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Calvin Robinson

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The Reverend

Calvin Robinson
Robinson in 2023
ChurchAnglican Catholic Church (since 2024)
Formerly
Nordic Catholic Church (2023-2024)
Free Church of England (2022–2023)
Church of England (until 2022)
Personal details
Born
Calvin John Robinson

(1985-10-29) 29 October 1985 (age 39)
Mansfield, Nottinghamshire, England
DenominationAnglicanism (until 2023; from 2024)
Formerly
Old Catholicism
(2023-2024)
Occupation
  • Political commentator
  • Broadcaster
  • Priest
Ordination history
History
Diaconal ordination
Ordained byPaul Hunt (Free Church of England)
Date25 June 2022
PlaceChrist Church, Harlesden
Priestly ordination
Ordained byRoald Nikolai Flemestad (Nordic Catholic Church)
Date4 November 2023
PlaceSt Jude's Church, Balham

Calvin John Robinson (born 29 October 1985) is a British continuing Anglican cleric, political commentator, writer and broadcaster. Since 2024, he has been a priest in the Anglican Catholic Church; from 2022 until his priestly ordination in 2023, he had been a deacon in the Free Church of England, a conservative Anglican realignment denomination, then until 2024 a priest in the Nordic Catholic Church, a conservative Old Catholic denomination of high church Lutheran patrimony.[1][2]

As a political commentator, he is typically characterised as conservative and right-wing, and sometimes as far right, labels which he has rejected. Up to 2021 he was a regular contributor to The Daily Telegraph, the Daily Mail, and Spiked, and he has written once for First Things.[3][4][5][6] Robinson also featured as a commentator on talkRADIO and presented a regular show on GB News until he was dismissed from the latter in 2023. In February 2024, he moved his "Common Sense Crusade", which was formerly on GB News, to The Lotus Eaters,[7] and is a recurring host on their podcast.[8]

Previously, Robinson had worked as a computer science teacher in a secondary school and as a video games journalist.[9][10]

He currently resides in Grand Rapids, Michigan, where he is the vicar for a local parish.[2]

Early life and education

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Robinson is of mixed-race heritage. He describes his background as "half Afro-Caribbean and half English".[11][12] His paternal grandparents emigrated from Jamaica as members of the Windrush generation.[13] He was born and grew up in Mansfield, Nottinghamshire, attending High Oakham Primary School, The Brunts Academy, and later West Nottinghamshire College. He then studied at the University of Westminster where he graduated with a degree in computer games design and programming.[14][15]

Career

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Educational career

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Robinson was employed in the technology industry before training as a teacher. He taught computer science at the St Mary's and St John's Church of England School in Hendon where he became head of the IT department. In 2017, Robinson was featured in a recruitment advert encouraging people to become teachers.[16][15][17][14] He was a video games journalist and is also owner of the video games site God is a Geek.[18][19]

Between 2019 and 2021, he was a school governor and trustee at the Michaela School in Wembley.[20] In 2020, he was appointed to the education sub-committee of the board of the Royal Academy of Dance;[21] Christian Concern reported on 1 October 2023 that Robinson had been "cancelled" from this role for opposing a drag queen storytelling session and had received an out-of-court settlement.[22] He also became a senior fellow responsible for education policy at the Policy Exchange, a think tank with conservative precepts, but no longer held the position by 2023.[23]

Political career

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In 2016, Robinson contested the Kilburn ward of Brent Council in by-election as the Conservative Party candidate. He was defeated by the Labour candidate. In 2018 he stood for election to Camden Council in the council's Swiss Cottage ward. He was again defeated by Labour candidates.[24]

Robinson stood in the 2019 general election as the Brexit Party candidate for Broxtowe, but withdrew his candidacy to support the Conservative candidate.[25]

