NEWSLETTER

+LEON CHECKEMIAN, D.D.,LL.D.
He arrived in England in 1885.
He dreamt of weakening the power of the Church of Rome by promoting
Reformed Episcopal Churches among indigenous Christians outside the
immediate sphere of influence of Anglicanism.
Independent Anglicans are an historic part of the One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church and have their primary origins in the Ancient British Church. We will examine the traditions of the Western and Eastern lineage herein. Independent Anglican Churches in the United States bear
the Apostolic lineage from the Roman Catholic Church, the Armenian Catholic Church, The Anglican Church, the Old Catholic Church of the Netherlands, the Syrian Jacobite (Oriental) Orthodox Church, and the Russian Orthodox Church, as well as many other traditions...
The International Free Protestant Episcopal Church do not wish to do away with our offices and liturgy. We are one in heart, in spirit, and in faith with our Founders and Pioneer Reformed, who at the very beginning of the existence of this church sought to mold and fashion the ecclesiastical constitution which they had inherited from the Armenian Catholic Church and the Church of England and we return to their position and claim to be the old and true "Free Protestant Episcopal Church"® of the days of its founding and we claim an unbroken historical connection through the Reformation, the Church of England, with the Church of Christ from the earliest Christian era and will not depart from it.

Leon Checkemian, the son of Jacob and Rose Checkemian (neé Gruchian) was born in 1848 at Malatia (the ancient Melitene) as a subject of the Ottoman Empire. Although originally a member of the Armenian Apostolic Church, at the age of thirteen he met Dr. Leon (Ghevont) Korkorunian (1822-1897), who had not long been ordained Armenian Catholic bishop of that city. Under his influence the family transferred its allegiance to the Armenian Catholic Church and, according to his own account, the young Leon travelled via Aintab and Aleppo to Iskenderun where he took the steamer to Beirut, crossed the Lebanon Mountains to meet the Patriarch. Presumably this was the celebrated Antony Hassun, who had served as spiritual leader of the community from 1845-48 but did not resume his office for a second term as Patriarch until 1866-1880. Although styled ‘Patriarch of Cilicia’ the church headquarters were at Bzommar near Beirut at that date, but moved to Constantinople from 1867-1928.As further evidence of his status Checkemian quotes from Medgemovie Havidis, a daily paper published in Constantinople. In its issue of 28 December 1881 it reports,

"The Most Honourable Lord Doctor Leon Checkemian, who was ordained to the most honourable degree of Doctor by the Right Reverend Chorchorunian, most Illustrious Archbishop, and who was for a long time in Malatia, on his arrival at this time in Constantinople, directly went to St. Jean Chrysostom Church, and there with his brethren in the priesthood holding Communion unanimously yesterday in the same church, celebrated High Mass in the presence of crowds of people, which was heard joyfully. May the Almighty God again, with such help, make the nation glad and bring down men of evil thoughts."