Julian Dobbs
Anglican bishop in North America
The Right Reverend

Julian M. Dobbs
Bishop of the Diocese of the Living Word
ChurchAnglican Church in North America
DioceseLiving Word
In office2011–present
PredecessorSee created
Other postsDean of the province, Anglican Church in North America (2025–present)
Orders
Ordination1991
Consecration25 September 2011
by Nicholas Okoh
Personal details
Born
New Zealand
SpouseBrenda Dobbs
Children3

Julian M. Dobbs (born 1968) is a New Zealand-born American bishop. He serves as the diocesan bishop of the Anglican Diocese of the Living Word (ADLW), a jurisdiction of the Anglican Church in North America. Dobbs' ministry as a bishop includes overseeing congregations and clergy of the diocese. Nicknamed the "based bishop" by conservative columnist Rod Dreher in 2022,[1] Dobbs is one of the ACNA's more prolific figures, in part for his vocal warnings about the purported dangers of Islam.[2]

On November 15, 2025, Dobbs was appointed dean of the Anglican Church in North America and assumed responsibility as the denomination's acting archbishop in the wake of allegations of sexual misconduct against Archbishop Steve Wood. In December 2025, Dobbs became the focus of a Washington Post report detailing two separate inquiries into alleged financial misconduct amounting to $76,000 against Dobbs during his work for Barnabas Aid and as bishop of the Convocation of Anglicans in North America (CANA). Dobbs has denied the allegations, calling them "unsubstantiated".[2]

Early career

Dobbs was born and raised in New Zealand. In 1991, he was ordained in the Anglican Church in New Zealand. He has an L.Th., Th.M. and a D.D.[citation needed] He planted three congregations, led the fastest-growing congregation in New Zealand and hosted a weekly hour-long television show in Nelson.[3]

In 2004, Dobbs became executive director of the Barnabas Fund, promoting awareness of the persecution of Christians around the world, particularly in Laos, Malaysia, Syria, Egypt and North Korea. In the aftermath of the Indian Ocean tsunami, Dobbs' relief work in Aceh, Indonesia, was recognised by the New Zealand government with the New Zealand Special Service Medal.[4] In 2006, Dobbs and his family immigrated to Washington, D.C. area where he began overseeing overseeing the work of Barnabas Aid USA.[2]

Bishop of CANA (Church of Nigeria)

In 2008, Dobbs was appointed archdeacon and canon missioner in the Convocation of Anglicans in North America (CANA), where he contributed to clergy development, worked to help North American Anglicans understand and the challenges posed by the rise of Islam in Africa, and develop a West African-American clergy and lay mission partnership.[4] To continue this and other gospel work, he was elected a bishop for CANA and the Church of Nigeria in spring of 2011, and consecrated by Nicholas Okoh in Lagos on September 25, 2011. He was also elected and received as a member of the College of Bishops of the ACNA at the same time during a bishops meeting in Long Beach, California.[5] Dobbs continued to help lead Barnabas Aid USA while working for CANA.[2]

Warnings against Islam

Dobbs has long warned about a purported strategy by adherents of the religion of Islam to "Islamize" American society. In 2009, he issued a written statement responding to a Muslim day of prayer at the United States Capitol, saying: "It is important for Christians to understand that Friday's Muslim prayer initiative is part of a well-defined strategy to Islamize American society and replace the Bible with the Koran, the cross with the Islamic crescent and the church bells with the Athan [the Muslim call to prayer]. The time has come for the American public to call Islam to account."[6]

Dobbs has been active in opposing and publicizing the Boko Haram attacks on Christians in northern Nigeria and calling for international prayer and action.[7] In August 2012, Okoh visited Washington, D.C., and through Dobbs' connections met with policymakers and officials to promote action against the Muslim militants in the north.[8] He served on ACNA's task force on Christian-Muslim relations.[3]

Bishop of CANA East

On May 7, 2013, in Wayne, Pennsylvania, Dobbs became the first bishop of the newly formed Missionary Diocese of CANA East.[9] CANA East stretches from Maine to Miami and from Tulsa, OK and The Bronx, NY. The diocese (now the Anglican Diocese of the Living Word) has 43 congregations and over 125 clergy.[citation needed] When it was created, the diocese was one of the three dioceses formed out of The Convocation of Anglicans in North America. It was also a diocese of the ACNA.[10] Dobbs attended the GAFCON 2 meeting in Nairobi Kenya in 2013. During this time, he continued to serve as a member of the International Board of the Barnabas Fund.