Robinson has also held various positions in right-wing political organisations and campaigns including Defund the BBC, Unite2Leave (a pro-Brexit tactical voting campaign), and Conservative Way Forward.[24] He has contributed to Black Lives Matter UK: An Anthology, a Henry Jackson Society report opposing Black Lives Matter and "hard-left identity politics".[26] Robinson said his commentary has made him the target of racial abuse.[27] In 2023-24, he was associated with right-wing group Turning Point UK.[28][29][30]

On 2 August 2024, he became the lead spokesman for the UK Independence Party (UKIP).[28]

Media career

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Robinson worked for talkRADIO and as a television presenter on GB News from late 2022, fronting a show called "Calvin's Common Sense Crusade".[31][32][33] In November 2022, he "appeared on the channel to amplify the false conspiracy theory that President Zelenskiy of Ukraine was using war as a front for a private money-laundering operation involving the bankrupt FTX crypto platform."[29]

On 29 September 2023, Robinson was suspended from GB News after speaking out in favour of Dan Wootton, who had recently been suspended for misogynistic comments made on his show by Laurence Fox.[34][35] Calvin Robinson's dismissal from GB News was announced on 4 October.[36]

Ordained ministry

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Robinson undertook a two-year course of theological studies at St Stephen's House, Oxford, from 2020 to 2022, with the hope of being ordained a deacon in the Church of England. However, his application for a curacy within the Diocese of London was unsuccessful.[37] He subsequently submitted a subject access request to the church to understand the decision. This revealed email conversations between Jonathan Baker, the bishop of Fulham, and Rob Wickham, the bishop of Edmonton, raising concerns about Robinson's "libertarian anti-woke, anti-identity politics, Covid-sceptical" political views and his use of social media, particularly Twitter, to disseminate them. The Diocese of London later issued a statement highlighting the "limited number of curacies available", emphasised that vacancies were carefully "considered on a case-by-case basis" and that "in this instance, it is felt that there is no suitable" curacy available that the diocese could offer.[37] Robinson alleged that Sarah Mullally, the bishop of London, had blocked his ordination because of his political views, a claim which Mullally denied.[38]

The decision to deny ordination to Robinson attracted criticism from conservative elements of the media, and within the church, notably Angela Tilby, a canon emerita of Christ Church Cathedral, Oxford.[39] Robinson described it as a "very narrow-minded" decision that was a result of his "anti-woke" views and criticism of "bleeding-heart liberal vicars".[37]

Robinson subsequently left the Church of England for the Free Church of England (FCE) where he was ordained as a deacon[40] on 25 June 2022 by bishop Paul Hunt, and appointed minister-in-charge at Christ Church, Harlesden.[41]

On 12 October 2023 the Evening Standard published an article stating that Robinson would soon leave the Free Church of England to seek ordination in the Nordic Catholic Church (NCC), an Old Catholic denomination of high church Lutheran patrimony founded in 1999.[42]

On 4 November 2023, Robinson was ordained to the priesthood by bishop Roald Nikolai Flemestad of the Nordic Catholic Church at St Jude's Church, Balham and celebrated his first Mass.[43] He was therefore incardinated in the NCC and under the jurisdiction of Flemestad, who in turn operates under the authority of prime bishop Anthony Mikovsky of the Polish National Catholic Church; both groups are part of the Union of Scranton. Robinson gave his final Mass in Christ Church, Harlesden on 26 May 2024.[1][44]

In September 2024, Robinson left the United Kingdom and moved to the United States, where he was formally incardinated in the Anglican Catholic Church, a continuing Anglican denomination which espouses a high church Anglo-Catholic theology, affiliated to the Traditional Anglican Church. He is currently the rector of St Paul’s Anglican Catholic Church in Grand Rapids, Michigan.[2][45][46]

Views

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Political views

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Robinson opposes the teaching of critical race theory in British education and argues that the teaching of black history and lessons concerning black people should be taught within the context of British history and not taught separately.[47][48] He has also defended colonialism and the British Empire, and has opposed reparations for slavery.[49]

