On 18 April 2023, Baker and a group of around fifty Anglican clergymen celebrated Mass at the High Altar of the Archbasilica of St John Lateran.[14] Officially, the Roman Catholic Church does not recognise the validity of Anglican priestly orders, as outlined in Apostolicae curae, a papal bull issued by Pope Leo XIII which declares all Anglican ordinations "absolutely null and utterly void".[15] Auxiliary Bishop Emeritus Guerino Di Tora of the Diocese of Rome (Chapter Vicar of the Lateran Basilica) expressed:[16]
deep regret for what happened last Tuesday 18 April, inside the Basilica of St John Lateran in Rome. In fact, a group of about 50 clergymen, accompanied by their bishop, all belonging to the Anglican Communion, celebrated on the high altar of Rome's cathedral, in contravention of canonical norms.
Baker is a member of the Council of Bishops of The Society under the patronage of Saint Wilfrid and Saint Hilda.[17] He became chairman of the Council of Bishops on Saint Andrew's Day (30 November) 2023.[18]
Views
From 2010 to 2014, Baker was the chairman of Forward in Faith, a traditionalist Anglo-Catholic membership organisation which supports and finances the work of The Society.[19][20]
In 2023, following the news that the House of Bishop's of the Church of England was to introduce proposals for blessing same-sex relationships, he signed an open letter which stated:[21]
many Christians in the Church of England and the Anglican Communion, together with Christians from across the churches of world Christianity, continue to believe that marriage is given by God for the union of a man and woman and that it cannot be extended to those who are of the same sex. [...] Without seeking to diminish the value of many committed same-sex relationships, for which there is much to give thanks, we find ourselves constrained by what we sincerely believe the Scriptures teach which cannot be set aside.[21]
Personal life
Baker was previously a Freemason. While a student at Oxford University, he joined the Apollo University Lodge, a masonic lodge associated with the university, and served as its Worshipful Master. He held the senior position of Deputy Grand Chaplain in the United Grand Lodge of England. After twenty years membership, he left the organisation upon being appointed a bishop, stating that the criticism from some members of General Synod threatened to overshadow the inauguration of his episcopal ministry.[22]
In 1992, Baker married Jacqueline. Together they had three children; two sons and one daughter. They divorced in 2013.[23]
In a letter dated 22 October 2014, Baker wrote to his clergy informing them that he had been given permission by Richard Chartres, Bishop of London, and Justin Welby, Archbishop of Canterbury, to remarry following divorce.[24] Until 2010, Church of England clergy who had been divorced and remarried could not become bishops. American religion commentator and Episcopal Priest, The Rev. George Conger, wrote, "They [traditionalist clergy] are at a loss to understand how the bishop dedicated to providing pastoral support for traditionalists can himself adopt a stance at odds with the position of most traditionalists – and at odds with the public position taken by Forward in Faith on divorce and remarriage."[25] In 2015, he married Susie in a civil ceremony.[23][24]
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