Leon Chechemian

Leon Chechemian (Mar Leon) (1848–1920) was an Armenian Christian cleric. In 1897, he was a founder of the Free Protestant Episcopal Church (full name: Free Protestant Episcopal Church of England), and that church's first primus. He is also considered an episcopus vagans.

Chechemian was ordained as a priest on 27 November 1866 by Leon Chorchorunian (lived 1822–1897), the Armenian Catholic Church's archbishop of Malatya.

In this capacity, Chechemian served at Besui (1866–1868), Aintab (1868), Gurum (1868–1877) and then moved to Malatya.

At Malatya, probably in 1878 or thereabouts, Chechemian was blessed as vardapet, a highly educated celibate priest, or archimandrite, who is a doctor of theology. A vardapet may hold rank similar to that of a bishop, though without the power to ordain priests.

In 1890, Chechemian was described as "an Armenian Catholic priest of the highest degree" who received "his degree of very honourable doctor" from Chorchorunian on 23 April 1878, and was later, while in Constantinople, "referred to as a prominent, well known dignitary."

Whether Chechemian was ever raised (within the Armenian Catholic jurisdiction) from vardapet to bishop is certainly disputed, and may well be very questionable indeed. Significantly, if Chechemian was ever an Armenian Catholic bishop, one would expect his name to be found in lists of Catholic hierarchy, but his name is absent.

According to Alan Bain, Chechemian was first consecrated as a bishop on 23 April 1879 by Leon Chorchorunian. However, Bain also notes that Henry Brandreth considers it doubtful that Chorchorunian ever consecrated Chechemian as a bishop.

If Bain is correct that there was this 1879 consecration on 23 April 1879, it took place precisely twelve months after the date on which it is known that Chechemian had been blessed as a vardapet, 23 April 1878. An alternative possibility might be that Bain's 23 April 1879 date is a transcription error for 23 April 1878 and that Bain (or Bain's sources) did not appreciate the significant and important distinction between a vardapet and a bishop.

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