Statement on Todd Atkinson’s Deposition
On July 7, 2022, the ACNA Province announced that Bp. Todd Atkinson would face a canonical trial based on presentments that brought four charges of violation of Canon IV.2.4. Atkinson was the bishop of the Via Apostolica missionary district and canonically resident in the Diocese of the Upper Midwest. He was inhibited from ministry on June 8, 2022, for the duration of the proceedings. On April 3, 2024, the Court for the Trial of a Bishop found Atkinson guilty, and on May 9 the College of Bishops voted to depose him. On May 20, 2024, the Province announced that he had been deposed, meaning that his ordination was revoked and he is now barred for life from ministry in the ACNA.
Atkinson was found guilty on four counts of “conduct giving just cause for scandal or offense, including the abuse of ecclesiastical power” (Canon IV.2.4):
Charge I: Inappropriate Relationships with Women
Charge II: Interfering in Marriage and Family Relationships
Charge III: Inappropriate Interactions with Minor Females
Charge IV: Abuse of Ecclesiastical Power Through Patterns of Manipulation and Control
The full 58-page court order can be found on the ACNA website. Please be aware that it contains detailed accounts of the grooming of adult and minor victims. You can also read a brief summary of the case in this Religion News Service article.
It is commendable that the bishops have finally voted to depose Atkinson, but it is concerning that the proceedings leading up to this decision dragged on for years. It is also unacceptable that the ACNA admitted Atkinson into the province in the first place, given that Canadian Anglican priests raised serious concerns to Bp. Charlie Masters about ANiC’s recommendation that Via Apostolica become an ACNA missionary district.
To the Via Apostolica survivors: Thank you for coming forward and minimizing your abuser’s access to future victims. We have seen and experienced what it costs to try to hold our own abusers and others accountable, within the ACNA and elsewhere, and we honor the inevitably steep price each of you paid and continue to pay. We hope this measure of justice, while it can never restore what was taken from you, brings a sense of closure and contributes to your healing.
This statement was updated on May 28, 2024 to accurately reflect the concerns put forth in the priests’ letter to Bp. Charlie Masters. We initially wrote that "... Canadian Anglican priests warned Bp. Charlie Masters in 2018 about Atkinson’s prior misconduct and asked him not to hastily recommend Atkinson to the ACNA." The Canadian priests referenced were not aware of Atkinson's serious misconduct involving inappropriate relationships that both Bps. Charlie Masters and Trevor Walters knew about. Therefore, we should have written that the Canadian priests “raised serious concerns to Bp. Charlie Masters about ANiC’s recommendation that Via Apostolica become an ACNA missionary district.”