The Order of St Cornelius the Centurion was a religious and chivalric order of ecumenical and international membership within the Anglican Independent Communion, a Continuing Anglican church. The mission of the Order was expressed in prayer and service to others. The Order counted over 700 members and had close links with the Legion of Frontiersmen-IOC, the Sovereign Military Order of The Temple of Jerusalem, the Imperial Ethiopian Order of Saint Mary of Zion, and the Order of Saint Stanislas.

The Order was led by a Lord Abbot, the late Dr Colin Tatem (1946-2006). Dr Tatem was born on the Turks and Caicos Islands and lived for much of his life in the Bahamas. He was variously a college professor, a journalist, and a lecturer at a Boys’ Correctional Facility. He was consecrated as an Abbot for the Order of St Cornelius by the late Archbishop Peter Compton-Caputo of the Anglican Independent Communion. Archbishop Peter’s widow, Deaconess Catherine Compton-Caputo, served as Dr Tatem’s Special Assistant for Community Outreach in the Order.

Latterly, Dr Tatem’s son Christopher, who was also ordained and served as Prior of the Order, established the St Cornelius Abbey in Newark, New Jersey, USA.

In 2003, the Order of St Cornelius the Centurion admitted me as a Chevalier Grand Cross.