GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — A Grand Rapids priest was removed from his position in the Anglican Catholic Church on Wednesday after mimicking a gesture recently made by Elon Musk, which has been compared to a Nazi salute.
At the close of his speech at the National Pro-Life Summit in Washington D.C. on Monday, Calvin Robinson placed his right hand on his chest before raising it out toward the audience, saying, "My heart goes out to you. God bless."
Robinson is currently listed as priest-in-charge at St. Paul's Anglican Catholic Church in Grand Rapids. His actions are similar to Elon Musk's, who, at a post-inauguration rally this month, made a similar straight-armed gesture, saying, "My heart goes out to you. It is thanks to you that the future of civilization is assured."
Those on Musk's social media platform, X, compared the move to a Nazi salute, though the businessman and others disagreed.
In a post on X, Musk said, "Frankly, they need better dirty tricks. The 'everyone is Hitler' attack is sooo tired."
Watch Calvin Robinson's speech here:
On Wednesday, the Anglican Catholic Church announced it had removed Robinson from his priesthood, revoking his license over what "many have interpreted as a pro-Nazi salute."
"While we cannot say what was in Mr. Robinson’s heart when he did this, his action appears to have been an attempt to curry favor with certain elements of the American political right by provoking its opposition," the Anglican Catholic Church (ACC) said in a statement posted to its website.
The ACC also said Robinson had previously been "warned" about online trolling and that such actions — regardless of political persuasion — were "incompatible with a priestly vocation."
Notably, the Anglican Catholic Church is separate from the Roman Catholic Church and its diocese in Grand Rapids.
In a post on X, Robinson said, "I am not a Nazi."
Continuing, the now-former priest commented, "My attempt at dry wit, in that typical British way, was not a joke at the expense of WWII, nor an admission of my membership in the Nationalist Socialist Party."
"That would be an incredibly ignorant and bad faith assumption to make," he said.
For the record, in case it needs saying: I am not a Nazi.
— Calvin Robinson (@calvinrobinson) January 30, 2025
I gave a talk at a pro-life event that seemed to go down well, I am pleased to have contributed to what I believe to be the most important of causes. The enemy hates that, of course, and the attacks have been plentiful.…
Robinson was born in England, according to his biography on the St. Paul's Anglican Catholic Church website, and studied theology at St. Stephen's House in Oxford. However, his "outspoken view on a more conservative theology," led the Church of England to deny him the role of deacon. Robinson was then ordained as deacon in the Free Church of England and ordained to the priesthood in the Nordic Catholic Church. He joined St. Paul's as rector in September 2024.
A former computer science teacher and video games journalist, Robinson is also the lead spokesman for the UK Independence Party, a right-wing populist political party in the United Kingdom.
FOX 17 reached out to Robinson on Thursday for an interview. He declined to comment, saying, "I am not doing interviews at the moment until I have spoken with the Archbishop. When he agrees to take my calls, I will be better informed to have a fuller conversation."
