Biblical Illiteracy Rampant in US // ACNA in Free Fall // TEC Faces Title IV Reform // JAFC Wins Legal Round Against ACNA // Persecution of Christians in Nigeria //

Charles Perez
20 hours ago
12 min read

Welsh Lesbian Archbishop Calls for Unity // TEC AWA Figures Show Decline in Church Attendance

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

www.virtueonline.org

November 14, 2025

BIBLICAL illiteracy is growing in America. In 2022, a comprehensive survey found that 26 percent of evangelicals think the Bible is more made-up than historical (up 9 percent since 2016); 56 percent think God accepts the worship of every religion (up 8 percent since 2016); and from 2020 to 2022, 13 percent more evangelicals agreed with the statement “Jesus was a great teacher, but he was not God.” How much these stats have to do with our collective brain rot is unclear, but it’d be naive to think the two are unconnected.

One way to fight biblical illiteracy is to attend a faithful church and invite a friend with you.

I often hear that today’s digital technologies pose no greater threat to the church than the television did back in the 1950s. The church just needs to adapt to the times, and biblical illiteracy will sort itself out. But will that strategy work?

We’re not in an oral culture like that anymore. The problem with Gen Z—and now Gen-Z pastors—is that they are fast approaching the illiteracy of the ancients, hundreds of years after Scripture memorization fell out of fashion. That means a digitally mediated, cloud-based scripturality will never have a serious chance of producing well-rounded disciples of Jesus Christ.

DIGITAL TECHNOLOGY AND THE CHURCH

Many believe that the central challenge to orthodox Christianity in our moment is the question of digital technology and, particularly, what the philosopher Anton Barba-Kay has called “digital formation.”

Sometimes one can hear people speaking of social media and digital technology as if it is a kind of tool we pick up and set down at discrete times.

But this actually misrepresents the problem.

The problem is not that we used to have a shared space where rational actors deliberated together but now due to social media and smartphones we have a shared space where irrational actors shout at one another. Such a scenario would actually be better than the one we truly have. The problem before us is that the shared space itself has evaporated, floating upward into the cloud.

Specifically, Barba-Kay argues that digital formation is defined by the loss of geographic and in-person contexts and their replacement with a kind of everywhere and nowhere context that exists only in digital “space.” The outcome of this is that digital technology makes lofty promises with regards to communication, connection, and community, but it only delivers on those promises on its own terms. In other words, it delivers 'community' but on the condition that we understand community in the decontextualized way of digital technology.

What this means is that digital space, by its very nature, tends to be corrosive of the values that shape us as Christians. Digital space is not governed by shared loci of authority founded on offices and texts. The problem facing us in this moment, then, is whether spaces of Christian formation can endure in a digital moment. We shall see.

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The Anglican Church in North America is in free fall. Its Archbishop Steve Wood has stepped back from his three roles as archbishop of the ACNA, as bishop of the Diocese of the Carolinas and he has resigned from his parish after 25 years of ministry.

Hanging over his head is a presentment and possible inhibition. He is maintaining his innocence in the face of alleged sexual misconduct, plagiarism, financial chicanery, bullying and abuse charges. It is not a pretty picture. Every day seems brings fresh revelations and commentary from a wide variety of informed persons.

Late yesterday, word came down that South Carolina Bishop Chip Edgar says Archbishop Wood should be inhibited now before his presentment trial. Edgar also apologized for not being more proactive in listening to the cries of those allegedly abused by Wood. Edgar apologized for his lack of support of the Presentment to the complainants. “I assured our clergy, and want to assure our whole diocese, that I support these men and women in their efforts,” he said. He also said the College of Bishops should issue a public apology for disparaging statements they made about the complainants.

Perhaps this is a moment for the Diocese of the Carolinas, which is joined at the hip with the Diocese of South Carolina to merge with the larger diocese. Edgar could hire a suffragan bishop to assist in what would be 89 parishes. It would end the rivalry.

In a piece why I believe the ACNA will survive but change is necessary, I argue that confession and true repentance is needed. Furthermore, ACNA should stop beating up on JAFC Bishop Derek Jones for his alleged abuse, when Archbishop Wood has been charged with the same thing. Pot and kettle come to mind. You can read it here: https://www.virtueonline.org/post/why-acna-will-survive-but-change-is-necessary-confession-and-repentance-are-needed-at-this-kairos

Dr. Matthew Wilcoxen writing for Mere Orthodoxy blog suggests a structural way forward as a solution for the ACNA. In a piece titled, How to Reform the Anglican Church In North America, he argues that the root of the issue is something he calls Mimetic Rivalry.

