Calvin Robinson stripped of license in Reformed Episcopal Church

The Reformed Episcopal Church (REC) stripped British-born cleric and former media personality Calvin Robinson of his temporary clerical license after just nine days, following a public complaint from an Anglican archbishop this week.

The Rt. Rev. Ray Sutton, who has served as presiding bishop of the REC’s Diocese of Mid-America since 2016, issued Robinson a year-long episcopal sanctuary and a temporary license “to serve in word and sacrament” on May 5, according to Anglican Ink.

On Tuesday, Archbishop Steve Wood of the Anglican Church in North America (ACNA) issued a public statement expressing his disapproval of Robinson’s licensure “amid significant concerns about his fitness to serve within the Anglican Communion.”

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Wood accused the outspoken Robinson of not being Christ-like, suggesting he does not meet the standard of their permanent licensed clergy.

“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,” said Wood, who went on to claim Robinson is incapable of exhibiting “the Christ-like virtues of peace, patience, gentleness, goodness, and love.”

“I know all of our permanent licensed clergy abide by [these] in the daily exercise of their priestly duties. I do not personally believe the Rev. Robinson is a good representative of the Anglican Church in North America,” Wood added.

The archbishop also accused Robinson without evidence of “allegedly making statements that were anti-semitic, or in sympathy with anti-semitic groups, and a habit of speaking rashly about a variety of sensitive topics.”

By Wednesday, Robinson had received an email from Sutton informing him his short-lived license had been revoked, an action the bishop maintained was not forced on him.

“After much prayer and counsel from fellow bishops, who have not required me to revoke licensure, I have decided that I must withdraw it effective this day,” said Sutton, who went on to thank Robinson for his “kind and obedient service” during the past nine days.

Sutton did not respond to The Christian Post’s request for comment, and Robinson declined an interview, citing a “need to process and discern.”

Robinson’s temporary license did not receive either Robinson or his parish into the REC or ACNA, but merely allowed him episcopal oversight to deliver the sacraments to his congregation.

It came months after Robinson, who pastors St. Paul’s Anglican Church in Grand Rapids, Michigan, had his license in the Anglican Catholic Church revoked in January amid media scrutiny for a speech he gave at the National Pro-Life Summit in Washington, D.C.

Robinson, who was a recurring guest on “Tucker Carlson Tonight” before Carlson was fired, publicly endorsed President Donald Trump during the last election cycle, writing last October, “If Trump wins, we have a fighting chance to Make The West Christendom Again.”

Robinson’s speech at the summit, which commended the U.S. for standing firm against abortion, drew international media scorn after he delivered a “Nazi salute” at the end to mock the controversy over Elon Musk doing the same before a crowd at Capital One Arena on Inauguration Day.

“America — as far as I can see — is the only country fighting for life,” Robinson said before his gesture. “That’s down to you guys. So, God bless all of you.”

Following backlash, Robinson apologized for his joke and denied that he is a Nazi sympathizer, claiming his “cheeky gesture at the end is what we Britons call dry wit.”

Musk has also dismissed allegations that he is a Nazi, writing on X: “Frankly, they need better dirty tricks. The ‘everyone is Hitler’ attack is sooo tired.” The Anti-Defamation League also defended him, writing that Musk “made an awkward gesture in a moment of enthusiasm, not a Nazi salute.”

Bishops with the ACC subsequently issued a statement claiming that while they were unaware of “what was in Mr. Robinson’s heart” when he made the gesture, his action “appears to have been an attempt to curry favor with certain elements of the American political right by provoking its opposition.”

The ACC also noted they had warned Robinson, a former GB News host whose X account has more than 427,000 followers, that his online “trolling” activity was “incompatible with a priestly vocation and was told to desist.”

Robinson has struggled for years to find a church home, having first been rejected from the Church of England in his native United Kingdom because of his conservative theological views. He previously told CP that the Church of England “has become very liberal in terms of divorce, sex outside marriage, same-sex relationships, transgenderism.”

“And every time the Church tries to be more inclusive, it actually becomes more exclusive to Christianity and to Christian values, and more inclusive to worldly values and just further plummets that downward trajectory,” he said.

In a social media post on Wednesday, Robinson posted a photo of Sutton’s email and appeared to question whether God is calling him to leave the ministry altogether after his repeated setbacks in Anglican denominations. He had previously left the Free Church of England and the Nordic Catholic Church.

“It is done,” Robinson wrote. “[Bishop] Ray Sutton is a good man. One of the best Anglican bishops I know. If even he cannot find a place for me, even temporarily, perhaps God is sending me a message.”