Dorian Baxter
Encyclopedia
Dorian Baxter is an Anglican minister in Newmarket, Ontario
, Canada
who uses the music of Elvis Presley
in his services, using the name The Reverend Elvis Priestly.
in Humanities and his Master's Degree in Divinity from the University of Toronto
. He has been an educator for 33 years commencing his career as a classroom teacher with the York County Board of Education in 1970. In 1972, he was invited by the Headmaster of St. George's College, Jack Wright, to join the staff. Baxter taught grades 4 through to 10, coached the school swim teams, and ran the Independent Schools Athletic Association (Swimming) in Ontario.
In 1980 Mr. Baxter resigned after a quarrel with the headmaster, Mr. Allen. Allen attempted to fire Baxter before the end of the school year. Over 400 parents protested and Baxter was immediately reinstated and an apology letter was written to him by Mr. Allen.
At the end of the school year, he resigned and entered Wycliffe College
of the Toronto School of Theology at the University of Toronto. He was ordained in St. James Cathedral on 15 May 1983 after serving as Head of Divinity, elected by the student body at the College. He served as a priest with the Anglican Church of Canada at St. Paul's Anglican Church in Thunder Bay
, Ontario
and as Priest-in-charge of the Anglican Church of the Holy Spirit in Manitouwadge, Ontario
. He then was an associate professor at Drake University
in Des Moines, Iowa.
In 1996 Baxter began incorporating the music and look of Elvis Presley into his services. That year, he won the Canadian Showstopper at the Collingwood
Elvis Festival. In 1997 he won the Grand Champion of Showstoppers at that same festival. After that year, festival founder Billy Cann was ousted and control given to the town's business groups, a decision which Baxter objected to before Collingwood Town Council. Baxter joined Cann to establish a competing Elvis festival in Orillia and has since refused to return to the Collingwood festival.
In 1998, Bishop Ronald Ferris of the Diocese of Algoma
removed Baxter from his parish and revoked his license to perform Anglican weddings because of his use of Elvis in Anglican services, saying it was "in poor taste." In 2002, the church revoked his invitation to be the keynote preacher at the Masonic divine service in a Toronto Anglican church. Baxter has said he found this particularly difficult, as he has been a Freemason for more than 25 years and was Worshipful Master of his lodge in 1980. Baxter attended the service anyway, in full Elvis regalia.
Baxter says that the controversy originated when the media reported that he performed weddings and funerals dressed as Elvis, which he denies doing. Instead, he says, he performs the services in traditional clerical garb and changes into the Elvis clothes for the reception. He now performs weddings with a United or Baptist minister proclaiming the couple married. He is still officially a priest on leave from the Diocese of Algoma.
In 2003, he set up an independent church, Christ the King Graceland Independent Anglican Church of Canada
in Newmarket, Ontario
, where he continues to conduct services using Elvis' music, with his signature Elvis pompadour and sideburns. He also established the Federation of Independent Anglican Churches of North America with himself as Archbishop, claiming that he was consecrated in the tradition of the Church of England.
banner. In the 2004 federal election
, he received 1,079 votes, placing last out of five candidates. In the 2006 election
he received 729 votes, and in the 2008 election
he received 1,004 votes. He placed fifth out of six candidates in both 2006 and 2008. In the 2011 election, he received 1,001 votes, placing fifth out of six candidates, surpassing only Yvonne Mackie of the Animal Alliance Environment party. Baxter also ran in the 2010 byelection in the riding of Vaughan
, finishing seventh of out eight candidates with 110 votes.
A social conservative, Baxter is pro-life
and has criticized the consecration to the episcopate of the Episcopal Church USA of Gene Robinson
, a gay
priest. He founded NAPPA (The National Association for Public and Private Accountability) after an 11-year battle with the Canada Children's Aid Society over custody of his two daughters.
Baxter serves as official Padre
to the Royal Canadian Legion
Branch 426 and well as official chaplain to the Newmarket Veterans' Association.
Newmarket, Ontario
Newmarket is a town in Southern Ontario located approximately 50 km north of downtown Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is part of the Greater Toronto Area and is connected to Toronto by freeway, and is served by three interchanges along Highway 404. It is also connected to Highway 400 via Highway 9...
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
who uses the music of Elvis Presley
Elvis Presley
Elvis Aaron Presley was one of the most popular American singers of the 20th century. A cultural icon, he is widely known by the single name Elvis. He is often referred to as the "King of Rock and Roll" or simply "the King"....
in his services, using the name The Reverend Elvis Priestly.
