Wren's Cathedral
Wren's Cathedral, properly the Church of St Leonard and now a cathedral of the Communion of Evangelical Episcopal Churches, was originally the Lady Chapel of Wroxall Priory.
Wroxall Priory was founded in 1141 as the
A list of the Prioresses up to 1535 and further list of ministers from 1538 circa to the present can be found on the official website. A Charter issued by Pope Alexander III to the Priory of St. Leonard will also be found on the same web site.
History
With the
Richard Shakespeare, the grandfather of William Shakespeare, was bailiff for the church in 1534, according to Michael Wood in his documentary In Search of Shakespeare (2003). One of the Prioresses, Isabella (1501), was William Shakespeare's great-aunt. Joan Shakespeare (1524) was his aunt.
In 1713,
Present use
In 2001 the church was re-opened by the new owners and a large Free Methodist Church, the Renewal Christian Centre in Solihull agreed to provide the ministry. The church was renamed Wren’s Chapel in honour of its former illustrious owner. Regular Sunday services were commenced, and marriages, wedding blessings, child dedications and funerals were conducted by two designated ministers.
In 2009 the Communion of Evangelical Episcopal Churches (CEEC) were wishing to establish a fellowship diocese in the United Kingdom and based its headquarters in Wroxall Abbey. The ministers at the Abbey were re-consecrated into the CEEC, and later that year a bishop was appointed to oversee the diocese.
At the same time the Order of St. Leonard (OSL) was established with the aim of bringing together Laity and ordained ministers from all over the world. The order has in two years developed into several countries in Europe and Africa so that an Arch-diocese of Wroxall Abbey has now been established at Wroxall.
References
- "Wren's Cathedral". Renewal Christian Centre. Retrieved 1 October 2014.