Lee, Frederick George, 1832-1902

Epithet: Reverend; theological writer

English theological writer.

Epithet: vicar of All Saints Lambeth

Frederick George Lee was an Anglican theologian and writer born at Thame, Oxfordshire, on January 6, 1832. He was ordained deacon by the bishop of Oxford in 1854 and priest in 1856. Lee introduced non-communicating attendance at St. John's church in Aberdeen, causing a schism in the congregation. He was appointed Vicar of All Saints', Lambeth in 1867 where he ministered to the poor for thirty-two years.

In 1857 Lee and Ambrose Lisle March Phillipps de Lisle founded the Association for Promoting the Union of Christendom (APUC) to promote the reuniting of the churches of Rome and England with the Russian church. The APUC was dissolved in 1869. The following year Lee issued The Validity of the Holy Orders of the Church of England maintained and vindicated. His research for this publication led him to doubt the validity of Anglican orders. He joined with other clergy who shared his view to form the Order of Corporate Reunion. The Order sought to restore to the Church of England valid orders supposedly lost during the Reformation. Lee was consecrated a bishop by some Catholic prelates whose names were kept secret. He in turn consecrated two Anglican clergy in 1877. Everyone connected to the Order of Corporate Reunion was sworn to secrecy, and Lee destroyed all papers related to the Order prior to his death.

Lee was a prolific writer of history, archaeology, theology, and poetry, as well as the editor of numerous journals and newspapers. He retired from All Saint's, Lambeth in November 1899 and was received into the Roman Catholic Church on December 11, 1901. He died at the age of 70 on January 22, 1902, following a short illness.