“We are caught in ordinary human patterns of imitation and competition, and our structures often make them worse instead of better. Because diocesan and parochial boundaries overlap, the church’s life is shaped by constant comparison. What might have been neighboring fellowship has become overlapping jurisdiction, and rivalry seeps into every level of the system. We built a system designed for rapid church planting in a time of enthusiasm, but we did not build one capable of sustaining peace in a time of consolidation. The result is predictable: factions, suspicion, and chronic institutional anxiety.”

Wilcoxen, an Australian evangelical Anglican theologian, says that if we do not change our form of governance, no number of new statements, goodwill, or charismatic leaders will save us. What is needed is to reform ACNA to remove the structural incentives to rivalry. This reform must not only be a moral or spiritual aspiration but rather a constitutional reality.

He condemns what he calls structural rivalry. “Bishops, rectors, and diocesan councils operate within unclear lines of accountability. Extra-canonical powers such as “godly admonition,” informal investigations, and unappealable episcopal decisions allow strong personalities to substitute for due process. When the law is elastic, every dispute becomes personal, and every personal dispute becomes a test of loyalty.”

Wilcoxen points to fragmented doctrine, dependent safeguarding, property patronage, insecure vocations and weak synodical life as a result. You can read it here: https://mereorthodoxy.com/how-to-reform-the-anglican-church-in-north-america?utm_campaign=13660601-Mere%20Orthodoxy%20%7C%20Weekly%20Digest&utm_medium=email&_hsenc=p2ANqtz-_yD0FiOoymQyu_6ovsAI2dPNBeo4kQREOIs1QSz4780a0RxhnPqeKQ7s1JtaETbP4MoeFyRzSrLdkPxK7kN_xkzkPQpA&_hsmi=389678021&utm_content=389678021&utm_source=hs_email

Yes, the ACNA will survive as a humble denomination, hopefully learning from its lessons of pride and self-sufficiency, but the way forward will be rocky until all the facts are known.

*****

The Episcopal Church has released its 2024 diocesan stats for Average Weekly Attendance figures. However, the complete statistics for all across the board metrics are still missing in action.

Perusing the domestic attendance stats revealed that 57 dioceses registered a drop in weekly attendance from 2023 with the dioceses recording a double digit plunge in attendance. They include: the Navajoland (21%); Georgia (17.2%); Eastern Oregon (16.3%); Western Massachusetts (13%); Mississippi (12.2%); Southwest Florida (11.8%); and Los Angeles (11.6%).

Only one out of 36 dioceses showed a double digit growth in attendance: South Carolina at 13.4%.

Nine dioceses showed a less than one percent increase in weekly attendance including: Arizona (0.7%); California (0.04%); Montana (0.4%); New Jersey (0.4%); Northwest Texas (0.4%); Northwestern Pennsylvania (0.6%); TEC Pittsburgh (0.3%); Utah (0.9%); and West Texas (0.8%).

Ten dioceses showed an increase or decrease in weekly attendance by fewer than ten souls including: Massachusetts (+1); California (+2); Iowa (-2); Montana (+4); Kansas (-4); TEC Pittsburgh (+5); Northwest Texas (+6); Northwestern Pennsylvania (+6); Delaware (-8); and El Camino Real (-8).

Tracking the attendance numbers in new hybrid dioceses of The Great Lakes and Wisconsin and also in Hawaii are problematic.

The Diocese of the Great Lakes came into being as the dioceses of Eastern Michigan and Western Michigan joined forces to form a united Michigan-based diocese.

In 2023 the Diocese of Eastern Michigan had an AWA of 1,170; and the Diocese of Western Michigan had an AWA of 2,408 for a combined total of 3,578.

That 3,578 figure is what the new Diocese of the Great Lakes reported for its 2024 AWA.

So the question is: Was there absolutely no change up or down in the number of Episcopalians who showed up for services in 2024? Or did the Diocese of the Great Lakes just plug in the combined 2023 numbers for its 2024 figure?

Looking at the reconstituted statewide Diocese of Wisconsin the 2024 attendance figure of 4,008 seems to reflect a very small dip of 11 people in the pews from the combined 2023 figures of the dioceses of Eau Claire (411); Fond du Lac (1,243); and Milwaukee (2,354) with a combined 2023 total of 3,997.

