In this article, VOL brings together all ten installments of David's series of satirical essays based upon C.S. Lewis' classic book The Screwtape Letters.

The Screwtape Letters written by the late C.S. Lewis has become a model for satire about the current state of the Anglican Communion, especially the Episcopal Church.

In my own more modest attempts I have attempted to emulate the great Lewis with my own reflections on the state of the church through this literary device. I hope you enjoy them and the spirit with which they have been written. - David Virtue

I | II | III | IV | V | VI | VII | VIII | IX | X

BUDDHIST PRIEST ELECTED EPISCOPAL BISHOP

A Satirical Essay

By David W. Virtue

I want to welcome you all today to the national headquarters of The Episcopal Church USA here in New York City. This is a very special day for me as Presiding Bishop because I want to make a formal announcement to the whole church that my new and dearest friend Premda Puckha, whom I met while getting a massage in Bangkok recently, and who incorporates in his very person many of the finest characteristics and new discoveries in the Episcopal Church, has agreed to become a bishop in our beloved Episcopal Church.

Because he does not have a diocese of his own, he will be consecrated at the cathedral church of St. John the Divine in NYC with the permission of Bishop Mark Sisk. I am grateful for his approval.

Episcopal Church 2021: Animal-loving Bishop Spawns Crisis

by R. Andrew Newman

MANCHESTER, NH (July 9, 2021) -- The presiding bishop of the Episcopal Church today has warned that the Diocese of New Hampshire must not in any way be ostracized because it has chosen to elect the church’s first openly non-celibate animal-loving bishop.

"As presiding bishop, I am called to see to it that all perspectives are treated with respect,” said the Most Rev. Annie Thangohs. “We can, of course, disagree on the issue of animal-loving in the Christian life. I have seen, however, some distressing accounts in the secular press. I had hoped that we had removed that hateful term, bestiality, from our vocabularies. It is one more part our racist, sexist, heterosexualist, and speciest past that we must reject if we are to move closer to an open, loving, and inclusive relationship with the Goddess, who is our Mother, Lover and Friend.

EPISCOPAL SLANG

Although the controversy in the Anglican world has been painful for many, I think we can extract something positive from it. The following colloquial terms would greatly enhance the English language and English speech:

(1) Episcopal bishop - v, To evade, lie, mislead or prevaricate.

"That used-car salesman tried to Episcopal bishop me but I wouldn’t let him."