In 2013, Dobbs wrote an open letter to President of the United States Barack Obama, calling for urgent intervention in support of persecuted Christians in Syria.[11]

Missionary Bishop of CANA

In January 2014, Dobbs was appointed as the Missionary Bishop of CANA by the Most Rev. Nicholas D. Okoh, Primate of all Nigeria. he remained diocesan bishop while taking on the additional responsibilities of providing oversight and leadership to CANA's overall ministry.[12] Dobbs wrote his first pastoral letter to CANA on January 24, 2014.[13]

In September 2014, Dobbs spoke at the "In Defense of Christians" forum in Washington, D.C. Hundreds of activists, including Christian clergy from across the Middle East and more than a dozen members of Congress attended a three-day conference aimed at training a serious policy-impacting force in Washington to protect persecuted Christians overseas. Dobbs presented a paper entitled "Why Christianity is Vital To the Middle East". He said: "Christianity is intrinsically linked to the Middle East. It is in the Middle East that Christianity was birthed in the backwaters of the Roman Empire and from where the message of the Christian gospel spread throughout the Roman Empire, to Ethiopia, and to the Persian Empire."[14]

As missionary bishop, Dobbs presided over the 10th anniversary of the founding of CANA. In his anniversary address, Dobbs said, "CANA was missionary then and she is missionary now. As a Convocation we exist not only as a jurisdiction for the 120 congregations and 450 clergy and chaplains who serve as members of our Convocation, we exist as a missionary movement called by Almighty God to replant biblical missionary Anglican Christianity across North America. This is the mission to which we in CANA have all been called by Almighty God."[15]

Dobbs resigned from Barnabas Aid USA in 2018.[2]

Bishop of the Anglican Diocese of the Living Word (ACNA)

On May 21, 2019, the Missionary Diocese of CANA East announced its decision to withdraw membership in the Church of Nigeria to become solely a diocese of the Anglican Church in North America, with the name of Anglican Diocese of the Living Word (ADLW).[16] Dobbs became the diocesan bishop of the Anglican Diocese of the Living Word.[citation needed] He oversees the ministry of the diocese across 19 states with missions in Japan and Haiti.[citation needed] Two bishops serve with Dobbs, Bishop William Love and Bishop David Bena. Dobbs remains committed to the gospel once for all entrusted to the saints, the planting of new congregations, Christian discipleship, engaging the world with the good news of Jesus and sharing the gospel of Jesus. The diocese has 43 congregations and over 120 clergy.[citation needed] First consecrated as a bishop in 2011, Dobbs is one of the longest serving active diocesan bishops in the ACNA.[17]

In 2019, Bishop Dobbs became the main host of Living Through the Word podcast. In the inaugural episode, Bishop Dobbs interviewed his mentor, Bishop Martyn Minns.[18]

Political activities

Dobbs was referred to as the "based bishop" in 2022 by conservative author and columnist, Rod Dreher. Dreher wrote, "I’ve been this week at the conference of the Anglican Diocese of the Living Word (ACNA), led by Bishop Julian Dobbs. The bishop gave his annual address on Friday morning, and … Lord have mercy, if only ten percent of bishops and pastors talked like this man, we would be living in a different country." In that address Bishop Dobbs said, "Courage is not something that regularly appears in the conversation and discipline of many North America Christians. With respect, being a Christian in North America today does not always require a whole lot of courage. But brothers and sisters, as the clouds around our nation begin to gather and the powers of darkness extend their influence, we the followers of Jesus Christ in this generation must ready ourselves to act, where necessary, with courage."[1]

