Todd Atkinson is a Canadian Anglican bishop. He is a bishop at the Anglican Church in North America (ACNA) and was the first bishop of

Via Apostolica Via Apostolica is a missionary district in the Anglican Church of North America (ACNA), comprising five parishes in the Canadian provinces of Alberta, British Columbia, and Saskatchewan. Despite being located in Canada, the missionary district cle ...

. 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.

Education and career

Atkinson grew up in the Canadian Prairies 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 Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

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

University of Oxford , mottoeng = The Lord is my light , established = , endowment = £6.1 billion (including colleges) (2019) , budget = £2.145 billion (2019–20) , chancellor ...

studying theology and philosophy. After his studies he returned to Canada and served as president of

Eston College Eston College is a private Christian post-secondary educational institution located in Eston, Saskatchewan, Canada. Since 1944 it has served as the primary training center for the Apostolic Church of Pentecost (ACOP) and welcomes students from ...

. After less than two years he returned to the United Kingdom with his wife to serve as missionaries in

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

. Atkinson returned in 2003 and began pastoral ministry in

Lethbridge Lethbridge ( ) is a city in the province of Alberta, Canada. With a population of 101,482 in its 2019 Alberta municipal censuses, 2019 municipal census, Lethbridge became the fourth Alberta city to surpass 100,000 people. The nearby Canadian ...

Alberta Alberta ( ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is part of Western Canada and is one of the three prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to the west, Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest Ter ...

. 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 Raymond Quigg Lawrence Jr. (born 1959) is an American bishop of the Anglican Church in North America. He was consecrated in 2013 as bishop suffragan in the Atlantic coast network of PEARUSA, which in 2016 became the Anglican Diocese of Christ Our ...

. 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, the remaining Missionary District congregations in

Calgary Calgary ( ) is the largest city in the western Canadian province of Alberta and the largest metro area of the three Prairie Provinces. As of 2021, the city proper had a population of 1,306,784 and a metropolitan population of 1,481,806, makin ...

Caronport Caronport ( 2016 population: ) is a village in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan within the Rural Municipality of Caron No. 162 and Census Division No. 7. The village is west of the City of Moose Jaw on the Trans-Canada Highway. Histor ...

Langley Langley may refer to: People * Langley (surname), a common English surname, including a list of notable people with the name * Dawn Langley Simmons (1922–2000), English author and biographer * Elizabeth Langley (born 1933), Canadian perfor ...

, and

had applied and joined ANiC.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Atkinson, Todd Canadian bishops of the Anglican Church in North America Alumni of the University of Oxford Living people Year of birth missing (living people)