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TWO top bishops last night warned Tony Blair must answer to God for toppling Saddam Hussein.   By TREVOR KAVANAGH Political Editor THE SUN February 1998   The Bishop of Durham and the Archbishop of York blasted the war in newspaper interviews. In an astonishing grab for the moral high ground, they admitted Saddam was wicked but claimed the allies were not the right people to oust him.   Tom Wright, Bishop of Durham, accused the PM and President George Bush - both devout Christians - of a strange distortion of Christianity to justify action.   He compared them to white vigilantes going into Brixton to stop drug dealing. Dr David Hope, Archbishop of York, reminded the Prime Minister of the higher authority he will have to face one day and urged churchgoers to pray for his soul.   Referring to Saddam, he said: Undoubtedly a very wicked leader has been removed but there are other wicked leaders. His words echoed Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams’ warning that Mr. Blair would be called to account.   END

By David W. Virtue, DD   Some years ago, the main-line Christian denominations were taken over by leftists’ the process is even more far gone in Europe than in America.   Hence this utterly bizarre news story: Two Top Bishops Last Night Warned Tony Blair Must Answer to God for Toppling Saddam Hussein. Yes, That’s right. God was in Saddam’s corner all the way. The Bishop of Durham and the Archbishop of York blasted the war in newspaper interviews. In an astonishing grab for the moral high ground, they admitted Saddam was wicked but claimed the allies were not the right people to oust him.   Tom Wright, Bishop of Durham, accused the PM and President George Bush - both devout Christians - of a strange distortion of Christianity’ to justify action. He compared them to white vigilantes going into Brixton to stop drug dealing.   If anyone understands that reference, send us an email’ I’m completely in the dark. And if England and America weren’t the right people to oust Saddam, who were? All those other nations who have been lining up to do the dirty work all these years, I guess.   Dr David Hope, Archbishop of York, reminded the Prime Minister of the higher authority he will have to face one day and urged churchgoers to pray for his soul. Referring to Saddam, he said: Undoubtedly a very wicked leader has been removed but there are other wicked leaders.   Meaning, I guess, that God will fault Tony Blair for not removing the Mullahs, Kim Il Jong, and a few others. Well, Reverend, give him time. Meanwhile, when it comes to removing very wicked leaders, the score is: Tony Blair and George Bush--(remember the Taliban), Church of England clerics--. Bishops’ warning to Blair

Pride Goeth Before a Fall Unless You’re Gay and it is Deemed Okay   COMMENTARY   By David W. Virtue, DD www.virtueonline.org June 4, 2025   The culture has approved of homosexual unions and so have most of the mainline churches and their seminaries. By all accounts there is no going back, only forward, even if the end result is the destruction of the souls of those who practice it and the churches that once preached the gospel.   No more. The die has been cast. In the case of The Episcopal Church, Resolution B012 sealed the deal for homosexual marriage. It was done in the name of inclusion, diversity and equality. The Bible was barely consulted, the texts as the late Louie Crew (the church’s leading lay homosexual) observed were never kind to gays and the “clobber passages” were recast to make homosexuality acceptable to the biblically illiterate. Basically, it was ‘never confuse the bible with absolute truth, we can never know it anyway.’   What matters is how I feel, and that God accepts me as I am and I don’t need to change. If you can’t accept that, you are the homophobe, the Pharisee, the hater; we’re in the clear. And the world agreed and so apparently have most churches. Never mind that millions of queers never materialized in the churches; they were constantly being told they were welcome, that the welcome mat was out and the big red doors were always open. The pews remained empty.   Years of being forced to listen to gays make their case, the constant drumbeat of stories of alleged hate, neglect and fear drove a ready and gullible public to accept their “story.” Feelings triumphed truth. Those with biblical, orthodox views were pushed to the margins, and out the door, even as the church ramped up its doctrine of inclusion that all are welcome.   Of course, you were only welcome if you agreed with them. If you did not, you were shown the door. Former Albany Episcopal Bishop William Love learned that lesson the hard way. More recently Charlie Holt got a rude lesson in inclusivity when he ran for Bishop of Florida. He got dumped not once but twice in his efforts to procure the top slot. He’s gone. His replacement whoever he or she is, will be full on for same-sex marriage.   But as theologian Carl Trueman observed, Gay marriage did not destroy the world as we know it. That’s because marriage had been destroyed long ago with the advent of no-fault divorce. It turned the institution into a sentimental bond, not a relationship designed for both companionship and procreation. It downgraded children, making them peripheral to any normative understanding of the marital union. And that made the necessarily sterile notion of gay marriage entirely plausible. It also reinforced the acceptability, even desirability, of IVF and surrogacy. All of these things are now normalized, and all raise very serious challenges for Christians.   And now another Pride month is upon us. “We can hope this year will continue the trend of becoming more low-key. A less pornified public square benefits us all. But if it does so, it would be premature to assume that this is unmitigated good news. It might simply indicate that so much of Pride’s ambitions have become an intuitive part of our culture and that orthodox Christian attitudes are even more outlandish than they were before,” writes Trueman.   But should we oppose Pride and all its heresy? Should we give Pride a pass because it has all been normalized?   Jim Caviezel, the Hollywood actor who played Jesus in The Passion of the Christ, and a committed Catholic, has become more animated in speaking out against Pride.   Every time Pride Month comes around, it becomes evermore significant that even if some believe  the tide is turning on public LGBT+ solidarity , it still remains very much “in power”, and is  arguably still the most significant front-line issue  both within and beyond the Church, at least for now.   For Christians, this sheds further light on the wider significance of our convictions. It also offers a very live and pressing context in which to recover the importance of  a more combative Christian approach  to challenging ideologies which directly oppose Christian convictions, especially those which carry deeper implications. For a long time, we have not wanted to look like ungracious Pharisees, and so we have almost acted as though it is societally immaterial whether or not somebody embraces LGBT+ ideology because, either way, we all rely upon the grace of God. Whilst this is definitely the case, “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Rom. 3:23) this does not mean the toleration of all sins and all lifestyles is irrelevant, not least in its consequent effects upon wider society.   “I have spoken before of  why it is especially important to challenge LGBT+ ideology within the Church rather than in society . This remains the priority for Christians. However, sometimes ideologies need to be  challenged  in society because our toleration of them  there  leads to their toleration within the Church too. There is also the case of our basic love of neighbor, and how willing we are to support ideas which will ultimately have negative effects on a great many people.”   “Well, they just started saying it out loud in front of the cameras,” said Caviezel.   Christians are going to have admit that they capitulated in the face of the pansexual steamroller and repent of their sin of cowardice. The consequence of normativity for Christian morality has been great. The churches may never recover; that is why we had a Reformation 500 years ago and why we will need another one today.   God is not mocked. The stones would cry out if we said nothing at all. But some of us are, at great cost. The cross was never a place for wimps and compromisers. It is a place for repentance and a new start. Perhaps June will be that month. END Attachments area

Bishop Robert Giffin says he will defend Fr. Robinson to the hilt against all nay sayers      By David W. Virtue and Mary Ann Mueller  www.virtueonline.org   June 5, 2025      The peripatetic Calvin Robinson has made yet another denominational move – his sixth. He has connected with the Anglican Province of America. The other five include The Church of England; The Free Church of England; The Nordic Catholic Church; The Anglican Catholic Church; The Reformed Episcopal Church/ACNA; and now the Anglican Province of America.   The Anglican Province of America (APA) under Bishop Robert Todd Giffin (I Central & Western States) is willing to give Robinson and his displaced congregation safe harbor.     “Many have asked me about Fr. Calvin Robinson. I have met him only once, at the Joint Synods of 2023 in Orlando,” Bishop Giffin prefaces in a May 25 Facebook posting. “I have monitored the situation from afar and was very clear within the APA that I thought the situation was handled poorly. Moreover, due to this and other matters.”   “I believe Fr. Calvin potentially represents a pivotal piece in traditional Anglicanism. I would welcome him into my Diocese …”   However, Bishop Giffin feels his ability to openly welcome Calvin Robinson into his diocese would be contingent upon Robinson being “welcomed by the wider APA and G3/G2.”    The first glimpse of what would eventually become the APA was initially founded as the American Episcopal Church (AEC) in 1968 as a way to preserve traditional Anglicanism since the Episcopal Church was starting to fall off the theological rails.   As is typical with Anglicanism, and the Continuing Anglican Movement, the AEC was fraught with internal and external battles over authority, theology and Anglican identity. Eventually the Anglican Province of America would emerge in 1995 with Walter Howard Grundorf as its first Presiding Bishop, a post he held until 2021 when Chandler Holder Jones (II APA) took the helm. Bishop Grundorf is currently Bishop-in-Residence at St. Alban’s Anglican Cathedral in Oviedo, Florida which is the cathedral church for APA’s Diocese of the Eastern United States.    Bishop Giffin is the founding bishop of the APA Diocese of the Central & Western States, but he realizes that bringing Calvin Robinson on board could be problematic with other bishops within his sphere, as Reformed Episcopal Church Presiding Bishop Ray Sutton quickly found out when he attempted to provide Robinson safe harbor. His brother-bishop Steve Wood (III ACNA) immediately protested and Bishop Sutton backed down.   