In a 2022 letter on his website, Dobbs commemorated the September 11 attacks and referred to them as the “Islamic terror attacks". Dobbs wrote that the violence on September 11 was carried out in the name of Islam, "a religion that is still intolerant" of other faiths. He has appeared on the radio show of Sebastian Gorka, President Donald Trump's senior director for counterterrorism.[2]

Provincial Tribunal and defense of Bishop Stewart Ruch

In 2023 Bishop Julian Dobbs presided over the inaugural case of the Provincial Tribunal of the Anglican Church in North America in the matter of Bishop Stewart Ruch, who had allegedly mishandled allegations of sexual abuse in his diocese. He served as presiding judge with 6 other elected judges. A power struggle broke out when the court, led by Dobbs, issued its initial decision in June 2023.[19] In its June decision, the Tribunal asserted itself as "the highest adjudicatory body of the Province" and "the final interpreter of the meaning of the Constitution and Canons."[20]

The next day, Archbishop Foley Beach accused the Provincial Tribunal of attempting to block a canonical investigation into Ruch. In a statement, Beach revealed that Ruch had made a "secret appeal" to the Provincial Tribunal earlier in the year in an attempt to call off the investigation. Beach and other leaders in the ACNA raised concerns about the ability of the members of the Tribunal to remain impartial concerning the Ruch case, while claiming that the Tribunal did not have canonical authority to issue its purported stay order: "The Tribunal failed to give proper notice to me, the Presenting Bishops, or the Provincial Chancellors" of Ruch’s secret request, Beach wrote, saying, "We were not given a copy of what Bishop Ruch filed and we were not given opportunity to address the issue."[20]

Primacy of Steve Wood

In 2024, Archbishop Steve Wood appointed Bishop Dobbs as Chair of the Global Mission and International Relations Task Force in the Anglican Church in North America. It was in that capacity that Bishop Dobbs made a visit to Israel in late September 2024 to hear from family members of hostages from October 7, meet with Palestinian Christians, and others. Bishop Julian was interviewed on Anglican TV about this ministry.

On November 3, 2025, in the wake of allegations that Wood had committed sexual harassment, abuse of power, and plagiarism, the ACNA announced that Wood was taking a paid leave of absence and that the Dean of the Province, Ray Sutton, would be assuming the duties of archbishop. Before going on leave, Wood appointed Dobbs to assist Sutton as Dean of Provincial Affairs.[21][22][17]

Dean and acting primate of the ACNA

On November 15, 2025, after a second woman came forward with allegations of sexual misconduct against the ACNA's Archbishop, Steve Wood, Sutton stepped down, and Dobbs was appointed dean of the Anglican Church in North America, assuming responsibility as the denomination's acting archbishop. One day later, Dobbs inhibited Wood over the allegations.[2] On December 14, a board of inquiry announced it had found probable cause to put Wood to trial, and Wood was indicted on charges including the violation of ordination vows, conduct giving just cause for scandal or offense, and sexual immorality.[23]

Trial of Bishop Stewart Ruch

Under Dobbs' leadership on December 17, the ACNA's Court for the Trial of a Bishop concluded its trial of Bishop Stewart Ruch, publishing a ruling acquitting Ruch of charges that Ruch had mishandled sexual abuse in his diocese.[24] In its 71-page ruling, the court wrote that "the failure of proof in this case is complete" and directed heavy criticism toward a former provincial prosecutor, calling his resignation and allegations of judicial misconduct “intolerable". The court commended Ruch for his "shepherd's heart", while complaining of "narrative capture" and "distorting influence" arising from online discussion of the trial. Significantly, the court also advanced a theory in its ruling that all sponsors of ecclesiastical presentments must have "firsthand knowledge" of each allegation, requiring as many as ten eyewitnesses for future cases of alleged sexual misconduct in the small, conservative denomination now led by Dobbs.[25]

Dispute with the JAFC

Under Dobbs' leadership, a legal dispute continued to unfold in the United States District Court for the District of South Carolina between the ACNA and the Jurisdiction of the Armed Forces and Chaplaincy (JAFC), which was seeking $7 million in damages and accusing the ACNA of staging "a failed corporate takeover" after inhibiting the JAFC's bishop in September.[2] In December, the bishops of the JAFC, who had disaffiliated from the ACNA, launched a new denomination, the Anglican Reformed Catholic Church, which described itself as a member of the Union of Scranton, an Old Catholic communion group whose holy orders are recognized by the Roman Catholic Church.[26][27]

