Hugh George de Willmott Newman

Hugh de Willmott Newman (1905-1979), Mar Georgius I, Patriarch of Glastonbury, Catholicos of the West, Sixth British Patriarch, was the bishop of an independent (non-Roman) Catholic church. He is most notable for seeking multiple consecrations.

On April 10, 1944 Newman was consecrated a bishop by William Bernard Crow, whose own consecration derived from the Armenian Catholic Church. At other points Newman engaged in cross consecrating, where he and another bishop would consecrate each other to give each the other's lines of succession.

Newman consecrated, or shared cross-consecration with, at least 32 bishops. Today, there are hundreds of bishops around the world, perhaps thousands, with a lines of succession deriving through Hugh de Willmott Newman.

One of the jurisdictions that stands in succession to Newman is the present-day British Orthodox Church. The British Orthodox Church is now canonically part of the Coptic Orthodox Patriarchate of Antioch, a status that it achieved in 1994. The British Orthodox Church is led by Hugh de Willmott Newman's nephew, William Hugo Newman-Norton (Abba Seraphim El-Suriani) (born 1948).

Early life

Newman was born on January 17, 1905 at Forest Gate, London, England. His family background was in the Catholic Apostolic Church (Irvingite) and he was baptised (christened) at the Catholic Apostolic Church at More Street, Hackney, London. He took work in the office of a firm of solicitors and by age 21 he was managing clerk of the firm. As a young man, he was active in the life of the Catholic Apostolic Church.

At age 24 (in 1929), Newman left the solicitors' firm. He continued to educate himself. He took a post with the "Christian Herald" (a Christian newspaper) and he became a commercial consultant and a fellow of the Institute of Commerce. He engaged in charitable work with London's poor and needy, championing the cause of the underdog.

Political activity

Newman participated in attempts to restore Archduke Otto von Habsburg to the position of emperor of Austria and Bohemia. In recognition of his efforts he was granted the honour "prince of the Holy Roman Empire" by the Archduke's mother the Empress Zita, and also the title "Baron Willmott". Newman changed his name by Deed Poll from Newman to de Willmott Newman.

Newman was one of the co-founders of an organisation called "Royalists International", which campaigned against bolshevism and aimed to restore monarchy in all nations.

In 1936, Newman resigned his membership of the Conservative Party, owing to his views about the abdication of King Edward VIII. He regarded encouraging or supporting the abdication of the King as an act of [high treason]].

Holy Orders

On October 23, 1938 at the age of 33 years, Newman was ordained priest. His ordination was by Bishop James Columba McFall (of Ireland) on behalf of the Order for Corporate Reunion of Great Britain.

Personal life

In 1937, Newman married Lola Ima del Carpio Barnardo (1902 - 1984), a great granddaughter of Dr Thomas Barnardo.

In the mid-1930s, he gained the position of general manager of a trade association, the National Association of Cycle Traders and Repairers. From 1943 to 1945, he was secretary and registrar of the Incorporated Institute of Cycle Traders and Repairers.

He remained active in the life of the Catholic Apostolic Church until the late 1930s.

The Council of London, 1943

Antonio Francis Xavier Alvarez (1837 - 1923) was a Roman Catholic priest of the Latin Rite who in 1889 had been consecrated by Mar Paul Athanasius (Kadril Kooran), Syrian Antioch bishop of Kottayam and metropolitan of Malabar, assisted by Geevarghese Mar Gregorius (Chathuruthil) and Paulos Mar Ivanios (Murimattom) as archbishop of the Latin Rite Independent Catholic Church of Ceylon, Goa and India. Alvarez was known as Mar Julius I. He died in prison in Goa.

Joseph Rene Vilatte (1854 - 1929) was a Frenchman who emigrated to America. On May 29, 1892, Alvarez (assisted by Koran and Chathuruthil) consecrated Vilatte as archbishop of North America. There is a line of succession from Villate through William Henry Francis Brothers (1887 - 1979), to William David de Ortega Maxey.

Newman represented Mar John Emmanuel at the Council of London, which was headed by Archbishop Herbert James Monzani-Heard (Mar Jacobus II) (1861 - 1947). The Council met to consider how to respond to some negative views concerning the independent or free catholic movement that has been expressed by the 1920 Lambeth Conference (of the Anglican Communion), and also to consider the status of clergy in Britain whose ordinations derived from the Vilatte succession.