Over in Hawaii the Pacific island diocese took in Micronesia with a 2023 AWA of 78. During the same period of time the Diocese of Hawaii had an AWA of 2,079 for a combined total of 2,157.

However, adding in the AWA from Micronesia did not really boost the Diocese of Hawaii’s weekly attendance figures much. Hawaii's 2024 AWA stands at 2,084 only six more from its 2023 figure of 2,079 even with addition of Micronesia.

*****

Meantime The Episcopal Church faces its own dysfunctional Title IV process for the church and its members. It’s time to start over, says Anglican Watch. The blog is calling for the wholesale re-write of Title IV. Problems in the Title IV process and its implementation are everywhere. Here are our top-level concerns: Judicatories don’t understand the goals of Title IV. In its current iteration, the goals of Title IV including accountability, healing, reconciliation, respect, and care for all involved. But there’s plenty of evidence that church officials at every level still view the Title IV clergy disciplinary process as “going nuclear,” and something to be avoided whenever possible.

“We consistently see intake officers who are either reluctant to pursue a complaint or who minimize the severity of the situation, apparently because they’re unwilling to start the Title IV process.” You can read more here: https://www.anglicanwatch.com/title-iv-its-time-to-start-over/

*****

A judge has granted in part a temporary restraining order request from a chaplains group seeking to cut ties with the Anglican Church in North America. The Jurisdiction of the Armed Forces and Chaplaincy recently filed a complaint against ACNA over the Anglican denomination’s refusal to allow the ministry to disaffiliate.

U.S. District Judge Bruce Hendricks of the District of South Carolina, Charleston Division issued an order last week partly granting JAFC’s request for a temporary restraining order.

According to Hendricks, while the court “does not intend to entangle itself into an internal canonical dispute over the Anglican Church’s ecclesiastical structure,” some issues raised by JAFC “may be ripe and appropriate for the Court’s consideration, such as Plaintiff’s trademark claims.”

“After hearing arguments from the parties, counsel for Defendant effectively conceded that Defendant would refrain from using Plaintiff’s service mark ‘Jurisdiction of the Armed Forces and Chaplaincy,’ Plaintiff’s trademark, ‘Anglican Chaplains,’ and Plaintiff’s trademarked logo,” wrote Hendricks.

However Anglican Ink sought to spin it that the JAFC lost Bishops in the Jurisdiction of the Armed Forces & Chaplaincy. Bishop Derek Jones publicly accused Anglican Ink blogger George Conger of “publishing numerous untruthful stories about Bishop [Derek] Jones and the JAFC/SJAFC.”

An article on Anglican Ink’s website titled “SC FEDERAL COURT HANDS JONES A LOSS IN HIS BATTLE WITH THE ACNA,” is just the latest. “The reporter, George Conger, misstated facts and proposed conclusions that defy reality,” the communications team at JAFC told VOL.

Anglican Ink claims The Federal District Court for the District of South Carolina rejected the bulk of the Jurisdiction of the Armed Forces and Chaplaincy’s claims for an injunction or temporary restraining order against the Anglican Church in North America.

Jones told VOL that JAFC has retained more than two thirds of all 300 chaplains. “The ACNA only got a handful. Most of the chaplains are loyal to us.” You can read more here: https://www.virtueonline.org/post/anglican-ink-accused-of-misstating-facts-and-conclusions-in-jafc-vs-acna-imbroglio

*****

Donald Trump and the BBC have different views on the persecution of Christians in Nigeria. The BBC questions the claim made by Trump that Christians in Nigeria are facing a wave of violent persecution. The BBC is not simply misguided: it is a regrettable example of how the Corporation fails to act as a neutral broadcaster in stories that matter to Christians.

Let’s be blunt. Christians in Nigeria are under serious threat. The UK‐based aid group Open Doors UK reports that more Christians are killed for their faith in Nigeria than anywhere else in the world. Its partner resources testify to displaced Christian families living in makeshift camps, traumatized after attacks by militants. A new report has found that ethnic and religious violence in Nigeria has claimed the lives of nearly 56,000 people in the West African country over four years — and the victims were disproportionately Christian.

The charity, Release International, confirms Nigeria is “tipping into a spiral of violence” against Christian communities. And another organization, Barnabas Aid, notes the crisis of displacement, loss of livelihoods and churches destroyed in what it terms part of the “anti‐Christian” wave in the West African country.