Washington Post investigation

In December 2025, The Washington Post reported on two separate inquiries into financial misconduct amounting to $76,000 against Dobbs.[2][28][29]

A declaration attached to the JAFC's court filing, according to the Post, alleged that Dobbs had been "found to have absconded with approximately $48,000" of the JAFC's money in March 2021. Reportedly, the JAFC had requested the ACNA investigate "missing funds not reported on the financial statements" of CANA in 2019, and the ACNA responded by appointing three individuals to investigate the JAFC's allegations. According to the Post, by April 2020 the JAFC had contacted the IRS about the allegations, and in March 2021 Dobbs had submitted a formal statement to Archbishop Foley Beach, in which Dobbs wrote: "I regret and apologize for my part and on behalf of my staff, for the confusion in [the convocation’s] financial accounting practices … and for any harm brought to the ministry of the Jurisdiction of the Armed Forces and Chaplaincy." The Post reported that, at the time, the JAFC had accepted the statement and opted "not to initiate an investigation of, or action against Bishop Dobbs with any federal or state authorities."[2]

The Post also reported on a separate inquiry into allegations of financial impropriety against Dobbs during his time at the Barnabas Fund from 2006-2014. In 2018, according to the Post, the Barnabas Fund's British-based umbrella organization, Barnabas Aid, had opened an investigation into Dobbs and his wife for claiming "unauthorized, unjustified, or unexplained expenses" related to phones, travel, and meals, totaling over $28,000. In a 102-page report, Barnabas Aid had concluded that Dobbs and his wife had committed "deliberate acts of misusing Barnabas Aid liquid assets to benefit either themselves or another ministry". The organization's CEO, Hendrik Storm, wrote in an email to the Dobbses that their actions "could even be construed as tantamount to fraud". Barnabas Aid shared their report with the ACNA in February 2019, but Archbishop Foley Beach responded eight months later by dismissing the allegations against Dobbs. The charity ultimately accepted Beach's decision to close the case but insisted that its disagreement be "noted for the record" should Dobbs eventually come under IRS investigation.[2]

The Post reported that Beach had circulated a letter to the ACNA's college of bishops on December 12 claiming that the allegations against Dobbs were deemed baseless. Beach told the Post that the allegations were "thoroughly investigated" and that Dobbs "did nothing wrong". Dobbs vehemently denied the charges, telling the Post that all of the allegations against him were "unsubstantiated". Dobbs claimed that his diocese and the ACNA had conducted their own investigations into the allegations which had cleared him of wrongdoing. "I have never misappropriated funds," said Dobbs to the Post, "And any such claims that I have done so are baseless, feckless, and without merit."[2]

Katartismos Global

Dobbs is one of three registered board members of Katartismos Global Inc. (KGI), a 501 c 3 charity organization associated with the Anglican Diocese of the Living Word (ADLW) based in Manassas, Virginia.[30] Dobbs's wife Brenda is also a registered board member but is listed on its website with her maiden name Price. With EIN 81-0909548, Katartismos reports total 2024 revenue of US$221,541, total assets of US$51,500, and total giving of US$155,229.[31]

Personal life

Dobbs is married to wife, Brenda. They have three children: son Sam is married to Paige Dossett; daughter Grace is married to Lt. Commander David Welborn; daughter Frances is married to Austin Garlick. Dobbs and his wife have two grandchildren. Since 2006, Dobbs and his wife have made their home in Northern Virginia.[32]

