The Anglican Catholic Church said on Wednesday that Robinson’s priesthood has been revoked due to what “many have interpreted as a pro-Nazi salute.” A statement from the Anglican Catholic Church (ACC) was uploaded to its website stating:
“We believe that those who mimic the Nazi salute, even as a joke or an attempt to troll their opponents, trivialize the horror of the Holocaust and diminish the sacrifice of those who fought against its perpetrators,” the statement reads. “Such actions are harmful, divisive, and contrary to the tenets of Christian charity.”
“While we cannot say what was in Mr Robinson’s heart when he did this, his action appears to have been an attempt to curry favour with certain elements of the American political right by provoking its opposition,”
Regardless of political affiliation, the ACC claimed that Robinson had previously been “warned” against internet trolling and that such behaviour was “incompatible with a priestly vocation.” Notably, the Roman Catholic Church and its diocese in Grand Rapids are not affiliated with the Anglican Catholic Church.
Robinson stated in a post on X, “I am not a Nazi.”
“My attempt at dry wit, in that typical British way, was not a joke at the expense of WWII, nor an admission of my membership in the Nationalist Socialist Party.
“That would be an incredibly ignorant and bad faith assumption to make” he stated.
According to his biography on the website of St. Paul’s Anglican Catholic Church, Robinson was born in England and attended St. Stephen’s House at Oxford to study theology.
But because of his “outspoken view on a more conservative theology,” the Church of England refused to accept him as a deacon.
Following that, Robinson received his deaconate ordination in the Free Church of England and his priestly ordination in the Nordic Catholic Church.
In September 2024, he became rector of St. Paul’s. In addition to being the primary spokesperson for the UK Independence Party, a right-wing populist political party in the UK, Robinson is a former computer science instructor and video game journalist.
Robinson was contacted by FOX 17 for an interview on Thursday. “I am not doing interviews at the moment until I have spoken with the Archbishop. When he agrees to take my calls, I will be better informed to have a fuller conversation.”