Catholics and Anglicans head the most persecuted of Christian groups. They are retaliating with prayer and protests but not weapons. The government has decided to act after Trump has threatened to intervene in that country, and has sent troops to go after Boko Haran and Fulani tribesmen. The government’s argument that this is farmer/herder problem is not been taken seriously by the U.S.

*****

The first female Archbishop of Wales Cherry Vann has called for "unity" and said that the global Anglican Church should not "be divided" by her selection to the role.

In the world of fantasy ecclesiastical politics, calling for unity in a global church that is bitterly divided over homosexuality, is a bit like asking Bibi Netanyahu to surrender his IDF forces to Hamas in the hope that peace would come to Gaza.

Her appointment has attracted criticism from orthodox voices, most notably in the Global South. The lesbian archbishop believes that her appointment was "the right role for me at this time, for the church and for Wales". No mention of whether God approves of the anointing; it’s just good for the folk in Wales who don’t know any better.

Addressing those who had been "less supportive", she said she had taken on the role "because this is what God has called me to do". If God had called her, He would be denying his own written word that expressly forbids those kinds of sexual relationships. Paul writing in Romans (1:25) “They exchanged the truth about God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator—who is forever praised. Amen. Because of this, God gave them over to shameful lusts. Even their women exchanged natural sexual relations for unnatural ones. https://www.virtueonline.org/post/lesbian-archbishop-wants-unity-at-any-price-the-first-female-archbishop-of-wales-has-called-for-un

*****

There’s been a lot of talk about a quiet revival in the Church of England but it is not true. New attendance stats released by the Church of England are in marked contrast to the Bible Society’s report of a quiet revival in the UK.

The Bible Society “Quiet Revival” report claimed that “Church attendance has risen by 50 per cent over the last six years,” according to stats from a You Gov survey in England and Wales conducted for the Bible Society. “In 2018, just 4 per cent of 18–24-year-olds said that they attended church at least monthly. Today, says The Quiet Revival, this has risen to 16 per cent, with a notable rise in the proportion of young men attending.

“Attendance at Church of England churches rises for the fourth year in a row” is the headline on the official Church website. “The overall number of regular worshippers across the Church of England’s congregations rose to 1.009 million in 2024, a rise of 0.6 per cent, according to the annual Statistics for Mission findings,” the Church of England “Statistics for Mission” report says.

But the eagle-eyed Madeleine Davies of the Church Times contradicts the official optimism. “The data, published recently, record that in 2024 attendance rose for the fourth year, but that recovery since the Covid-19 pandemic has slowed. Increases in attendance since 2023 were smaller than in previous years. In 2019, a “middle-sized” church had an all-age average weekly attendance (AWA) of 34.5; in 2024, the equivalent figure was 26. The median church has just one child in attendance, compared with three in 2019.

So where is the quite revival taking place? Mainly Pentecostal and independent Anglican churches. You can read more here: https://www.virtueonline.org/post/the-quiet-revival-passes-the-church-of-england-by

*****

The Living in Love and Faith report has collapsed. The House of Bishops has decided that stand-alone services and clergy same sex marriage can only be pursued through formal synodical processes (a B2 process for standalone services and a Measure / amended Canons for clergy same sex marriage).

They continue to believe that the Prayers of Love and Faith, as commended in December 2023, can still be used at the discretion of clergy.

Currently, they do not believe that any ‘provisions’ are needed for those who in good conscience are not able to use the Prayers of Love and Faith.

They have not indicated what they will bring to General Synod in February 2026, and/or any other actions/initiatives that they might offer.

A number of clergy in the Church of England are resisting a decision by the House of Bishops which put the brakes on moves to allow stand-alone services for same-sex blessings and to allow clergy to be in same-sex marriages. You can read more here: https://www.virtueonline.org/post/cofe-clergy-vow-to-offer-same-sex-blessing-services-despite-bishops-decision

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My Substack on the Middle East continues to grow. It is drawing a lot of interest and attention from across the globe. You can access it here: https://davidvirtue2.substack.com/ I am a strong supporter of the state of Israel’s right to exist and prosper while confronting her enemies both foreign and domestic. My latest report can be seen here: https://davidvirtue2.substack.com/publish/posts/detail/178890395?referrer=%2Fpublish%2Fposts%2Fpublished