Dorian Baxter

His Grace  Dorian Baxter
Christ the King Graceland Independent Anglican Church of Canada
Enthroned	2003
Successor	incumbent
Orders
Ordination	15 May 1983
Consecration	9 March 2003
Personal details
Birth name	Dorian Baxter
Born	3 April 1950 (1950-04-03) Mombasa Island, Kenya
Nationality	Canadian
Children	Rachel, Malaika
Alma mater	York University and the University of Toronto

Dorian Baxter (born 3 April 1950 in Mombasa Island, Kenya) 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.

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 University 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.^{[citation needed]}

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. Baxter was consecrated on 9 March 2003 in Newmarket by the Rt. Rev'd Christopher Andrew Jukes of Calgary, Alberta, who at that time was a bishop in the Communion of Evangelical Episcopal Churches using the traditional ordinal of the Book of Common Prayer (1962 Canada). He also established the Federation of Independent Anglican Churches of North America with himself as Archbishop; this organisation was incorporated by Federal Canadian Letters Patent on 1 October 2003.

Political Life

Baxter has run for federal Parliament four times in the riding of Newmarket-Aurora, under the Progressive Canadian Party 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.

Electoral record

Canadian federal election, 2011: Newmarket—Aurora
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±pp
	Conservative	Lois Brown	31,600	54.29	+7.56
	Liberal	Kyle Peterson	13,908	23.90	-10.39
	New Democratic	Kassandra Bidarian	8,886	15.27	+6.80
	Green	Vanessa Long	2,628	4.52	-3.71
	Progressive Canadian	Dorian Baxter	998	1.71	-0.18
	Animal Alliance Environment Voters	Yvonne Mackie	182	0.31	–
Total valid votes			58,202	100.00
Total rejected ballots			219	0.37	–
Turnout			58,421	64.01	–
Eligible voters			91,275	–	–

Canadian federal election, 2008: Newmarket—Aurora
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±pp
	Conservative	Lois Brown	24,873	46.73%	+8.68%
	Liberal	Tim Jones	18,250	34.29%	-11.93%
	New Democratic	Mike Seaward	4,508	8.47%	-1.12%
	Green	Glenn Hubbers	4,381	8.23%	+3.46%
	Progressive Canadian	Dorian Baxter	1,004	1.89%	+0.65%
	Christian Heritage	Ray Luff	211	0.40%	N/A

Canadian federal election, 2006: Newmarket—Aurora
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±pp
	Liberal	Belinda Stronach	27,176	46.22%	+3.80%
	Conservative	Lois Brown	22,371	38.05%	-4.37%
	New Democrat	Ed Chudak	5,639	9.59%	-0.34%
	Green	Glenn Hubbers	2,805	4.77%	+0.30%
	Progressive Canadian	Dorian Baxter	729	1.24%	-0.86%
	Canadian Action	Peter Maloney	79	0.13%	N/A

Canadian federal election, 2004: Newmarket—Aurora
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±pp
	Conservative	Belinda Stronach	21,818	42.42	-2.43
	Liberal	Martha Hall Findlay	21,129	41.08	-9.48
	New Democratic	Ed Chudak	5,111	9.93	+6.18
	Green	Daryl Wyatt	2,298	4.47
	Progressive Canadian	Dorian Baxter	1,079	2.10	–
Total valid votes			51,435	100.00	–
Change is from redistributed 2000 results. Conservative change is from the total of Canadian Alliance and Progressive Conservative votes.

See also

• Elvis impersonator

External links

• Official website