Bishop Giffin is concerned about the pushback which could be generated by the wider APA family particularly within his G3 connections.   “I believe Fr. Calvin potentially represents a pivotal piece in traditional Anglicanism,” Bishop Giffin posted. “I would welcome him into my Diocese if and only if he was welcomed by the wider APA and G3/G2.”   The G3 churches comprise a group of Continuing Anglican jurisdictions – the Anglican Catholic Church (ACC); the Anglican Church in America (ACA); and the Anglican Province of America (APA) – forming the Anglican Joint Synods, which are pursuing interchurch cooperation and eventual corporate unity.    According to Wikipedia the Anglican Province of America is also in communion with the Diocese of the Holy Cross, (DHC); the Reformed Episcopal Church (REC); and the Traditional Anglican Church (TAC) – formerly the Traditional Anglican Communion.   Even though Anglicans splitter, they are always seeking ways to heal those rifts. That is how the Anglican Church in North America came into being. It was Bishop Robert Duncan’s (I ACNA) dream to seek the bringing together of various parts of fractured American Anglicanism. ACNA is the fruition of Bishop Duncan's Common Cause Partnership dream.   Bishop Giffin fully believes in the healing of fractured Anglicanism.   “There is a way that the conservative and orthodox leaning ACNA and continuing Anglican churches can get together: a new ‘Common Cause Partnership’, but comprised of only non-woke, non WO dioceses, clergy, and parishes/missions,” he explains. “We eschew all arguments pertaining to traditional vs contemporary liturgy, as well as east vs west celebration of the Eucharist. We take a play from the original playbook, and start talking. I was there in the beginning, and know how the cards were played. We lost.”   Bishop Giffin is all in. He's willing to give up his miter and crozier for Anglican unity.   “Let REAL unification begin. Everyone lays their cards and miters on the table. I would gladly give up my miter for true unity between the ACNA and continuing Anglican churches if the faithful present felt I was no longer needed or superfluous,” he states. “Short of that, I will continue to push for a new vision that is much broader than the G3/G2 for traditional Anglicans and not merely a boutique Western Rite.”   However, the main question currently facing Bishop Giffin is will his G3 brother-bishops accept Calvin Robinson sheltering in his upper Midwest Diocese of the Central & Western States. Or will Bishop Giffin face withering criticism which could harm the G3 coalition.   “I would be surprised if under a banner of truce, I could receive Fr. Calvin under my care, as he would, most appropriately in Michigan, be geographically part of my Diocese,” Bishop Giffin noted in his May 25 Facebook posting. “If however that occurred, I would welcome both him and St. Paul’s, always cautioning discretion, as it has always been the same for all priests, deacons, and laity under my care.”   Bishop Giffin apparently has started receiving flack over his desire to reach out pastorally to Calvin Robinson and his flock.   “Let me now be on the Record after the (May 30) Anglican Unscripted episode which has just aired. Yes, I would receive Fr. Calvin Robinson as a priest into this Diocese, hopefully with the blessing of our Presiding Bishop, +Chandler Holder Jones, to ensure he will be received by the entire APA. This is what I would wish for Calvin+, that he would have a home with our entire Province,” the APA Bishop emphatically states on May 30. “If he does not, given the G3 situation which I understand but with which I do not subscribe, I will still receive Fr. Calvin into my Diocese with much regret on all sides. It is right for both the pastoral care of Fr. Calvin but also a parish that needs support given all these changes and abrupt redirections.”   Bishop Giffin is full-throated in defending his decision to bring Robinson and his independent parish under his watchful episcopal wing.   “I do think it incredibly important to mention that the situation with Fr. Calvin Robinson has zero to do with any ‘allure to celebrity’ (as has been suggested) and all to do with attempting to provide pastoral care and minister to a priest who I believe has not been treated appropriately,” Bishop Giffin posted on May 31. “Do not mistake what I may do for Fr. Calvin to be anything else save caring for a priest in need. He is first and foremost a priest, who serves a parish, also in need, and I felt compassion and responsibility when made aware of this need. I will not pass them on the other side of the road and turn my eyes away. People need to stop reading any more into it than that.”    Robinson says he wears each “cancellation” as a badge of honor.   “Every time, every single time, these cancellations have been blessings,” Robinson told the conferees on May 9 while speaking at the Campaign Life Coalition’s ProLife Youth Summit in Ottawa, Canada. “Every single time I'm storing up treasure in heaven.”   “This is why I'm speaking to you today. You need to get ‘cancelled for Christ,’” he said. “And I'm not talking about causing trouble for the sake of causing trouble.”   “I'm talking about standing firm in the faith,” he continues. “Speaking truth at all times. NEVER compromising to be nice. Always aim to be good. Always aim to put Christ first in everything that we do.”   Many however believe that Robinson’s public grandstanding on woke issues including the ordination of women is more about his ego and politics than gospel proclamation.   Mary Ann Mueller is a journalist living in Texas. She is a regular contributor to VirtueOnline.

May 2024   Dear [Rector, Deacon},   I’ve attended St. Paul’s since 2007. Last Pentecost Sunday was the first time I didn’t want to be there. Saturday evening I read the draft of the new St. Paul’s website that may be launched this Friday. I was impressed by the new look, and then I found the phrases listed below that were scattered throughout the site. It was like a slap in the face. I didn’t sleep at all Saturday evening and have been in turmoil since then.   The past two years have been ones of severe spiritual anxiety since I read former Bishop Wolfe’s statements in June 2022 concerning the Supreme Court’s decision on abortion and my subsequent exploration of the St. Bart’s website and its lauding of people’s sinful choices. My faith has never wavered but has become much more emboldened and deepened as I have suffered great mental anguish—I’m not being hyperbolic—about the Council of Trustees and now the proposed St. Paul’s website.   The Episcopal Church, the Church of England, and other progressive denominations have compromised Biblical principles in response to pagan worldly pressure. I have slowly but surely turned against the CofE, the national Episcopal Church, and my Diocese. I had looked forward to serving on the Council of Trustees, but the experience began to sour in December 2022 when the president gave the Council a document as a springboard for an action plan. I responded to the president with several objections . I could have lived with the initial proposals and tried to ignore them, but then I began finding subsequent portions accepting homosexuality and the promotion of transgender issues. Once again I wrote her a lengthy letter (always copied to the Bishop and to the Canon for the Ordinary) about how upset I was and my Scriptural reasons for my ideas.   The spring of 2023 was a roller coaster of emotions as I tried to understand how the Episcopal Church could promote teachings that were in clear violation of numerous Biblical passages throughout the Old and New Testaments. I even wept for ten minutes during a Council of Trustees meeting, much to my embarrassment, because I was so distraught. Finally I could no longer be a part of a body that overwhelmingly (probably 100%) supported all that I was against, so I resigned my post in July 2023. I thought that all would be better in my life, but that was not to be.   I am embarrassed that St. Paul’s actively supports pride parade and pride month, and even has a booth at the parade. We can surmise that most of the people in attendance are not living celibate lives and, therefore, are engaged enthusiastically in sexual immorality. Heterosexuals are guilty of the same sins if the man and woman aren’t married to each other. Sexual sin is an equal opportunity employer. How can St. Paul’s be part of an event that might have a drag queen show, and especially in front of children?   My great dissatisfaction with the Episcopal Church at large began even earlier when I enrolled in Education for Ministry in Fall 2018. In August 2023, the facilitator and I thought it best that I do not enroll in the third year for two reasons: [1] I had stated in class that transgender ideology was a great danger; [2] a book we were to read in Fall 2023, Beyond a Non-Binary God: A theology for Trans Allies. That such a book would be adopted by EfM for supplementary reading and discussion grieved my spirit and angered me. It is no surprise that EfM and the Episcopal Church have embraced a liberal political bent that runs counter to many Biblical teachings. It appears to me that in a desperate chase for increasing attendance, the church has turned to politics and worldly views over the Word of God. These are wrong priorities. “Do you not know that friendship with the world is hostility toward God? Therefore, whoever chooses to be a friend of the world renders himself an enemy of God.” (1 John 2:15).   I purposely have not quoted Bible passages about these sexual behaviors in this letter. You know quite well what they are. St. Paul was clear and direct. Romans 1:16—32 is my touchstone (one of many) that describes the descent of people into utter wickedness because they have rejected God and followed their own desires. Clergy and others who explain away this passage will one day stand before God for “approving of those who practice them” (evil things just listed) and will be liable for leading people astray. I’d like to hear what exactly God got wrong in his word transmitted through St. Paul in Romans 1. What did Jesus misunderstand about marriage between a man and woman when he referenced Genesis in Matthew 19?   I can say with certainty that if the new website appears and includes the statements below, then I will immediately take a sabbatical from attending St. Paul’s beginning today and continuing through the month of June. This will allow me to avoid any reference in church to pride month. That means that I will obviously not fulfill any verger or lector duties, will not sign checks, and will not step foot in the church. After a lot more prayer during June, I will then decide what path to take.   I’m sorry that it has come to this. I was hoping against hope that a blatant acceptance of the homosexual agenda in a public way would not appear at St. Paul’s.   Sincerely,   David Littrell   Postscript April 2025: I left the Episcopal Church on April 11, 2025, the day before St. Paul’s was once again participating in the gay pride parade, which was held during the holy season of Lent and the day before Palm Sunday.   David Littrell is a retired university professor from the Midwest.

