Canadian ACNA Bishop Todd Atkinson Deposed From Ministry

Alleged inappropriate behavior found as far back as 2012

Todd Atkinson, former bishop of the Via Apostolica Missionary District, has been removed from ordained ministry following the conclusion of his ecclesiastical trial. Via Apostolica was a missionary district in the Anglican Church of North America (ACNA), comprising a small number of parishes in the Canadian provinces of Alberta, British Columbia, and Saskatchewan. The announcement was issued by the ACNA on May 20, 2024.

Bishop Todd Atkinson preaches in a video from January 2020. (Video screen grab)

Concerns about Atkinson were raised in 2021 that included allegations of misconduct and the abuse of ecclesiastical power, and the ACNA launched an investigation.

Atkinson was found guilty “upon clear and convincing evidence by the Anglican Church in North America’s Court for the Trial of a Bishop” on four charges, which include inappropriate relationships with women, interfering in marriage and family relationship, inappropriate interactions with minor females, and the abuse of ecclesiastical power through patterns of manipulation and control.

Atkinson’s misconduct dates back to at least 2012, six years before he joined ACNA, according to the church court’s order. In 2014, Atkinson began overseeing a Canadian church planting initiative called Via Apostolica that was later grafted into ACNA’s Upper Midwest Diocese in 2020. The church court found Monday that Atkinson repeatedly fostered exploitative relationships with multiple women under the guise of being their “spiritual father.”

This included a 2016 incident with a 13-year-old girl for which Atkinson was admonished. He later denied to the court that the incident happened.

According to the court order, Atkinson often gave women extravagant personal gifts worth hundreds of dollars, sometimes with funds from accounts maintained by Via Apostolica. Financial reports show that from fall 2013-2014, Atkinson spent more than $10,000 on gifts for pastors and their wives, including the women he behaved inappropriately with, according to the order.

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Victims included married women and minor females. The document states that Atkinson, who is also married with children, “admits that each of these relationships with these women was inappropriate.”

Evidence submitted for the trial shows that Atkinson texted women incessantly, sending one more than 11,000 text messages over four months in 2015. The woman reported that Atkinson attempted to give her a ring and family heirloom without his wife’s knowledge, and after church leaders barred him from communicating with the woman, he had a third party deliver 80 pages of his handwritten journal entries to her. Part of the evidence for the trial included a 2016 report that found Atkinson had taken part in a “codependent” and “excessive” relationship that had the “appearance of evil,” according to the order.

The court document describes Atkinson resisting advice from others, ignoring warnings to discontinue communications, and frequently becoming angry when confronted about his improprieties as well as shifting blame to others.

More than once he attributed his behavior to “spiritual fathering” and claimed he had “special revelation from God” to continue.

The court document says Atkinson “created an environment where dissent was discouraged or punished, limiting the ability to address any potential wrong-doing or unethical behavior.”  He did this though “an overwhelming pattern of abuse that demonstrated [Atkinson’s] unique ability to use scripture and ecclesiastical authority to encourage individuals to question themselves about their own views and spiritual maturity.”

On May 9, 2024, the College of Bishops voted to depose Todd Atkinson from the sacred ministry. As a result, his holy orders were removed, and he is no longer permitted to engage in ordained ministry as a deacon, a priest, or a bishop.

Archbishop Foley Beach said, “I want to take this moment to thank those who courageously came forward.  Working for justice often entails risk, and scores of people willingly took that risk when they participated in the investigation and judicial process.”

Kathryn Post also contributed to this report.

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