In July 2021, Robinson appeared in an interview on Channel 4 News with the singer and left-wing political activist Billy Bragg on the decision of England's football team players to "take the knee" in a protest against racism.[50] He said the action was "disgusting" and argued that, in taking the knee, the team was promoting "Black Lives Matter", which he described as "a neo-Marxist, anti-British, anti-family organisation".[50]

Robinson is a eurosceptic, having stood previously for election as a candidate for the Brexit Party.[citation needed]

Robinson is hostile to Islam and states frequently that Britain is a Christian country. He stated in August 2024 that "we need to remove Islam from Britain".[51]

Robinson's political views have been characterised as conservative,[52] and as right-wing.[53] He has been labelled "far right" by Hope not Hate and by Searchlight magazine,[54][55] while Symon Hill writing in the Church Times described him as having excused far right violence,[56] and the clergyman and writer Michael Coren has described him as "a hero and darling of the hard right".[57] Reviewing Robinson's contribution to GB News, Alan Rusbridger described him as a conspiracy theorist who "lacked credibility".[58] Robinson himself has rejected characterisations of his political views, describing the far-right label as "crazy", and described being labelled a conspiracy theorist as a "badge of honour".[59]

Theological views

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In an interview with Premier Christianity, Robinson described himself as an Evangelical Catholic.[60] The Catholic Herald described Robinson as an Evangelical Anglican, but also noted that he shares some high church positions, such as the use of the title "Father", holding a "high" understanding of the Eucharist and of the institution of the church by Christ.[61] According to the Catholic Herald, Robinson considers Michael Nazir-Ali, a former bishop of the Church of England who later converted to the Catholic Church, to be a mentor.[61] Robinson later became a founding member of the Anglo-Catholic Brotherhood of the Holy Trinity.[40][62]

After being ordained to the priesthood, Robinson described himself as an "Old Catholic with Anglican patrimony", stating that he considers the Pope to be a primus inter pares, rejecting papal supremacy over the universal church, the First and Second Vatican Council and the dogmatic pronouncements of the Immaculate Conception and the Assumption of Mary, though he personally accepts the second as a pious devotion. He condemned the Protestant Reformation as a mistake that divided the church and stated that he is in favour of Christian unity and ecumenism among orthodox Christians.[1]

He has spoken in favour of disestablishing the Church of England in order to free it from political influence and allow Anglican realignment churches to thrive. Robinson himself was a deacon in the Free Church of England from 2022 to 2023. He is strongly critical of the leadership of the Church of England, accusing it of liberal political bias.[13]

Robinson opposes the ordination of women.[37][38]

Moral views

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Robinson is opposed to the facilitation of same-sex marriage in the Church of England and has argued that the Bible only allows marriage between a man and a woman. He argues that premarital sex is a sin.[63] He opposes abortion and holds pro-life positions.[64]