References

  1. ^ a b Dreher, Rod. "Julian Dobbs, The Based Bishop". The American Conservative. Retrieved 28 September 2023.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l "He suspended the archbishop, but faced his own probes — financial ones". The Washington Post. 2025-12-30. Retrieved 2025-12-30.
  3. ^ a b "New Bishops Elected for North America". March 5, 2011. Retrieved September 22, 2012.
  4. ^ a b "CANA Welcomes Julian Dobbs as Canon Missioner". December 8, 2008. Archived from the original on March 11, 2014. Retrieved September 22, 2012.
  5. ^ "Julian Dobbs and Felix Orji Made CANA Bishops". September 26, 2011. Archived from the original on December 27, 2013. Retrieved September 22, 2012.
  6. ^ "Muslims observe day of prayer in Washington". CNN. 25 September 2009. Retrieved 1 January 2026.
  7. ^ Dobbs, Julian (January 4, 2012). "Pray for Nigeria". Retrieved September 22, 2012.
  8. ^ "Archbishop Okoh to Visit the United States in August". June 28, 2012. Archived from the original on June 21, 2013. Retrieved August 23, 2012.
  9. ^ "VirtueOnline – the Voice for Global Orthodox Anglicanism".
  10. ^ "Anglican Diocese of the Living Word". www.adlw.org.
  11. ^ "Letter of Bishop Julian Dobbs to the President of the United States, August 20, 2013" (PDF).
  12. ^ "Read the media release here" (PDF).
  13. ^ "Bishop Julian Dobbs Pastoral Letter to CANA, January 24, 2014" (PDF).
  14. ^ "Why Christianity Is Vital to the Middle East – Bishop Julian Dobbs". September 11, 2014.
  15. ^ "Pastoral address" (PDF).
  16. ^ CANA East withdraws from the Church of Nigeria, Anglican Ink, 21 May 2019
  17. ^ a b "N. American Anglican archbishop takes paid leave in wake of allegations". The Washington Post. 2025-11-04. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved 2025-11-17.
  18. ^ "Anglican Diocese of the Living Word | 001: An interview with Bishop". www.adlw.org.[permanent dead link]
  19. ^ Harris, Kate (2023-06-07). "Provincial Tribunal Opinion, June 6, 2023". The Anglican Church in North America. Retrieved 2025-06-16.
  20. ^ a b Post, Kathryn (8 June 2023). "Anglican denomination erupts into power struggle after Bishop Stewart Ruch's return". Religion News Service. Retrieved 2 January 2026.
  21. ^ Coles, Arlie (6 November 2025). "Chaplains Challenge Bishop's Interim Role". The Living Church. Retrieved 2 January 2026.
  22. ^ Sutton, Ray (3 November 2025). "Letter from Bishop Sutton" (PDF). The the Anglican Church in North America. Retrieved 2 January 2026.
  23. ^ Coles, Arlie (20 November 2025). "ACNA Primate to Stand Trial". The Living Church. Retrieved 19 December 2025.
  24. ^ Shapira, Ian (17 December 2025). "After secret church trial, Illinois N. American Anglican bishop acquitted". The Washington Post. Retrieved 20 December 2025.
  25. ^ Coles, Arlie (18 December 2025). "Ruch Acquitted on All Charges". The Living Church. Retrieved 20 December 2025.
  26. ^ Coles, Arlie; Gaffin, Greta (30 December 2025). "Suspended ACNA Bishop Founds Breakaway Church". The Living Church. Retrieved 31 December 2025.
  27. ^ Gryboski, Michael (26 December 2025). "Embattled chaplains group forms new denomination named Anglican Reformed Catholic Church". The Christian Post. Retrieved 26 December 2025.
  28. ^ Post, Kathryn. "Acting ACNA Archbishop Faced Past Claims of Financial Misconduct". MinistryWatch. Retrieved 31 December 2025.
  29. ^ Bumgardner, David. "How a fight over 300 chaplains and $48,000 is tearing apart the ACNA". Baptist News Global. Retrieved 31 December 2025.
  30. ^ Brown, David. "Head of Anglican Church in North America caught up in charity scandal". The Times (London). The Times. Retrieved 2 January 2026.
  31. ^ "Candid.org". Candid.org. Candid. Retrieved 2 January 2026.
  32. ^ "Anglican Diocese of the Living Word | Our Bishops". www.adlw.org. Retrieved 2025-06-16.
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