“Your Eminence, ‘Which has greater value...the combined and total financial value of all our Archdiocese’s assets, or the value of a girl’s life lost to evil’?”   COMMENTARY   By David W. Virtue, DD www.virtueonline.org May 29, 2025   By all accounts the new Pope Leo XIV is getting rave reviews from Catholics and Protestants alike. He comes across as humble, self-effacing, and approachable with a non-celebrity, non-mega church humility-like approach to his job. He seems to be without a flaming ego that needs constant reinforcement by an adoring public.   That he is an American is clearly a plus at a time when everything seems topsy turvey in America with a government and president having imbibed a winner take all approach to life. Pope Leo is a breath of fresh air.   He is steering the Catholic ship between the Charybdis of MAGA and the Scylla of Woke with skill and alacrity.   He turned his back on a Gay PRIDE flag waved at him in a walkabout; and then spent only 17 seconds shaking hands with vice-president J.D. Vance preferring to hold long meetings with other leaders.   He has made the right noises on abortion and gay marriage. He outlined a clear Catholic teaching on marriage and abortion, noting that family is based on a "stable union between a man and a woman" and that the unborn enjoy dignity as God’s creatures.   Plus, plus on all counts. But the story does not end there. Not by a long shot.   The two major issues he must face are critical to his church’s very survival at least in the US -- clergy sexual abuse and the falling away of millions of Catholics from the fold.   How he handles these two issues will determine his future and legacy.   Let’s start with Catholics leaving the church. There is a mass exodus. The Roman Catholic Church in America is cratering. While there are a few intellectual evangelicals and Anglo-Catholics who are becoming Roman Catholic, the overall trend is in the other direction.  Actually, the Roman Church is hemorrhaging members…by the millions.   While a multiyear decline in Christianity in the U.S. may have leveled off, according to a new survey by Pew Research Center, the survey found Catholics are seeing the greatest net losses of believers compared to other religions in the U.S. The data indicate that for every one person received into the Catholic Church, another 8.4 individuals have left the faith, either altogether or for another worship tradition. This increases the trend Pew found in 2014, when 6.5 Catholics left the faith for every person who entered.   Pew’s new survey also shows just 29% of the nation’s Catholics attend religious services weekly or more often. Altogether four in 10 Catholics attend religious services monthly or more.   In addition, support among U.S. Catholics for legalized abortion, homosexuality and other stances at odds with church teaching has increased over the past decade and a half.   None of these figures should make Pope Leo happy and if he wants to see the church in the country of his birth survive and thrive, he must reverse the current trend. That is a tall order for a nation fast becoming post-Christian. The strength of his church lies in the Global South, as it does for global Anglicanism. The migration of Catholics from Latin countries is the one best hope for America.   CLERGY SEXUAL ABUSE   The Roman Catholic Church in America is riddled with abusive homosexuals and pederasts at the very highest levels of the church, and unless they are rooted out, they will bring the whole house of cards down around themselves.   Consider this story: “There was a young girl who loved our Lord and was befriended by an associate priest who raped her. In great shame and deep sorrow, the girl told her parents who would not believe her because priests supposedly are ‘holy men.’ The parents of the girl spoke to the pastor who defended the associate and claimed their daughter was lying. When the parents told their daughter to remain quiet, she then killed herself. A young girl’s life was lost to the predatory behavior of a so-called holy priest. To my knowledge, the rapist suffered no consequences. Here is my question, Your Eminence, ‘Which has greater value...the combined and total financial value of all our Archdiocese’s assets, or the value of that girl’s life lost to evil’?”   Our Lord’s response would be overwhelming; It is best that a millstone be tied around the priest’s neck and he be dumped into the ocean, than he ever offends (abuses) a child of God. And there is not a shred of Biblical evidence that such a person be shielded by the seal of the confessional. This is the fallback bullshit Catholic position to shield the vilest offender who in this case happens to be a priest.   This is not an isolated story. It has been and continues to be repeated hundreds of times. Men with boys is an even bigger story. Consider the late Cardinal McCarrick who took young seminarians to his bed. He almost got away with it but the public outcry was so great he was defrocked by Pope Francis after being convicted of sexual misconduct in a canonical trial.   As of November 21, 2019, there were 6,488 names in the USCCB database, including 5,808 priests, 35 bishops, 108 deacons, and 47 seminarians, for a total of 5,998 accused clerics and future clerics. We don’t have the updated 2025 figures.   Many who have written on the needed characteristics of the next pope have said such things as “The next pope needs to call the bishops to proclaim the faith boldly; to restore respect for the sacraments; to unify the polarized elements of the Church.” Few pundits note that purging the Church of the Lavender Mafia, of the homosexual priests and bishops who run the Church, is arguably the most important and the most difficult of all tasks a new pope will face.  We believe it is.   Pope Benedict failed to do the cleanup because he was old, frail, and sick—but even more so because the resistance to his efforts was so strong. If Pope Leo has the cojones, he needs to clean house starting in his own backyard. He needs to root out every sodomist cleric regardless of how high they have climbed in the hierarchy.   Veteran Vatican watcher Dr. Jules Gomes has documented it all, noting that the U.S. Catholic Church has spent $5 billion on clergy sex abuse allegations in 20 years. A 106-page study records a total of 16,276 “credible allegations” of abuse of minors by priests, deacons, and religious brothers, which were reported by dioceses, eparchies, and men’s religious communities in the U.S. over the last two decades.   Bishops have had to sell churches to pay settlements as insurance companies meet less than one-fifth of the expenses. Dioceses and religious orders were forced to bear 84% of the costs, resulting in bishops selling churches, reorganizing parishes, and filing for bankruptcies, with several dioceses explicitly citing the settlements as a reason to declare bankruptcy.   Four in five victims were male and one-fifth of the victims were female, the survey recorded, confirming reports by The Stream and other experts of a “lavender mafia” dominating the Latin-rite Roman Catholic priesthood.   More than half the victims were between ages 10 and 14 (56%) at the time the abuse occurred or began, with 24% ages 15 to 17 and 20% ages nine and younger. (Again think Jesus and millstones).   The report estimated the number of perpetrators to be 4,490, with a combined 95% of all alleged perpetrators being priests, either diocesan (80%) or religious (15%). Four percent are religious brothers and 1% are deacons (diocesan or religious).   This is what Pope Leo must attend to without delay. His own credibility as the leader of 1.4 billion Catholics is on the line.   END

Commentary By David W. Virtue DD www.virtueonline.org June 2, 2025 It took two weeks to elect a new pope. It will take more than a year to elect a new Archbishop of Canterbury. The politicking is fierce. A recent report put the Iranian born woman bishop, Guli Francis-Dehqani, bishop of Chelmsford, as the leading contender, but all bets are off till the moment of truth arrives. You can read that story here: https://www.virtueonline.org/post/church-of-england-may-get-its-first-female-archbishop-of-canterbury   But there are some truths behind the scenes that VOL has learned that will explain how it is impossible for someone who is orthodox in faith and morals to win the coveted Lambeth Palace. The Church of England may get its first female Archbishop in the Church of England, according to odds posted by British betting firms.    Guli Francis-Dehqani, 58, has emerged as the leading candidate to become the next archbishop of Canterbury. British betting firms have placed her as the early favorite to succeed the Rev. Justin Welby, who stepped down in January.   Francis-Dehqani's odds were placed at evens and 2 to 1 by the firms Ladbrokes and Star Sports, according to  The Telegraph . If selected, she would become the 106th archbishop of Canterbury and the first woman to hold the office. According to numbers released last year by the Church of England General Synod, women comprise  around 30% of bishops  in the denomination.   A nomination requires support from two-thirds of voting members in a secret ballot, with a formal nomination for Welby's successor expected by autumn. Last November, Welby announced his decision to step down in the wake of criticism over the Church's handling of an abuse scandal involving barrister and Christian camp leader John Smyth.   The Church of England’s moment has come and gone. When they elected Justin Welby over Michael Nazir-Ali then Bishop of Rochester, the mistake proved fatal. Like a wounded Serengeti lion, the death of the Church of England is only a matter of time.   Of course, the CofE carries on like nothing matters more than itself. It pays no mind how their choice will impact the Global South. The front runner is an Iranian-born refugee who could be first female archbishop of Canterbury, speaks volumes about where the CofE is at. The job has not been held by a woman in its 1,428-year history.   A source in the CofE described the process as a complete and utter farce. “They are playing chess on the deck of the Titanic. There are just three orthodox members – one clergy, two lay out of 17 people in the selection process. The Good Ship Lambeth is about to go the same way as The Episcopal Church, led to the cliff’s edge by Welby, and pushed.”   “Only diocesan bishops have any power. Only 2 or 3 have any claim to orthodoxy. One is living with another man in a flat down the road from his cathedral. There are several suffragans holding Provincial Visitor roles but they don't have any votes or influence. Three out of the 17 on the new Commission for appointing the ABC are orthodox. It will require 14 votes for a candidate to cross the finishing line and be nominated.”   “It is all over. Welby filled the House of Bishops with his liberal management stooges. They voted for the Living in Love and Faith (LLF) report, without going through the legal requirements for any change, and they will get one of their own for ABC. Someone who ticks as many diversity boxes as possible has the best chance.”   The source says those who remain in the Church of England have choices - They can stay and hope that their own local church remains unaffected and untainted. (It won't). They can leave and join one of the church plants set up by the Anglican Mission in England (AMiE) or GAFCON, but it is not Anglicanism as we know it. And we know the difficulties with ACNA. They can become Roman Catholics with a much greater optimism now that Leo XIV is in charge. And there is a growing suggestion that the Great Schism may soon be over.   They can join one of the many Orthodox churches now present in the UK, but many of them have close ties with Moscow. And the language and Eastern liturgy pose formidable obstacles. There are even smaller groupings which may cater for some former Anglicans, but the question is whether they are truly Anglican or episcopal. Many will simply cease to attend organized worship.   “The Church of England, like the historic Conservative Party here in the UK, has been led into trackless wastes by a series of disastrous leaders. It is not going to recover its dominant role in England, as the number of those seeking ordination is plummeting; many are retiring, unreplaced; the astonishing financial waste and incompetency of dioceses means that they are selling off clergy housing, amalgamating churches into ever larger groups, and nobody is left to lead worship.” He believes that Leo XIV may be about to preside over a golden age for his Church here in England. Whatever the problems, it remains largely orthodox and protected from cultural Marxism.   END

Majority of Christians Reject Trinity // Trinity Anglican Seminary opens new center   The Bible isn't about people trying to discover God, but about God reaching out to find us. Christianity is not just about what we believe; it's also about how we behave. – John Stott   Hate never wins the final victory, "freedom does" -- the freedom of respect for one another and to "love thy neighbor as thyself." --- UK Chief Rabbi Jonathan Sacks   According to a YouGov survey, 41% of churchgoers aged 18 to 35 in England and Wales identify as Catholic, while 20% belong to the Church of England. In London, Catholics make up 35% of the city's Christians, more than Anglicans at 33%. The growth is spearheaded by younger churchgoers who outnumber Anglicans by more than two to one.   America doesn’t need a left-wing version of Joe Rogan. What it needs is our parents, pastors, teachers and coaches to fill the void in young men’s hearts. Our sons should not have to turn to books or podcasts or social media to hear this simple and powerful message: I like you. I want you to live a good life. Let me show you how. – David French   The Church is not a replacement for Israel wrapped in your national colors. It is not a religious booster club for your side of the political aisle. It is not America’s chaplain or moral validator. The Church is the Body of Christ: crucified, risen, and set loose in the world to witness to something far bigger than any political project. – Dietrich Bonhoeffer   Dear Brothers and Sisters, www.virtueonline.org May 30, 2025   It took two weeks to elect a new pope. It is taking one year to elect a new  Archbishop of Canterbury.  The Roman Catholic Church looks like they got it right. Whoever the Church of England elects will be wrong. There is not a prayer they will elect a person who is orthodox in faith and morals. That day is done.   The Church of England’s moment has come and gone. When they elected Justin Welby over Michael Nazir-Ali then Bishop of Rochester, the mistake proved fatal. Like a wounded Serengeti lion, the death of the Church of England is only a matter of time.   Of course, the CofE carries on like nothing matters more than itself. It pays no mind how their choice will impact the Global South. The front runner is an Iranian-born refugee who could be first female archbishop of Canterbury, according to a report in the Telegraph. The job has not been held by a woman in its 1,428-year history.   Dr Francis-Dehqani has been an outspoken critic of the immigration policy of successive governments. She is also pro-gay and would like the LLF report to be fully implemented in the Church of England. You can read more here:  https://www.virtueonline.org/post/church-of-england-may-get-its-first-female-archbishop-of-canterbury   A source in the CofE described the process as a complete and utter farce. “They are playing chess on the deck of the Titanic. There are just three orthodox members – one clergy, two lay out of 17 people in the selection process. The Good Ship Lambeth is about to go the same way as The Episcopal Church, led to the cliff’s edge by Welby, and pushed.”   “Only diocesan bishops have any power. Only 2 or 3 have any claim to orthodoxy. One is living with another man in a flat down the road from his cathedral. There are several suffragans holding Provincial Visitor roles but they don't have any votes or influence. Three out of the 17 on the new Commission for appointing the ABC are orthodox. It will require 14 votes for a candidate to cross the finishing line and be nominated.”   “It is all over. Welby filled the House of Bishops with his liberal management stooges. They voted for the Living in Love and Faith (LLF) report, without going through the legal requirements for any change, and they will get one of their own for ABC. Someone who ticks as many diversity boxes as possible has the best chance.”   The source says those who remain in the Church of England have choices - They can stay and hope that their own local church remains unaffected and untainted. (It won't). They can leave and join one of the church plants set up by the Anglican Mission in England (AMiE) or GAFCON, but it is not Anglicanism as we know it. And we know the difficulties with ACNA. They can become Roman Catholics with a much greater optimism now that Leo XIV is in charge. And there is a growing suggestion that the Great Schism may soon be over.   They can join one of the many Orthodox churches now present in the UK, but many of them have close ties with Moscow. And the language and Eastern liturgy pose formidable obstacles. There are even smaller groupings which may cater for some former Anglicans, but the question is whether they are truly Anglican or episcopal. Many will simply cease to attend organized worship.   “The Church of England, like the historic Conservative Party here in the UK, has been led into trackless wastes by a series of disastrous leaders. It is not going to recover its dominant role in England, as the number of those seeking ordination is plummeting; many are retiring, unreplaced; the astonishing financial waste and incompetency of dioceses means that they are selling off clergy housing, amalgamating churches into ever larger groups, and nobody is left to lead worship.”   He believes that Leo XIV may be about to preside over a golden age for his Church here in England. Whatever the problems, it remains largely orthodox and protected from cultural Marxism.   ***   Pope Leo must address clergy sexual abuse and massive US decline in church attendance.  “Your Eminence, ‘Which has greater value...the combined and total financial value of all our Archdiocese’s assets, or the value of a girl’s life lost to evil’?”   By all accounts the new Pope Leo XIV is getting rave reviews from Catholics and Protestants alike. He comes across as humble, self-effacing, and approachable with a non-celebrity, non-mega church humility-like approach to his job. He seems to be without a flaming ego that needs constant reinforcement by an adoring public.   That he is an American is clearly a plus at a time when everything seems topsy turvy in America with a government and president having imbibed a winner take all approach to life. Pope Leo is a breath of fresh air.   He is steering the Catholic ship between the Charybdis of MAGA and the Scylla of Woke with skill and alacrity.   He turned his back on a Gay PRIDE flag waved at him in a walkabout; and then spent only 17 seconds shaking hands with vice-president J.D. Vance, preferring to hold long meetings with other leaders.    He has made the right noises on abortion and gay marriage. He outlined a clear Catholic teaching on marriage and abortion, noting that family is based on a "stable union between a man and a woman" and that the unborn enjoy dignity as God’s creatures.   But he has yet to address the twin issues of clergy sexual abuse and declining Catholic attendance in the U.S. You can read more here:  https://www.virtueonline.org/post/pope-must-address-clergy-sexual-abuse-and-massive-us-decline-in-church-attendance   ***   In an exclusive report, VOL uncovered  The North American Anglican Journal, (TNAA)  an online forum for theological and historical discussions in the Anglican tradition for Anglican Church in North America (ACNA) clergy and laity, is apparently being underwritten at least in part by an extremist far right person who wants America to be a Christian nation while excoriating “Jews who need to apologize to the world.”   The TNAA print publisher is a C. Jay Engel who holds extremely disturbing political views that can only be described as xenophobic, racist, antisemitic and unchristian.   He is on record arguing that Jews "have largely operated at odds with the Old American way of life." The editor-in-chief of TNAA, Jesse Nigro, is apparently aware of Mr. Engel's offensive beliefs. (Engel has made no secret of them.)  Nigro appears to attend a LCMS congregation.   In a small office building purchased by developers, two men, including Engel are trying to build a Christian nationalist community in rural Jackson County, Tennessee, while attempting to build a right-wing podcasting business.   