References

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  1. ^ a b c Robinson, Fr Calvin (6 November 2023). "Ordained to priesthood in the presbyteral order". Fr Calvin Robinson.[dead link‍]
  2. ^ a b c Robinson, Calvin (21 September 2024). "God bless America". Fr. Calvin Robinson.
  3. ^ "Calvin Robinson". The Daily Telegraph. Archived from the original on 14 June 2020. Retrieved 27 April 2021.
  4. ^ "Who is Free Speech For? Network of Alt-Right Activists Target Anti-Racist Campaigner Over Tweet". Byline Times. 1 March 2021.
  5. ^ "Calvin Robinson, Author at spiked". Spiked.
  6. ^ "Calvin Robinson". First Things. 18 January 2023.
  7. ^ "Calvin Robinson | Lotus Eaters". lotuseaters.com. Retrieved 10 April 2024.
  8. ^ "Common Sense Crusade | Lotus Eaters". lotuseaters.com. Retrieved 10 April 2024.
  9. ^ "GodisaGeek". GodisaGeek.com. Archived from the original on 18 September 2010. Retrieved 7 January 2022.
  10. ^ "Calvin Robinson – Battle of Ideas 2018".
  11. ^ 'The Left's Quest to Remove Whiteness & Undermine Our Culture' published by The New Culture Forum; 20 March 2022
  12. ^ Robinson, Fr Calvin (30 November 2022). "Why Enoch was Right". calvinrobinson.substack.com.
  13. ^ a b Pearson, Allison (24 May 2022). "Institutionally racist? The Church of England has fallen victim to institutional cowardice". The Daily Telegraph.
  14. ^ a b Topping, Andrew (23 February 2021). "Former Mansfield teacher on why he's been called a "race traitor" for his right-wing views". Nottingham Post.
  15. ^ a b "Creating Pac-Man style games in Python". pocketmags.com. Retrieved 14 January 2022.
  16. ^ "Calvin Robinson – Battle of Ideas 2018".
  17. ^ Desborough, Jenny (26 June 2017). "Teacher becomes face of national recruitment campaign for teaching staff". Hendon & Finchley Times.
  18. ^ "LDN Team". LDN.cm. Archived from the original on 15 August 2015. Retrieved 7 January 2022.
  19. ^ "LDN Publishing". LDN.cm. Archived from the original on 15 August 2015. Retrieved 7 January 2022.
  20. ^ "Calvin ROBINSON". Find and update company information. Companies House. Retrieved 10 February 2023.
  21. ^ "Annual Report and Financial Statements FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 JULY 2020" (PDF). Royal Academy of Dance. p. 15. Retrieved 10 February 2023.
  22. ^ Christian Concern (1 October 2023). "Calvin Robinson: GB News presenter wins £8,000 settlement after cancellation by dance academy for opposing 'Drag Queen Story Hour'". Christian Concern.
  23. ^ "Calvin Robinson, Author at Policy Exchange". Policy Exchange. Retrieved 10 February 2023.
  24. ^ a b "About Calvin". Calvin Robinson. Archived from the original on 15 March 2022. Retrieved 5 December 2022.
  25. ^ Lee, Simeon (6 December 2019). "A call for student Brexiteers in the 'Battle of Broxtowe'". The Tab. Archived from the original on 15 December 2019. Retrieved 4 June 2021.
  26. ^ Ahmed, Nafeez (8 December 2020). "Alt-Right Pseudoscience – Part 2: The Free Speech Union and Scientific Racism". Byline Times.
  27. ^ Topping, Andrew (23 February 2021). "Former teacher called a 'race traitor' for his right-wing views". Nottingham Post.
  28. ^ a b "UKIP opens door to Yaxley-Lennon and anti-Islam, Christian crusade". Searchlight. 14 August 2024. Retrieved 16 October 2024.
  29. ^ a b Adams, Tim (11 March 2023). "Farage, Fox and rolling outrage: the inside story of GB News". the Guardian. Retrieved 16 October 2024.
  30. ^ Billson, Chantelle (18 April 2023). "Tories urged to cut ties with 'hate-filled' right-wing group Turning Point UK". PinkNews. Retrieved 16 October 2024.
  31. ^ Waterson, Jim (24 August 2021). "Andrew Neil outflanked by Nigel Farage in GB News culture war". The Guardian.
  32. ^ "GB News's Calvin Robinson claims Conservative Party has been 'infiltrated by Marxist ideology'". The National. 4 October 2022.
  33. ^ "Common Sense Crusade with Calvin Robinson". The Global Herald. 29 October 2022.
