Todd Atkinson is a Canadian former Anglican bishop. From 2019 to 2024, he was a bishop of the

Anglican Church in North America The Anglican Church in North America (ACNA) is a Christian denomination in the Anglican tradition in the United States and Canada. It also includes ten congregations in Mexico, two mission churches in Guatemala, and a missionary diocese in Cuba. ...

(ACNA) and the founding bishop of Via Apostolica. He was consecrated a bishop on the Eve of the Ascension 2012. Atkinson was later admitted into ACNA's College of Bishops on January 10, 2019 then the next year, on June 24, 2020, Via Apostolica was accepted as a missionary district in ACNA. Following a lengthy investigation into allegations of misconduct, Atkinson was found guilty by the ACNA for multiple charges, including but not limited to, charges involving underage females. He was deposed from ordained ministry on May 9, 2024, the feast of the Ascension.

Education and career

Atkinson grew up in the

Canadian Prairies The Canadian Prairies (usually referred to as simply the Prairies in Canada) is a region in Western Canada. It includes the Canadian portion of the Great Plains and the Prairie provinces, namely Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba. These provin ...

and became a Christian in his teen years. At the age of 18 Atkinson moved to the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

to train with an evangelist. At the age of 25 Atkinson began attending the

University of Oxford The University of Oxford is a collegiate university, collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the List of oldest un ...

studying theology and philosophy. After his studies he returned to Canada and served as president of Eston College. After less than two years he returned to the United Kingdom with his wife to serve as missionaries in

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

. Atkinson returned in 2003 and began pastoral ministry in

Lethbridge Lethbridge ( ) is a city in the province of Alberta, Canada. With a population of 106,550 in the 2023 Alberta municipal censuses, 2023 municipal census, Lethbridge became the fourth Alberta city to surpass 100,000 people. The nearby Canadian ...

Alberta Alberta is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Canada. It is a part of Western Canada and is one of the three Canadian Prairies, prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to its west, Saskatchewan to its east, t ...

. This church would eventually be the origins of Via Apostolica, which would formally begin with his consecration as a bishop in 2012. The ACNA official website reported on 5 September 2021 that bishop Todd Atkinson, amidst allegations of misconduct, was taking a leave of absence. On 16 October 2021, it was announced that during this time, ACNA had appointed as Interim Bishop of Via Apostolica, Quigg Lawrence. On 6 November 2021, ACNA reported that the provincial investigation had begun. In July 2022, an ACNA board of inquiry unanimously determined that "probable cause and reasonable grounds" to present Atkinson for trial for four violations of Canon IV.2.4, which prohibits bishops from "conduct giving just cause for scandal or offense, including the abuse of ecclesiastical power." Atkinson was inhibited pending trial on June 8 and on September 13, 2022, Atkinson pleaded not guilty to all charges. Amidst this scandal, on October 6, 2022, Via Apostolica's Bishop's Council announced that all parishes formerly under Atkinson's leadership had "begun official steps of discernment for a new ecclesial home and episcopal oversight" within the ACNA. By fall of 2023, several months prior to his deposition, the remaining Missionary District congregations in

Calgary Calgary () is a major city in the Canadian province of Alberta. As of 2021, the city proper had a population of 1,306,784 and a metropolitan population of 1,481,806 making it the third-largest city and fifth-largest metropolitan area in C ...

Caronport Caronport (Canada 2016 Census, 2016 population: ) is a village in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Saskatchewan within the Rural Municipality of Caron No. 162 and Division No. 7, Saskatchewan, Census Division No. 7. ...

, Langley, and

had applied and joined ANiC. On April 3, 2024, the ACNA's Trial Court found Atkinson guilty of all four charges. On the Feast of the Ascension, May 9, 2024, after Atkinson reportedly failed to appeal the verdict in a timely manner, the ACNA College of Bishops voted to depose him from ordained ministry. Almost immediately following his deposition from ministry Atkinson began training spiritual directors and offering one-on-one spiritual direction.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Atkinson, Todd Alumni of the University of Oxford Living people Year of birth missing (living people)