A bishop in the Reformed Episcopal Church has withdrawn a licence to minister from Fr Calvin Robinson, the second such incident in the life of the controversial cleric in just five months.
In January Robinson was removed from the Anglican Catholic Church after he mimicked a gesture made by Elon Musk, which was interpreted by some as a Nazi salute - a claim Musk denied.
On 5 May it appeared that Robinson had found a new spiritual home and parish, being granted a one-year licence to serve as a priest at St Paul’s Church in Grand Rapids, which earlier this month voted to leave the Anglican Catholic Church.
However, just nine days later, that licence was rescinded by Bishop Ray Sutton. It followed concerns being raised elsewhere that Robinson had displayed un-Christ like conduct and was not a good representative for the Church due to his past - and likely future - political statements.
Robinson himself believes that the primary factor behind his incredibly short tenure is his forthright defence of traditional marriage.
Posting on X, Robinson said, “They can claim it is the imprudent salute, pro-life activism, conservative take on priestesses. But really and truly, this is when the trolling and hate began on large scale. When both the libs and their demons got angry. My orthodox stance on marriage.”
He appeared to suggest that while he accepted that other Christians find his methods and stridency difficult to accept, he questioned if doing and saying nothing in the face of sin and a fallen world is the answer.
“I thank God for the opportunity to spread His truth. I accept the friendly-fire as a blessing. But I challenge every 'Christian' who attacks me without taking a stand themselves. Show us where you are speaking into the world, discipling the nations," he said.
Robinson denied reports that he was moving to minister to an Orthodox parish in Florida and also said that the Holy Spirit was not leading him towards Rome.
The priest's relationships with a number of organisations has faltered in recent years, among them the Anglican Catholic Church, GB News, Mere Anglicanism, the Conservative Party, and the Church of England.