  34. ^ "GB News: Calvin Robinson becomes third presenter suspended". BBC News. 29 October 2022.
  35. ^ "Third GB News presenter Calvin Robinson suspended - as channel boss condemns Laurence Fox comments". Sky News. 29 September 2023.
  36. ^ "Laurence Fox and Calvin Robinson sacked by GB News". BBC News. 4 October 2023.
  37. ^ a b c d Heap, Emily-Jane (22 May 2022). "Black conservative trainee vicar 'blocked' from joining Church of England over 'anti-woke views'". The Sunday Telegraph.
  38. ^ a b Martin, Francis (27 May 2022). "Calvin Robinson: I was blocked from ordination". Church Times.
  39. ^ Tilby, Angela (10 June 2022). "C of E needs conservative thinkers like Calvin Robinson". Church Times.
  40. ^ a b "Calvin Robinson". www.calvinrobinson.com. Retrieved 1 June 2023.
  41. ^ Calvin Robinson was Ordained to the Diaconate. Free Church of England, 26 June 2022. Archived from the original on 3 July 2022. Retrieved 31 October 2022
  42. ^ Croft, Ethan (13 October 2023). "Sacked GB News host Calvin Robinson flies to Disney World and eyes new Church". Evening Standard.
  43. ^ "Calvin Robinson Ordained to the Priesthood". nordiccatholic-uk.com. 16 November 2023. Retrieved 23 November 2023.
  44. ^ "Trinity Sunday will be my last celebration of Holy Communion at Christ Church Harlesden. Please do feel free to come along and pray with us next week Sunday". 19 May 2024 – via X.
  45. ^ O'Dell, Liam (30 August 2024). "Ex-GB News host Calvin Robinson to become migrant and leave UK, delighting critics | indy100". Indy100.
  46. ^ "Staff". Retrieved 18 November 2024.
  47. ^ "Students need to know the harrowing truth': teachers on black history in the curriculum". TheGuardian.com. 3 October 2020. Retrieved 31 January 2022.
  48. ^ Robinson, Calvin (October 2020). "Beware Critical Race Theory – the divisive ideology infiltrating school history lessons". The Telegraph. Retrieved 31 January 2022.
  49. ^ "Student anger at slavery comments made by Union speakers". Varsity Online. Retrieved 30 November 2022.
  50. ^ a b "Euro 2020: Musician Billy Bragg and commentator Calvin Robinson debate England taking the knee ahead of final". Channel 4 News. 9 July 2021.
  51. ^ Robinson, Fr Calvin (2 August 2024). "Calvin Robinson on X".
  52. ^ Hassan, Beril Naz (4 October 2023). "Who is Calvin Robinson? Presenter sacked in fallout from Laurence Fox row". The Standard.
  53. ^ Bates, Stephen. "How Calvin Robinson threw in his lot with the polemicists". www.prospectmagazine.co.uk.
  54. ^ Mulhall, Joe (31 July 2024). "Press Release: HOPE not hate respond to unrest in Southport". HOPE not hate.
  55. ^ Team, Searchlight (30 August 2024). "So, farewell then, Rev'd Calvin Robinson". Searchlight.
  56. ^ Hill, Symon. "Counter the lies of the far Right". www.churchtimes.co.uk.
  57. ^ Coren, Michael (8 October 2023). "The real Calvin Robinson, the GB News cleric who treated me outrageously". inews.co.uk.
  58. ^ Rusbridger, Alan. "Church and hate: Meet Britain's conspiracy theorist cleric". www.prospectmagazine.co.uk.
  59. ^ Hailes, Sam. "Calvin Robinson: 'I've always struggled with organised religion…maybe that's why I got kicked out of one'". Premier Christianity.
  60. ^ Hailes, Sam (1 November 2022). "Calvin Robinson: 'I've always struggled with organised religion…maybe that's why I got kicked out of one'". Premier Christianity.
  61. ^ a b Bogle, Joanna (9 January 2023). "'I could see the reuniting of Christians with Rome': Interview with Calvin Robinson". Catholic Herald.
  62. ^ "Evangelical Catholics". evangelicalcatholics.prophet-clan.com. Retrieved 1 June 2023.
  63. ^ Robinson, Fr Calvin (5 November 2022). "Gay Marriage is not Marriage". calvinrobinson.substack.com.
  64. ^ Robinson, Fr Calvin (16 November 2022). "A Post-Christian World". calvinrobinson.substack.com.
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