The two-part expose can be read here:  https://www.virtueonline.org/post/north-american-anglican-online-journal-is-underwritten-by-far-right-political-extremist  And here:  https://www.virtueonline.org/post/north-american-anglican-journal-has-deep-ties-to-alt-right-that-threatens-the-acna-part-2   *** Leaders from over 60 churches across all Scottish Parliament   constituencies  signed a letter to Scottish Parliament members (MSPs) asking them to stop the bill on assisted dying.   ‘The Assisted Dying for Terminally Ill Adults (Scotland) Bill’ is expected to be debated and voted on at ‘stage 1’ on Tuesday, 13 May. If it passes, it will progress to ‘stage 2’, where it can be amended. If it doesn’t pass, the bill won’t progress any further and won’t become law.   This draft law for Scotland describes terminally ill people as those who “have an advanced and progressive disease, illness or condition from which they are unable to recover and that can reasonably be expected to cause their premature death”.   Such a definition, say the church leaders, opens a “potential wide eligibility” which “does not include a prognostic timescale”.   Despite being addressed by the bill, the risk that patients are coerced into asking for assisted dying remains real because neither the text of the law nor a Policy Memorandum specify how doctors and nurses should assess potential coercion, these Christian leaders say. “Vulnerable patients may feel pressured by family members or caregivers, whether explicitly or implicitly, especially given the rising costs of care. Capacity assessments for assisted suicide are complex, and the individuals closest to the patient may be reluctant to carry them out due to the implications”.   *** NOTABLE DEATHS. Two men died recently; both were significant in their respective spheres of influence. The first was  Samuel Escobar,  a Peruvian pastor and theologian whose passion for social justice and evangelization resulted in a new field in missiology. He died aged 90 in Valencia, Spain.   In 1970, Escobar and fellow Latin American theologians René Padilla, Orlando Costas, and Pedro Arana coined the term misión integral to refer to a theological vision that sees evangelism and social justice as inseparable components of Christian life. They saw this principle as a way to apply the evangelical faith to the injustices they saw, highlighting that care for the poor was at the center of Jesus’ message.   At the inaugural Lausanne Congress in 1974, Escobar gave a plenary address to more than 2,000 Christian leaders from 150 countries, arguing that the church had a responsibility to address the poverty and deprivation affecting its most vulnerable members. I met him at Lausanne and corresponded with him over the years.   The second prominent death was Old Testament scholar  Gordon Wenham , best known for his commentaries on the Pentateuch and the Psalms. He died in Cheltenham, England, May 13, 2025, at the age of 81. You can read more here:  https://anglicanmainstream.org/article/gordon-j-wenham-1943-2025/   ***   Calvin Robinson  found a way to tick off four archbishops in a matter of months pleading  nolo contendere,  refusing to admit his guilt for the way he has behaved but neither admitting nor disputing the charges. Robinson is a man who loves the spotlight, but is not at all in love with those in authority over him telling him what to do.   His vocational journey would terrify a modern-day HR person. After the Church of England refused to ordain him, he was ordained as a deacon in the tiny Free Church of England, a conservative Confessing Anglican denomination with less than 20 congregations. In 2023 he joined the Nordic Catholic Church, “a conservative Old Catholic denomination of High Church Lutheran patrimony.” In 2024, he came to the U.S. and was a priest in the Anglican Catholic Church. Following a controversial gesture that some said looked too much like a Nazi salute, The Anglican Catholic Church removed Robinson from ministry four days later. Robinson then went “bishop shopping,” and was granted a temporary license by the Reformed Episcopal Church, part of the Anglican Church in North America. That ended up badly and nine days later the Reformed Episcopal Church revoked his license to be a priest. That’s five denominations in three years. The only good news here is that Robinson announced he would resume his priestly duties at St. Paul’s Anglican Church in Grand Rapids, where he has been serving as rector since last fall. But his license has been revoked so what is his future?   He might want to think about returning to England and have another crack at politics to which he is best suited, as clearly the pastoral ministry does not suit his massive ego needs for public attention. Perhaps the Brexit Party will take another look at him. One doubts that even the Ordinariate would have him. He is not yet 40, he still has time, but not, it seems for the pastoral ministry.   ***   If you want to know just how theologically vacuous Christians have become in the U.S. a recent survey revealed that an overwhelming majority of Christians reject the fundamental teaching of the  Trinity.   A striking new study from the Cultural Research Center at Arizona Christian University reveals a sharp divide between Americans’ self-reported Christian identity and their belief in a core doctrine: the trinity, where the God of the Bible exists as one inseparable deity in three persons—God the Father, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit.   Though two out of three Americans call themselves Christian, only 11% of all adults—and 16% of self-proclaimed Christians—affirm this foundational tenet.   This new data, part of the American Worldview Inventory 2025 from veteran researcher Dr. George Barna, highlights a growing disconnect between Christian identity and theological understanding. While the trinity has been a cornerstone of Christian doctrine for centuries, the latest findings show that even among churchgoers, this foundational truth is largely misunderstood or rejected.   The report reveals that:   Only 40% of adults believe the God of the Bible exists and is active in their lives. Just 59% believe in the existence and influence of Jesus Christ. Only 29% believe in the presence and power of the Holy Spirit. When combined, these statistics show that very few Americans hold a trinitarian view of God. Even among the most devout population segment—those with a biblical worldview—just 62% affirm the doctrine of the trinity.   Barna, CRC’s Director of Research and creator of the study, expressed concern about its implications. “These findings about America’s ignorance or rejection of the trinity are simply another in a long list of examples of people living without the truths and life principles of God shaping their life,” he said.   The data suggest a cultural drift not only away from biblical beliefs but from any clear understanding of who God is. Two earlier reports from the American Worldview Inventory 2025 show Americans are redefining God in their own image and are minimizing the role of God in their lives.   ***   At a time when Episcopal seminaries are merging, closing and dying,  Trinity Anglican Seminary  announced the official opening of  The Trophimus Center  in Ambridge, PA with a ribbon cutting ceremony followed by a dedication and consecration service on May 16, 2025.   The space will serve as a place for Trinity students to engage in liturgical formation, hosts classrooms and events, and invite the local community to participate in worship. It also supports the wider Anglican Church in North America (ACNA) and other mission partners as a keystone institution for leadership conferences.   The Rev. Cn. Dr. Bryan Hollon, Dean and President, said, “The Trophimus Center’s opening is a major advance in Trinity Anglican Seminary's mission to be a global center for Christian formation in the Anglican tradition. With its beautifully restored worship and meeting spaces, the Center equips our students in the beauty of Anglican liturgy while providing our community and the entire Province a central gathering place for learning, worship, and fellowship.   ***   The Anglican Church of Canada is collapsing.  In the year of our Lord 1967, the Anglican Church of Canada had 1,218,666 members and 272,400 worshippers on a typical Sunday. In a recent report, the church found 294,382 members on parish rolls and 58,871 people attending Sunday worship services.   “The religious institution many of us have long known and loved does not look now as it did even 20 years ago, and it will not look the same 20 years from now,” noted the report, “Creating Pathways for the Transformational Change of the General Synod.”   Waves of declining statistics will "evoke grief, fear and longing. ...This report does not seek to reverse current trends, but to respond to them to empower a much smaller church to thrive as it proclaims the gospel today and in the future.” You can read more of Terry Mattingly’s take here:  https://religionunplugged.com/news/2025/5/28/on-religion-the-collapse-of-the-anglican-church-in-canada   ***   LOVE FOR THE LEAST,  an outreach Christian ministry to Muslims, and one of the most effective evangelistic ministries in the world, estimates that Iran is now 10 to 15% believers.  That’s 8 to 12 million people.  “It’s moving so fast and hard to verify without endangering them,” the source told VOL. Of the 50,000 mosques, a majority are empty. Islam holds little sway among the people, only its leaders are fanatically Muslim and equally Jew hating.   I personally saw the beginning of a huge Iranian movement in Istanbul. Love for the Least is now in five countries. The Iranians in Armenia are adding a new church every week, I was told.   Love for the Least leaders say the latest disciple-making training class on the Swahili Coast by local leaders and the Anglican archbishop reports training 300 new Muslim background believers.   ***   VOL  exists to keep its readers informed about global Anglicanism. We wake up each day and ask the question what do our readers need to know to keep them informed so they can make good decisions. We are here because of readers like you. Would you consider a tax-deductible donation to keep the news coming. A PayPal donation link can be found here: here:  http://www.virtueonline.org/support.html If you are more inclined with checks, you can send your donation to: VIRTUEONLINE                                                                       P.O. BOX 111                               Shohola, PA 18458   Thank you for your support,   David   My Substack on the Middle East continues to grow. It is drawing a lot of attention from across the globe. You can access my Substack 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.