Background
Baxter was baptized and confirmed by the first Black Bishop of Mombasa in Mombasa Cathedral. His father Arthur Baxter was a Major in the British Army and his mother Ena Baxter was a Corporal. From 1962-1967, he competed in the Amateur Boxer in Kenya National Championships, but failed to medal. In 1966, he became the Kenya National Backstroke Champion. Baxter came to Canada, landing on 28 March 1968, moving to Toronto.Education and Ministry
He obtained his B.A. from York UniversityYork University
York University is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is Canada's third-largest university, Ontario's second-largest graduate school, and Canada's leading interdisciplinary university....
in Humanities and his Master's Degree in Divinity from the University of Toronto
University of Toronto
The University of Toronto is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, situated on the grounds that surround Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 as King's College, the first institution of higher learning in Upper Canada...
. He has been an educator for 33 years commencing his career as a classroom teacher with the York County Board of Education in 1970. In 1972, he was invited by the Headmaster of St. George's College, Jack Wright, to join the staff. Baxter taught grades 4 through to 10, coached the school swim teams, and ran the Independent Schools Athletic Association (Swimming) in Ontario.
In 1980 Mr. Baxter resigned after a quarrel with the headmaster, Mr. Allen. Allen attempted to fire Baxter before the end of the school year. Over 400 parents protested and Baxter was immediately reinstated and an apology letter was written to him by Mr. Allen.
At the end of the school year, he resigned and entered Wycliffe College
Wycliffe College
Wycliffe College is an Anglican Church of Canada seminary federated with the University of Toronto. It is evangelical and Low church in orientation. On the other hand, the University of Toronto's other Anglican college, the University of Trinity College is Anglo-Catholic in outlook. While being an...
of the Toronto School of Theology at the University of Toronto. He was ordained in St. James Cathedral on 15 May 1983 after serving as Head of Divinity, elected by the student body at the College. He served as a priest with the Anglican Church of Canada at St. Paul's Anglican Church in Thunder Bay
Thunder Bay
-In Canada:Thunder Bay is the name of three places in the province of Ontario, Canada along Lake Superior:*Thunder Bay District, Ontario, a district in Northwestern Ontario*Thunder Bay, a city in Thunder Bay District*Thunder Bay, Unorganized, Ontario...
, Ontario
Ontario
Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....
and as Priest-in-charge of the Anglican Church of the Holy Spirit in Manitouwadge, Ontario
Manitouwadge, Ontario
Manitouwadge is a township in the Canadian province of Ontario. It is located in the Thunder Bay District, at the north end of Highway 614, east of Thunder Bay and west of Sault Ste. Marie.-History:...
. He then was an associate professor at Drake University
Drake University
Drake University is a private, co-educational university located in Des Moines, Iowa, USA. The institution offers a number of undergraduate and graduate programs, as well as professional programs in law and pharmacy. Today, Drake is one of the twenty-five oldest law schools in the country....
in Des Moines, Iowa.
In 1996 Baxter began incorporating the music and look of Elvis Presley into his services. That year, he won the Canadian Showstopper at the Collingwood
Collingwood, Ontario
Collingwood is a town in Simcoe County, Ontario, Canada. Geographically, it is situated on Nottawasaga Bay at the southern point of Georgian Bay.-History:...
Elvis Festival. In 1997 he won the Grand Champion of Showstoppers at that same festival. After that year, festival founder Billy Cann was ousted and control given to the town's business groups, a decision which Baxter objected to before Collingwood Town Council. Baxter joined Cann to establish a competing Elvis festival in Orillia and has since refused to return to the Collingwood festival.
In 1998, Bishop Ronald Ferris of the Diocese of Algoma
Algoma District, Ontario
Algoma District is a district and census division in Northeastern Ontario in the Canadian province of Ontario. It was created in 1858 comprising territory as far west as Minnesota...
removed Baxter from his parish and revoked his license to perform Anglican weddings because of his use of Elvis in Anglican services, saying it was "in poor taste." In 2002, the church revoked his invitation to be the keynote preacher at the Masonic divine service in a Toronto Anglican church. Baxter has said he found this particularly difficult, as he has been a Freemason for more than 25 years and was Worshipful Master of his lodge in 1980. Baxter attended the service anyway, in full Elvis regalia.
