William Newton

In 1930 the Rev'd William Newton was also consecrated by presbyters as the bishop for this church. The Rev'd Charles Leslie Saul (southern England based in London) and the Rev'd Gordon Pinder (northern England based in Preston) were in 1936 consecrated by +Newton as his successors with +Pinder taking the office of primus. Bishop Saul was determined to obtain the formal English episcopal succession for this church and he petitioned Dr. B. Charles Harris to bestow it. Finally, on 17 September 1944 Dr. Harris served as chief consecrator when he sub-conditione consecrated Primus Pinder and Bishops Saul and K. C. Pillai (who had been cons. in 1937 by +Pinder and +Saul) to the episcopal bench. This event annoyed Primus Hall, who was Anglo-Catholic in orientation and ironically as head of the FPEC, disapproved of such a protestant church group as the ECofE obtaining the Holy Orders of the Free Protestant Episcopal Church.