TEC Terminates Resettlement Program with US // Trinity Anglican Seminary Opens New Center   What we need is not more learning, not more eloquence, not more persuasion, not more organization, but more power from the Holy Spirit. – John Stott More than 60% of American adults report consuming Christian media in some form, whether through television, radio, podcasts, news websites, social media, or YouTube. This is not an occasional interaction — among these users, half engage with Christian content at least once per week --- NRB A Pew Research Center study conducted in 2024 found that for every American who converts to Catholicism, another 8.4 leave. The only reason that Catholicism is able to maintain a relatively steady share of the U.S. population – about 20% – is due to the high percentage of immigrants and migrants who are Catholic. --- The Conversation The motto of one newly elected American world leader: "Fight!" The other introduced himself to the world with his first public word as pope: "Peace." The contrast between President Donald Trump and Chicago-born Pope Leo XIV couldn’t be more stark — politically, personally or in their world views. --Laurie Kellman/The Associated Press   Dear Brother and Sisters, www.virtueonline.org May 16, 2025   It has been an incredible two weeks in the life of the Anglican Communion that included the election of a new pope that will undoubtedly have implications for whoever is the next Archbishop of Canterbury. With four of the seven candidates for ABC being women, it might behoove the deep thinkers in the Church of England to think long and hard about what the implications will be for Anglican/Catholic (ARCIC) talks and dialogue if they elect a woman. Oops won’t do it.   ***   The Anglican Diocese of North Africa elected a new bishop in the person of Ashley Null, a white westerner, the first elected Anglican bishop ever in this neck of the woods. He stands in the shoes of St. Augustine and promises to be just as orthodox, a stand that will not go down well with woke western Anglicanism that has succumbed to the siren call on issues like homosexuality, homosexual marriage and the ordination of women. Null rejects all three.   I was in Tunis for this memorable occasion and witnessed this unique consecration. I wrote several stories about this historic occasion which you can read here: https://www.virtueonline.org/post/the-consecration-of-bishop-john-ashley-null   and here: https://www.virtueonline.org/post/a-brief-history-of-anglicanism-in-north-africa and here: https://www.virtueonline.org/post/tunisia-s-christian-heritage-includes-the-famous-martyrs-of-carthage   ***   Calvin Robinson , a mixed-race Anglican priest from Britain appeared once again in the news. He reared his head after being tossed out of the Anglican Catholic Church (ACC) for unseemly behavior following his appearance at a Mere Anglican Conference where he went off script and raged about women’s ordination. He was given his marching orders by his boss ACA Archbishop Mark Haverland, for, among other things antisemitism. He was briefly picked up by REC Bishop Ray Sutton, a bishop in the Anglican Church in North America, who then had second thoughts and dropped him like a hot potato. Robinson was also criticized by ACNA Archbishop Steve Wood who said in a statement; “I am concerned to have the Anglican Church of North America affiliated with a leader whose public comments and persona consistently fail to exhibit the love and grace of Jesus Christ.”   Robinson has floated around more Anglican jurisdictions than Donald Trump has had marriages, but he has managed to keep his little flock in Michigan with him. Where he lands next is anybody’s guess. He is very high church and Romish so the Ordinariate might have him, but who knows. You can read more here: https://www.virtueonline.org/post/calvin-robinson-too-hot-to-handle-is-booted-from-the-reformed-episcopal-church   ***   The Episcopal Church continues its Gadarene slide into oblivion with the announcement that two dioceses that were set to merge have decided against it. According to Anglican Watch blog this amounts to ecclesiastical suicide.   The two Pennsylvania dioceses that previously shared Bishop Sean Rowe (now Presiding Bishop) as part of a partnership agreement voted on May 3 to end their six-year collaborative effort. The announcement spells bad news for both dioceses. It reflects an unwillingness to face the reality that both dioceses are facing an existential crisis that will only get worse with time.  Both dioceses have aging congregants in small parishes and very limited income; not enough to support a full time paid bishop. You can read more here: https://www.virtueonline.org/post/decision-by-pennsylvania-dioceses-to-have-separate-bishops-underscores-episcopal-unwillingness-to-ac   ***   The Anglican Church of Canada is on death march to oblivion.  Its future is at stake. By any reckoning it is on life support. A panel of Anglican experts recently outlined six paths to ‘big change’ in church. A commission wrote a 48-page document offering six pathways along which the church could organize work to update and strip down its governance to improve efficiency, clarity and inclusion.   The commission, established by former primate Archbishop Linda Nicholls recommended major cuts to the size of the church’s organizational committees and governing bodies.   The commission’s recommendations are aimed at adapting the church to the needs of a smaller membership and a 21st-century social and political landscape, said the report.   All this is code for ‘we don’t have enough money coming in to keep the bureaucracy going and the lights.’ Here is the data for average Sunday attendance.   In 2001 it was 162,000, by 2019 it was 87,000, by 2022 it was 65,000. Would anyone be surprised if today, in 2025, it was under 50,000! How could a church be sinking this rapidly last beyond 2040! Meanwhile the population of Canada continues to grow. Today it stands at 38.8 million! Clearly immigrants are not rushing through the red doors to hear the latest word on homosexual inclusion. You can read more here: https://www.virtueonline.org/post/death-by-a-thousand-cuts-anglican-church-of-canada   ***   The US resettling of Afrikaners from South Africa brought out a predictable response from The Episcopal Church and its presiding bishop.   A letter released from Episcopal Church Presiding Bishop Sean Rowe said the denomination will terminate its partnership to resettle refugees with the U.S. government over a request to resettle Afrikaners after the administration had effectively halted the U.S. refugee program.   In a short response, Vice President JD Vance called the Episcopal Church's withdrawal from the refugee program "crazy" in a post on X Monday.   Vance, who identifies as Catholic, had previously accused faith-based groups, like the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, of relying too heavily on federal funds for refugee resettlement, suggesting financial motives over humanitarian concerns. You can read more here: https://religionnews.com/2025/05/12/episcopal-church-ends-refugee-resettlement-citing-moral-opposition-to-resettling-white-afrikaners/   ***   Trinity Anglican Seminary in Ambridge, PA announced the official opening of a new worship space and event center, The Trophimus Center , with a ribbon cutting ceremony on May 15, 2025.   It will be a place for Trinity students to engage in liturgical formation, hosts classrooms and events, and invites the local community to participate in worship. It also supports the wider Anglican Church in North America (ACNA) and other mission partners as a keystone institution for leadership conferences, said a press release.   The Rev. Cn. Dr. Bryan Hollon, Dean and President, said, “The Trophimus Center’s opening is a major advance in Trinity Anglican Seminary's mission to be a global center for Christian formation in the Anglican tradition. With its beautifully restored worship and meeting spaces, the Center equips our students in the beauty of Anglican liturgy while providing our community and the entire Province a central gathering place for learning, worship, and fellowship. This incredible facility will enable Trinity to form leaders steeped in our rich tradition and better equip the churches we serve to offer the gospel's beauty, depth, and truth to a world desperately seeking all three." You can read more here: https://www.virtueonline.org/post/trinity-anglican-seminary-opens-a-new-worship-space-and-event-center-the-trophimus-center     ***   The number of Christians experiencing persecution worldwide has risen to an estimated 380 million in 2025, according to the annual World Watch List, released by Open Doors, a Christian anti-persecution watchdog.   North Korea retains its position as the most dangerous country for Christians, followed closely by Somalia and Yemen. Central Asia remains a region of concern, with China, a nation of approximately 1.41 billion people, ranking 15th on the list.   Open Doors CEO Henrietta Blyth expressed concern about the growing threat to religious freedom, particularly in countries with strong international trade ties, such as China. She urged governments to consider religious persecution when forming alliances. “We want the question of freedom of religion or belief to be one of the perspectives they think about,” Blyth said, emphasizing the need for faith and religion to be included in vulnerability assessments.   The report also highlights the increasing use of advanced technology, including artificial intelligence, to suppress religious activities. In China, facial recognition technology is being deployed to monitor church attendance, with mandatory use in state-sanctioned churches. Noncompliance often results in raids or closures. Such systems have been reportedly exported to other nations, including Iran, which ranks 9th on the list.   Conflict continues to be a significant driver of persecution in regions such as Nigeria, ranked 7th, where Christian communities face attacks by armed militants. Despite Christians making up nearly half of the population, villages and churches are frequently targeted, with men killed and women taken hostage.   But the main point is that throughout these challenges is the resilience and unwavering faith of persecuted Christians.   ***   Who will be the next leader of the Church of England? The position of Archbishop of Canterbury has been vacant since January 2025 writes George Pitches.  Who will be the person to guide the Church of England through what has been a volatile era of polarization, safeguarding scandals, yet spiritual awakening amongst the youth and renewal in the UK.   The Crown Nominations Commission, which consists of 17 members and must decide by a 2/3 majority, will short list and interview candidates before eventually making a recommendation to the prime minister. The PM then forwards the name to King Charles III, the supreme governor of the Church of England, who formally makes the appointment.   Predicting the next archbishop is notoriously difficult – Welby himself was a famously left-field choice. However, a number of names have been placed in the frame, including several female bishops. If appointed, they would make history by becoming the first ever woman to become Archbishop of Canterbury.   Here are seven prospective candidates:  Rt Rev Martyn Snow, Bishop of Leicester; (lead bishop for the Living in Love and faith report.) So pro-gay. The Rt Rev Dr Guli Francis-Dehqani, Bishop of Chelmsford. Guli was one of 44 bishops to sign an open letter in support of priests being allowed to enter into same-sex marriages in 2023. The Rt Rev Graham Usher, Bishop of Norwich, but has ruled himself out of contention by committing to serve on the commission that will nominate the archbishop. The Rt Rev Rachel Treweek, Bishop of Gloucester, supported the celebration and blessing of “faithful monogamous same-sex relationships.” Enough said. The Most Rt Rev Stephen Cottrell, Archbishop of York, but he has come under criticism for his role in recent safeguarding scandals, with some clergy calling for his resignation. The Rt Rev Dame Sarah Mullally, Bishop of London. She described the prayers of blessing for same-sex couples as a “moment of hope for the Church”. The Rt Rev Helen-Ann Hartley, Bishop of Newcastle supports “full inclusion of LGBTQIA+ people in the life of the Church”, including the introduction of same-sex marriage.   It is fascinating in that it took less than two weeks for the Roman Catholic Church to find and elect a new pope following the death of Pope Francis. It is taking a year for the Church of England to find a new archbishop, and even then, whoever is chosen, won’t satisfy large sections of the church or most of the Anglican Communion.   And you wonder why Church of England evangelicals (CEEC) want a separate province to proclaim the gospel. How that will play out is still anybody’s guess.   VOL believes that the only person missing is a trannie hairdresser from Three Cocks Lane, Gloucester. He/she would have their credentials drawn from the Bully Pulpit School of Indifferent Theology.   ***   On a slightly better note, there is word of a 'quiet revival' in the UK that should encourage the Church. Evangelical leader John Stevens has welcomed new findings from the Bible Society’s Quiet Revival report based on a study of 13,000 people by YouGov for the Bible Society, challenging the long-held assumption that churchgoing in the UK is in terminal decline.   It found that church attendance among adults has in fact risen from 8% to 12% in the last six years —an increase of over 2 million people. Most strikingly, attendance among 18 to 24-year-olds has quadrupled, from 4% to 16%, with young men seeing the largest rise, from 4% to a remarkable 21%.   In a new post on the website of the Fellowship of Independent Evangelical Churches, Stevens noted that these changes reflect a deeper spiritual longing: “Young people say they are more spiritual … those who attend church report higher life satisfaction and connection to their communities.   “Secular liberalism has not delivered the happiness and freedom that it promised, with ever-increasing loneliness and mental health issues.   "Young people bear the impossible burden of having to define their own identity, and young men are tired of the relentless castigating of so-called ‘toxic masculinity’.   This longing has sparked interest not just in evangelical churches but also in Roman Catholicism and Eastern Orthodoxy.   Roman Catholicism and Eastern Orthodoxy are attracting those drawn to tradition and transcendence, while Bible-teaching evangelical churches are welcoming seekers with a clear message and community rooted in Scripture.   The Chief Executive of the Bible Society, Paul Williams, said the findings of their study were “highly significant" and should “transform the perception of Christianity and churchgoing in England and Wales”.   A co-author of the report, Dr Rhiannon McAleer, added, “These are striking findings that completely reverse the widely held assumption that the Church is dying.   "While some traditional denominations continue to face decline, broad-based growth—especially in Catholic and Pentecostal churches—is painting a very different picture.” You can read more here: https://www.virtueonline.org/post/signs-of-quiet-revival-in-the-uk-should-encourage-the-church-says-evangelical-leader   ***   Christians are praying that more British MPs will be persuaded to reject Kim Leadbeater's assisted suicide bill when it is debated again in the House of Commons today. The Westminster debate comes just days after the Scottish Parliament backed similar proposals for Scotland put forward by Lib Dem MSP, Liam McArthur.   Ciarán Kelly, director of The Christian Institute, called the bill "extremely dangerous" and said it was "no overstatement to say this is a matter of life and death. Should this bill become law, doctors would legally be permitted to help adults deemed to be terminally ill to kill themselves," he said.   ***   I am grateful for those of you who supported my desire to attend the consecration of the new Bishop of North Africa in Tunis. I met a group of wonderful people especially and including several African bishops and archbishops who read VOL. For them VOL is their most vital source of news about the Anglican Communion and they implored me to keep going despite my age.   VOL only exists because of readers like you. Please consider a tax-deductible donation to keep the news coming. A PayPal donation link can be found here: here: http://www.virtueonline.org/support.html   If you are more inclined with checks, you can send your donation to:   VIRTUEONLINE                                                                        P.O. BOX 111                                Shohola, PA 18458   Thank you for your support,   David   My Substack on the Middle East continues to grow. It is drawing a lot of attention from across the globe. You can access my Substack 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.

