British ordinand says Church of England blocked his progression towards priesthood over his conservative views

Calvin Robinson, who is currently in theological college training to become a priest, said in a recent interview with GB News that the Church of England has blocked his progression towards priesthood and cancelled his ordination because of his political leaning.

Robinson noted that there are some within the church that "sneer" at GB News, which is right-leaning, and its audience.

"There are a number of reasons, one because I’m a conservative," Robinson explained.

"There is only one Bishop who openly supported Brexit and he was sent off to the far end of the country in penance. In contrast, over two thirds of Anglican worshippers voted for Brexit," he added.

Robinson continued on to say that the church has become "woke" and that his Orthodox beliefs stick more to scripture.

"I prefer to stick to Scripture on these issues," he said.

Robinson noted another reason for the backlash "is that I'm on GB News."

"They are Guardian readers preaching to GB News viewers and they sneer at us and they look down their noses at us and they honestly think we are the wrong type and we are the wrong people. And I think God, what Christ would reach out to everyone, and would want everyone welcomed and they don't seem to get that. It is a case of wokeness taking over the church," he said.

Robinson said the reason the church gave as to why they cancelled his curacy was: "They said it would be too turbulent for me to be an ordained minister and have a public profile. The official line will be that there isn’t enough curacies in London but that is nonsense as I have had several offers for title posts, but even then the Church says no."

"It's not about there not being enough space, it’s purely politics," he added.

The Diocese of London told GB News in response: "In the Diocese of London, we have a limited number of curacies available each year that are considered on a case-by-case basis. We work with and support Ordinands throughout the discernment process to establish the right path for each person. In this instance, it was felt that there was no suitable option available that London could offer."

"Calvin continues to be a candidate sponsored for ordination. We continue to be willing to work with him to discern the right way forward, and we keep him in our prayers," they concluded.