European-American University™

The Glastonbury Bulletin no. 80, July 1991 

+Charles Leslie Saul

Bishop Charles Leslie SAUL, sometime Mar Leofric, Archbishop of Suthronia, died at Dewsbury on 7th June 1991 aged 85 years.

'Dr. Saul', as he was generally known throughout his ministry, served as a bishop for fifty-five years. He began his ministry as a Reader in the Free Church of England under the late Bishop Frank Vaughan at Christ Church, Harlesden, London, but in 1936 received his original consecration at the hands of Bishop William Newton of the Evangelical Church of England. This had been founded in 1922 by former FCE presbyters and its original bishops, including William Newton, owed their ordination to presbyters rather than the historic apostolic succession. On 17th September 1944, however. Dr. Saul secured consecration in the historic succession from Bishop Benjamin Charles Harris, then living in retirement, who had himself been consecrated by Mar Jacobus I, third British Patriarch. Consecrated alongside Dr. Saul on both occasions was his colleague, Gordon Pinder, who served as 'Primus' of the Evangelical Church of England.

At this time the church comprised several independent evangelical congregations divided into a Northern diocese (Preston) under Dr. Pinder and a Southern diocese (Hayes) under Dr. Saul. They had also forged links with J.C. Ryan and the Evangelical Church of India.

In 1945 Dr. Saul made contact with Mar Georgius and expressed the desire to bring his work and that of Bishop Ryan within the British Patriarchate. For some time The Recorder had carried articles with a greater emphasis on the sacraments and Dr. Saul saw this as the opportunity to introduce Orthodox Catholic teaching to his people. He was received by chrismation, underwent sub conditione ordination of all orders up to and including the priesthood and on 9th September 1945 at Barnet he was consecrated sub conditione to the Sacred Order of the Episcopate as Mar Leofric, Archbishop of Suthronia, at the hands of Mar Georgius and Mar John (Ward). He broke with Gordon Pinder and renamed his portion of the church the 'Evangelical Apostolic Church of England', though he was later to resume the former title.

Mar Georgius hoped to encourage a more active evangelist outreach and in October 1945 Mar Leofric was blessed as the Evangelist in the Presidium and as Dean of the Evangelistic College. Although he played an active part as a member of the Synod it soon became clear that the character of Dr. Saul's churches was more Protestant than Orthodox Catholic and no serious effort to introduce the latter doctrines was being pursued. On 3rd October 1947 Mar Leofric and his churches, which had only nominally attached themselves, seceded from the Patriarchate. Mar Georgius stated that he would not recognise any of his subsequent episcopal acts on the basis of a defective intention. Dr. Saul continued an active ministry of a distinctly Protestant character and was a prolific ordainer of itinerant evangelists. The church over which he presided failed to establish itself as a corporate body and it is doubtful if it will survive his death, although doubtless there will be several contenders for succession to his titles.

Notes by +John Kersey
1. Mar Leofric assisted Mar Georgius at several consecrations in 1946.
2. He consecrated D.L. (Thomas) Tollenaar on 8 January 1951. Tollenaar was the consecrator of Archbishop Wilfrid Barrington-Evans, mentioned elsewhere.