Baxter says that the controversy originated when the media reported that he performed weddings and funerals dressed as Elvis, which he denies doing. Instead, he says, he performs the services in traditional clerical garb and changes into the Elvis clothes for the reception. He now performs weddings with a United or Baptist minister proclaiming the couple married. He is still officially a priest on leave from the Diocese of Algoma.
In 2003, he set up an independent church, Christ the King Graceland Independent Anglican Church of Canada
Christ the King Graceland Independent Anglican Church of Canada
Christ the King Graceland Independent Anglican Church of Canada is an independent Anglican parish in Newmarket, Ontario, Canada, under the leadership of Archbishop Dorian Baxter, aka "Elvis Priestley", who presides over traditional services based primarily on the Book of Common Prayer...
in Newmarket, Ontario
Newmarket, Ontario
Newmarket is a town in Southern Ontario located approximately 50 km north of downtown Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is part of the Greater Toronto Area and is connected to Toronto by freeway, and is served by three interchanges along Highway 404. It is also connected to Highway 400 via Highway 9...
, where he continues to conduct services using Elvis' music, with his signature Elvis pompadour and sideburns. He also established the Federation of Independent Anglican Churches of North America with himself as Archbishop, claiming that he was consecrated in the tradition of the Church of England.
Political Life
Baxter has run for federal Parliament four times in the riding of Newmarket-Aurora, under the Progressive Canadian PartyProgressive Canadian Party
The Progressive Canadian Party is a minor federal political party in Canada. It is a centre/centre-right party that was officially registered with Elections Canada, the government's election agency, on March 29, 2004....
banner. In the 2004 federal election
Canadian federal election, 2004
The Canadian federal election, 2004 , was held on June 28, 2004 to elect members of the Canadian House of Commons of the 38th Parliament of Canada. The Liberal government of Prime Minister Paul Martin lost its majority, but was able to form a minority government after the elections...
, he received 1,079 votes, placing last out of five candidates. In the 2006 election
Canadian federal election, 2006
The 2006 Canadian federal election was held on January 23, 2006, to elect members of the Canadian House of Commons of the 39th Parliament of Canada. The Conservative Party of Canada won the greatest number of seats: 40.3% of seats, or 124 out of 308, up from 99 seats in 2004, and 36.3% of votes:...
he received 729 votes, and in the 2008 election
Canadian federal election, 2008
The 2008 Canadian federal election was held on Tuesday, October 14, 2008 to elect members to the Canadian House of Commons of the 40th Canadian Parliament after the previous parliament had been dissolved by the Governor General on September 7, 2008...
he received 1,004 votes. He placed fifth out of six candidates in both 2006 and 2008. In the 2011 election, he received 1,001 votes, placing fifth out of six candidates, surpassing only Yvonne Mackie of the Animal Alliance Environment party. Baxter also ran in the 2010 byelection in the riding of Vaughan
Vaughan (electoral district)
Vaughan is a federal electoral district in Ontario, Canada, that has been represented in the Canadian House of Commons since 2004.The riding covers the fast-growing region of Vaughan north of Toronto....
, finishing seventh of out eight candidates with 110 votes.
A social conservative, Baxter is pro-life
Pro-life
Opposition to the legalization of abortion is centered around the pro-life, or anti-abortion, movement, a social and political movement opposing elective abortion on moral grounds and supporting its legal prohibition or restriction...
and has criticized the consecration to the episcopate of the Episcopal Church USA of Gene Robinson
Gene Robinson
Vicki Gene Robinson is the ninth bishop of the Diocese of New Hampshire in the Episcopal Church in the United States of America. Robinson was elected bishop in 2003 and entered office in March 2004...
, a gay
Gay
Gay is a word that refers to a homosexual person, especially a homosexual male. For homosexual women the specific term is "lesbian"....
priest. He founded NAPPA (The National Association for Public and Private Accountability) after an 11-year battle with the Canada Children's Aid Society over custody of his two daughters.
Baxter serves as official Padre
Padre
Padre may refer to:* Partnership for Acid Drainage Remediation in Europe PADRE* An IDE for the Perl programming language, see Padre * A Military Chaplain* A member of the San Diego Padres baseball team...
to the Royal Canadian Legion
Royal Canadian Legion
The Royal Canadian Legion is a non-profit Canadian ex-service organization founded in 1925, with more than 400,000 members worldwide. Membership includes people who have served as current and former military, Royal Canadian Mounted Police, provincial and municipal police, direct relatives of...
Branch 426 and well as official chaplain to the Newmarket Veterans' Association.