 1678) via Thomas White (bishop of Peterborough, England), George Hickes (assistant bishop of Thetford, England), James Gadderar (bishop of Aberdeen, Scotland), Thomas Rattray (bishop of Dunkeld, Scotland), William Falconer (or Falconar) (bishop of Caithness, Scotland), Robert Kilgour (bishop of Aberdeen, Scotland), Samuel Seabury (bishop of Connecticut, USA), Thomas Clagett (bishop of Maryland, USA), Edward Bass (bishop of Massachusetts, USA), Abraham Jarvis (bishop of Connecticut, USA), Alexander Viets Griswold (bishop of Eastern Diocese, USA) who in 1832 consecrated Hoskins.