James Martin

Meantime, in 1888 the Nazarene Episcopal Church was founded by the Rev'd James Martin (1843 to 1919) who established his headquarters at Flaxman Road, Loughborough Junction, London, S.E.5. On 11 April 1888 it received episcopal succession when Bishop Alfred Spencer Richardson of the Reformed Episcopal Church of the UK consecrated Dr. Martin. In 1890 Bishop Martin founded Nazarene College to serve as the seminary of his jurisdiction.

Some church historians have criticised Primus Richardson for being involved in consecrating Dr Martin, and later on 4 May 1890 assisting Archbishop Charles Isaac Stevens (a former REC of UK presbyter) of the Ancient British Church in the sub conditione consecration of Leon Chechemian. According to FPEC tradtion, these consecrations occurred in one of Bishop Richardson's London churches, most likely at Christ Church, Carlton Hill. Dr Richardson was the first Anglican tradition bishop to bestow the historic episcopate to other Christian denominations without requiring them to strictly follow Anglican theology - this idea was stated to be a good gesture in the past by various Church of England divines but had to that point never been acted upon. He was establishing a precedent later followed by his church's communion partner the Reformed Episcopal Church of the United States. On 5 December 1896 REC Bishop Peter Fayssoux Stevens (1830 - 1910) consecrated Edward Russell Middleton as bishop for the Reformed Methodist Union Episcopal Church. This church body is headquartered in Charleston, South Carolina, USA, and still maintains the historic episcopate.

Both Bishop Chechemian and Bishop Stevens made the acquaintance ,through Dr Richardson, of Dr Martin. Drs. Martin and Chechemian became good friends and Dr Martin went to visit Dr Chechemian in Dublin, Ireland shortly before Dr Chechemian received his license from Archbishop Plunket of the Church of Ireland to officiate as a presbyter in that Church. On 2 November 1890 in his home at 18 Hume Street, Dublin, Bishop Chechemian sub conditione consecrated Bishop Martin into the episcopal lineage of the Ancient British Church and the Order of Corporate Reunion which Dr Chechemian possessed.

According to Brandreth's Episcopi Vagantes and the Anglican Church, 1947, page 52, at this consecration Dr Chechemian made Dr Martin the new Archbishop (of Caerleon-upon-Usk) and Patriarch of the Free Protestant Church of England. This would make sense as +Chechemian's patron, Archbishop Lord Plunket of the Church of Ireland would probably frown on his being head of an English based protestant church that would be in theory in competition with Anglicans.

At the Synod which created the Free Protestant Episcopal Church of England on 2 November 1897, Bishop James Martin of the Nazarene Episcopal Ecclesia assisted Archbishop Leon Checkemian of the Free Protestant Church of England and Archbishop Charles Isaac Stevens of the Ancient British Church in consecrating Bishops Frederick W. Boucher, George W.L. Maeers, and Andrew Charles Albert McLaglen. Bishop Martin immediately after these consecrations was sub conditione consecrated by the other five as Mar Jacobus I Antipas and was given the ecclesiastical position of Archbishop of Caerleon-upon-Usk. The location of this Synod where the Free Protestant Church of England, the Ancient British Church, and the Nazarene Episcopal Ecclesia merged into the FPEC was St. Stephen's Church, Shrewsburg Road, East Ham, London. The church was an iron building just built in 1897 and served as the pro-cathedral of the FPEC until 1909 when it was sold to a group of Spiritualists. Bishop George Walter Lewis Maeers (born in 1855 in Kent) was consecrated to be an assistant bishop to the Reformed Episcopal Church in Spain and nothing more is known of him. Bishop Boucher appears to have been consecrated for an independent ministry. Both these two bishops were never counted as bishops of the FPEC as their names are not on the official listing of Bishops of the Church.