By David W. Virtue, DD www.virtueonline.org May 26, 2025   My story on the involvement of The North American Anglican (TNAA) journal with alt-right extremists triggered a response with new evidence of even deeper involvement of some TNAA writers that pose an existential threat to the Anglican Church in North America.     Mr. C Jay Engel's involvement with TNAA is just the tip of the iceberg for that particular online journal and Mr. Nigro, TNAA editor in Chief, a source told VOL.   VOL has learned that Lee Yue, a writer for TNAA is also a writer for several far-right online magazines. He once wrote a submission at TNAA for an ethnically separated episcopate, and was published at Antelope Hill Press (a neo-Nazi press) under a pseudonym.  His blog describes himself as a NazBol (National Bolshevik) and contains translations and musings on various Portuguese fascists under Salazar ( https://epeuthutebetes.wordpress.com/tag/nazbol/ ).  Yue is - at best - ambivalent about Jews and African Americans, and has maintained on twitter/x that while it is not a sin to marry interracially, one has a duty to perpetuate one's race and that "temporal punishment" may occur for marrying interracially.   Brandon Meeks, formerly the poetry editor at TNAA, was recently exposed as a child sex criminal, and also falsifying his academic history.   https://ministrywatch.com/anglican-scholar-accused-of-falsifying-academic-credentials-hiding-criminal-past/ . Further, Meeks began posting explicitly alt-right tweets in the last year or so before his exposure.   James Clark - the author of The Witness of Beauty and Other Essays, and the Book Review Editor at The North American Anglican whose writings have appeared in Cranmer Theological Journal, Journal of Classical Theology, and American Reformer, as well as other publications - gave a positive review to Stephen Wolfe's book on Christian Nationalism, never mentioning the ethnonationalism contained in Wolfe's advocacy; even when it was pointed out to him that a white supremacist is literally quoted on the very first page of the book.   Jesse Nigro himself is in the orbit of several key players within the far-right Christian Nationalist movement, including explicit kinists and antisemites. For the unenlightened, Kinism is a controversial ideology that emphasizes the importance of preserving racial and ethnic identities within society. It is a movement that began in the early 2000s in the United States in some Reformed theological circles and churches. Kinists assert that whites have a “God-given right” to preserve their own kind and live separately from other races in their own communities. The term 'Kinist' was coined in opposition to what members of the movement view as neo-Babelists, progressive Christians that advocate inter-racial marriage, globalism, and the New World Order.   Nigro hosted Darrell Dow and reviewed the kinist manual "Who is My Neighbor? - An Anthology of Natural Relations" on his podcast, and described it as sitting on his coffee table.  When the book's co-author, Thomas Achord, was discovered to be running a grotesquely racist alt twitter account, Nigro maintained that Achord was falsely accused and helped raise money after Achord was fired. When Achord finally admitted it was his account, Nigro simply deleted all references to the Achord affair. His "following" tab on X/Twitter is full of racists and antisemites. He's taken the down the link to contributors on the front page of NAA, but it's available on Google:    https://northamanglican.com/contributors/   The question must be asked, is Mr. Nigro and others using TNAA and his connections with Anglican Compass, Logos, etc. to mainstream alt-right ideas into the ACNA? If so he is partially successful. C Jay Engel was invited to give a talk at a REC church back in October ( https://www.facebook.com/GraceAnglicanScranton/photos/on-saturday-october-12th-cjay-engel-from-chronicles-magazine-will-be-speaking-on/881167524040292/?_rdr ). If it's just bad judgement, then Mr. Nigro is exercising bad judgement in only a single direction.   It is absolutely vital that the far- and alt-right is kept as far from ACNA as possible, the source told VOL.   END

SPECIAL REPORT   By David W. Virtue, DD www.virtueonline.org May 22, 2025   THE North American Anglican Journal, (TNAA) an online forum for theological and historical discussions in the Anglican tradition for Anglican Church in North America (ACNA) clergy and laity, is apparently being underwritten at least in part by an extremist far right person who wants America to be a Christian nation while excoriating “Jews who need to apologize to the world.”   The TNAA print publisher is a C. Jay Engel (see Advent 2024 hardcopy issue) who holds extremely disturbing political views that can only be described as xenophobic, racist, antisemitic and unchristian.   He is on record arguing that Jews "have largely operated at odds with the Old American way of life." The editor-in-chief of TNAA, Jesse Nigro, is apparently aware of Mr. Engel's offensive beliefs. (Engel has made no secret of them.)  Nigro appears to attend a LCMS congregation.   In a small office building purchased by developers, two men, including Engel are trying to build a Christian nationalist community in rural Jackson County, Tennessee, while attempting to build a right-wing podcasting business.   Local TV NewsChannel 5 revealed that Pastor Andrew Isker and his sidekick C.Jay Engel want to “repeal the 20th Century.” They want to go back to America as it existed before the Civil Rights movement. They want to take away the rights of women to vote. And they are prepared to accept a Protestant dictator to achieve their goals. A Protestant Franco is inevitable, he said.   https://www.newschannel5.com/news/newschannel-5-investigates/confronting-hate/christian-nationalist-c-jay-engel-doesnt-want-you-to-believe-me-you-can-see-the-evidence-yourself   In one Engel Contra Mundum podcast they argued that, "the Holocaust narrative must be turned on its head. Instead of the world apologizing to Jews for not having done enough to prevent the evils of Nazism, Jews need to apologize to the world," the headline ran.   The Contra Mundum podcast is being billed as the "Number One Christian Nationalist Podcast in the World” — also highlighted their willingness to flirt with ideas that critics call antisemitic and with characters who engage in Holocaust denial.   Engel himself has argued that "the Jews as a collective have largely operated at odds with the Old American way of life, rooted as it is in European Christendom." In 2023, Engel faced criticism online for liking a meme featuring the words “the more you notice” and the star of David — which critics perceived as an allusion to a common antisemitic notion that one can discover the evil influence of Jews by noticing patterns of behavior by people of Jewish descent.   In another exchange, Engel posted "I don't hate the Jews," but added that he had "never even opined on that debate and the Holo" — apparently, a reference to the Holocaust.   Engel has also posted several times on X about starting an audio book company that offers recordings of the memoir of a Belgian Nazi collaborator, as well as books of a New Zealand white supremacist and Holocaust denier.   Contrary to Engel’s own posts, the podcasters insisted in their written statement that Engel does not own or operate that company — “though he did share it on behalf of a friend over a year ago as part of a broader interest in historical content.”   Engel pointed to what he called “one of the great American heroes of the 20th Century, Charles Lindbergh.” A part of the America First movement of the 1930s, the famed aviator opposed U.S. entry into Europe's war against Adolf Hitler. Lindbergh faced public backlash after he blamed Jews and what he saw as Jewish-controlled media for pushing the nation into war.   Furthermore, Engel is a major donor to David Irving, the infamous Holocaust denier.  See: https://irvingbooks.com/blog/friends-of-irving-books/   Engel was described at the website as an “exceptional collaborator who enriches our literary community.”  Engel also hosts @chroniclesmag Podcast which has been described as a production of Chronicles Magazine, the original outlet for paleoconservative thought and a bastion of the extreme Right in America.   You can read more here: https://www.newschannel5.com/news/newschannel-5-investigates/confronting-hate/men-behind-tennessees-christian-nationalist-settlement-this-country-belongs-to-jesus-not-the-jews https://www.newschannel5.com/news/newschannel-5-investigates/confronting-hate/christian-nationalist-c-jay-engel-doesnt-want-you-to-believe-me-you-can-see-the-evidence-yourself https://x.com/PhilNvestigates/status/1857556822413947013?s=46   It appears that many TNAA contributors are unaware of Engel's support.   TNAA's editor Jesse Nigro claims: “The print journal is currently on hiatus and has never received financial support beyond regular subscription payments from readers.” VOL's readers are left to inquire whether this statement applies to TNAA platforms other than print.   END

