René Vilatte
The Reverend René Vilatte  | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Vilatte after his consecration in 1892  | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Successor | Frederick Ebenezer Lloyd | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Born | January 24, 1854 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Died | July 8, 1929 (aged 75) Versailles, France  | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Nationality | French (along with Canadian and American) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Denomination | At various points the Eastern Orthodox Church (Western Rite Orthodox), Old Catholic Church, American Catholic Church (ACC), and others, before being reconciled with the Catholic Church | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Parents | Joseph R. Vilatte, Marie-Antoinette Chorin | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Motto | Soli Deo honor et gloria (Honour and glory be to God alone)  | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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  Ordination history  | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Joseph René Vilatte (January 24, 1854 – July 8, 1929), also known as Mar Timotheus I, was a French–American Catholic active in France and the United States. He was associated with several Christian denominations before his ordination as a Christian Catholic Church of Switzerland (CKS) bishop for service in an Episcopal diocese. Eventually, he was reconciled with the Catholic Church and voluntarily entered a solemn vow of abjuration.
Vilatte was at one point consecrated as a bishop by Malankara Church bishops, with the knowledge and permission of the Syriac Orthodox Patriarch of Antioch. After being expelled from multiple denominations, he was considered an example of an episcopus vagans, or "wandering bishop".
Although never a bishop within an Old Catholic denomination or sect and denounced by the Union of Utrecht Old Catholic churches, Vilatte became known as the "first Old Catholic bishop of the United States".: 1