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The '''British Orthodox Church''' is a small autonomous [[Oriental Orthodox]] [[jurisdiction]] of the [[Church of Alexandria (Coptic)|Coptic Church of Alexandria]] in Great Britain.
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The first hierarch of the Church is the '''Metropolitan of Glastonbury'''. The current Metropolitan is Seraphim (William Henry Hugo Newman-Norton).
Originally established in 1866 when a Frenchman, [[w:Jules Ferrette|Jules Ferrette]], was [[consecration of a bishop|consecrated ]] as a [[bishop ]] by the [[Church of Antioch (Syriac)|Syriac Orthodox Church]] with the purpose of re-establishing [[Oriental Orthodoxy]] to the West. ==Relationship with the [[Church of Alexandria (Coptic)|Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria]]== Over the years this mission lost touch with its Eastern origins, but in 1994, under the leadership of the present bishop, discussions with the [[Church of Alexandria (Coptic)|Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria]] bore fruit and the British Orthodox Church was reunited with the Oriental Orthodox Churches from which it had come.
At the feast of Pentecost in 1994, at Saint Mark's Cathedral in Cairo, [[Archbishop|Abba]] Seraphim was ordained a Metropolitan by His Holiness Pope [[Shenouda III (Gayyid) of Alexandria|Shenouda III]], and the British Orthodox Church became a constituent of the Coptic Orthodox Patriarchate. The current head of the British Orthodox Church is Metropolitan Seraphim of Glastonbury who is a full member of The Holy Synod of the [[Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria|Coptic Orthodox Patriarchate of Alexandria]].
The British Orthodox today comprises parishes [[parish]]es and missions throughout the British Isles. All its services are in English and it [[Veneration|venerates]] the Orthodox saints [[saint]]s of the British Isles as well as those of the wider Orthodox Church. It uses the ancient [[Liturgy of St. James]] as its normal liturgy, together with all the traditional services of the Coptic Orthodox Church, such as the morning and evening "Raising of Incense."
Although the British Orthodox Church is a small community at present, it is committed to evangelism and wider ministry.