By Arlie Coles THE LIVING CHURCH May 20, 2025    PUT FOTO HERE PLEASE Ray Sutton, as dean of Cranmer House, prays over-students during a graduation in the 1990s. The polarized scene in the 1990s Episcopal Church had produced an educational consensus among conservatives: choose Trinity Episcopal School for Ministry (now Trinity Anglican Seminary) or Nashotah House. These two seminaries were trusted sources of education and networking during the Anglican realignment and remain known conservative powerhouses today. Lesser known is that there were cross-jurisdictional plans to add a third to their number: Cranmer Theological House, a seminary of the Reformed Episcopal Church (REC). Founding and Early Years The REC, which left the Episcopal Church in 1873 over the latter’s tolerance of Anglo-Catholicism, approached the millennium precariously. It counted 5,783 communicants in 1987—down nearly 40 percent in 30 years—and its Philadelphia Theological Seminary (PTS) suffered from low enrollment and high staff turnover. To reinvigorate PTS, trustees named a new president in 1991: Ray Sutton. Sutton, formerly a Presbyterian minister and leader of the Christian Reconstruction movement of the 1980s, had brought his Tyler, Texas, church to the REC in 1989. His reconstructionist book That You May Prosper won him both an honorary doctorate from the Central School of Religion and the presidential nod, representing bold, potentially revitalizing ideas. Under Sutton, PTS shed its expensive historic building and sought accreditation from the Association of Theological Schools. Trustees planned new evening and satellite classes, “flexible arrangements” they considered key to survival in the 21st century.   Meanwhile, the Episcopal Church had begun ecumenical dialogue with the Reformed Episcopal Church. By 1994 Sutton was his church’s representative to General Convention, and both churches had identified “mutual recognition of [their] ordained ministries” and pursuit of “joint … educational programs” as goals. In this atmosphere of attempting turnaround, novel pedagogy, and outreach into the Anglican Communion, Cranmer House was founded as a new REC seminary—with substantial help from conservative Episcopalians. Cranmer House launched in September 1994, operating gratis from a Shreveport chapel built by pharmaceutical magnate M. Allen Dickson at his company warehouse. Dickson was the seminary’s main benefactor—and an assisting priest at nearby St. Paul’s Episcopal Church. Seminarians followed a modular work-study schedule. Morning classes lasted for three weeks; afternoons and evenings were free for work in Dickson’s warehouse. The connection to Dickson came through Peter Toon of the Prayer Book Society. Toon taught at Philadelphia Seminary under Sutton and at Cranmer House its first year. Toon’s colleague Louis Tarsitano became Cranmer House’s first dean, stating plainly in 1994 that the school aimed to train conservative ministers by “combin[ing] efforts among traditional-minded Episcopalians and Anglicans in America.” Tarsitano and Toon left their posts the next year. (Toon also departed Philadelphia Seminary and began another educational venture, Cranmer Seabury House, soon after.) Sutton, who had resigned from PTS, became the second dean, and Cranmer House graduated its first students in 1996. New Techniques As Cranmer House grew, so did its inroads with conservative Episcopalians. At its 1998 commencement, Harold Johnson, rector of St. Francis’ Episcopal Church in El Paso, Texas, preached and received an honorary doctorate. Bimonthly advertisements in The Living Church promised an “earn-while-you-learn” experience at Cranmer House and frankly targeted Episcopalians by 1999: “The Episcopal Churches need well-educated men and women. We educate.”    Cranmer Theological House ad in 1998. | TLC archives Simultaneously the seminary built international connections. Though it boasted of a cooperative arrangement with the University of Brighton and an extension campus in Germany, Cranmer House’s true global Anglican arrival came at the 1998 Lambeth Conference. Sutton, in England to defend his earned doctorate, visited Lambeth and met bishops from the Church of Uganda. Those contacts would be critical for Cranmer House to pilot new ecclesiastical techniques later repeated by Anglican realignment leaders. In March 1999, two graduates were ordained deacons at Cranmer House—by Bishop Terence Kelshaw (the Rio Grande) for Bishop Samuel Ssekkadde (Namirembe, Uganda). Kelshaw then licensed the deacons for service at Johnson’s parish in El Paso. This proxy ordination caused confusion. The Living Church called the deacons Ugandans; VirtueOnline clarified they were Americans who had never visited Uganda. Kelshaw hastily said he had obtained permission from Bishop Robert Hargrove (Western Louisiana) to hold the ordination in his diocese.   The movement of these two graduates, with a third later ordained by Hargrove, into Episcopal ministry—without following Episcopal ordination pathways—drew the attention of disaffected Episcopal leaders. That year, Bishop John-David Schofield (San Joaquin) gave Cranmer House’s commencement address, received an honorary doctorate, and declared he would soon send students to Cranmer House, it being “one of only three” acceptable seminaries. Meanwhile, Sutton was elected bishop suffragan. The REC invited Archbishop Moses Tay (South East Asia) to lay hands on Sutton at his consecration, seeing a “providential crisis point” in the Anglican Communion and aiming to “create solidarity with fellow evangelical Anglicans.” Also invited were six Ugandan bishops and several conservative Episcopal bishops. REC Bishop Royal Grote, preaching four days before the consecration, dared listeners to see God’s preservation of the REC to that date as purposed for “revivifying the Anglican Communion.” Sutton was consecrated as suffragan bishop of the REC’s Diocese of Mid-America on July 29, 1999, at St. Paul’s in a double bill with a Cranmer House seminar on “the mission of the Church in our times.” Though neither Tay nor the Episcopal bishops attended, the Ugandan bishops did, poised to lay hands on Sutton—until Bishop James Stanton (Dallas) arrived in Shreveport and dissuaded them. In this attempt to have Anglican Communion bishops irregularly consecrate a bishop for America, the REC anticipated Tay’s seismic Singapore consecrations of John Rodgers Jr. and Charles H. Murphy III by exactly six months. The Ugandan bishops, not providing consecration, provided students: that August, two Ugandan priests matriculated at Cranmer House. In October, Cranmer House awarded an honorary doctorate to Archbishop Livingstone Mpalanyi Nkoyoyo, primate of the Church of Uganda. Clergy of the Reformed Episcopal Church and the Anglican Church in North America gather at Church of the Holy Communion Anglican Cathedral, Dallas, today’s home of Cranmer House. Unexpected Contributions Cranmer House left Shreveport for Houston in 2001 with its goals unmet. Accreditation remained elusive: despite pursuing membership in the Association of Theological Schools since 1999, Cranmer House reported affiliation with only Douglas Wilson’s Association of Classical Christian Schools through 2002 and is unaccredited today. Once-promoted links with Lancaster University and Louisiana State University and extension programs in Little Rock and Phoenix—the latter two backed by the now-defunct Central School of Religion—faded. Cranmer House neither joined Trinity and Nashotah in Episcopal esteem nor produced enough conservative ordinands to “revivify the Anglican Communion.” Instead, Cranmer House’s most important contributions to the early Anglican realignment were the institutional relationships and ecclesiastical techniques it fostered. The seminary brought together evangelical and Anglo-Catholic realignment factions and demonstrated the role external institutions could play for their cause. When in 2002 Bishop Robert Duncan (Pittsburgh) described “the genesis of [his] worldview change” toward cross-jurisdictional transfer and relicense of clergy outside Episcopal structures, he attributed it to a 1999 visit from Sutton. Those techniques echoed the Cranmer House practice and formed the strategic backbone of the coming realignment. Intercommunion and cross-licensing of Episcopal and REC clergy soon followed in the dioceses of Fort Worth and Pittsburgh, and the REC became a founding jurisdiction of the Anglican Church in North America in 2009 alongside both those dioceses. Duncan served as the ACNA’s first archbishop. Now in its 31st year, Cranmer House operates from Dallas with Sutton as its chancellor. It advertises an online extension school and a relationship with Dallas Theological Seminary, recently launched the Cranmer Theological Journal, and graduated four students into ministry in May 2024. This year, it launched an extension campus in Atlanta. The REC, now a subjurisdiction of the ACNA, reported 5,968 communicants in 2023. This revised essay corrects the name of the Reformed Episcopal Church’s Diocese of Mid-America, which Raymond Sutton first served as a suffragan bishop.   Arlie Coles is a lay Anglican from the Diocese of Dallas who writes about modern Episcopal history and polity. She is also a machine-learning researcher serving on General Convention’s Task Force on Artificial Intelligence and Intellectual Property.