Eastern philosophies, naturopathy and esotericism are part of the areas of expertise of Reverend Francisco Javier Alonso, a priest at the Anglican church in Vigo, which belongs to the Spanish Reformed Episcopal Church (IERE) and whose bishop in Spain has been Carlos López Lozano for more than three decades.

Javier Alonso, who also goes by the names Javier Akerman or Sangye Dorje (a name referring to a spiritual yoga guide) on social media, was ordained as a priest in 2011.

In the region of Galicia, reverend Alonso is known for regularly organising retreats on Eastern spirituality, meditation and yoga, which he combines with his ministry in the Anglican Church.

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The Anglican vicar from Vigo is also in contact with Masonic, theosophical and esoteric movements. He has been ordained within a Templar Masonic movement called the “Mar Thoma Liberal Catholic Church”, whose primate, Alistair Herrick Bate (who calls himself Tau Blaise as a “druid”), has officiated at religious ceremonies in the worship place of the Anglican church in Vigo.

Esotericism amongst Anglicans

The Mar Thoma Liberal Catholic Church holds a “clearly esoteric” doctrinal position, says Luis Santamaría, one of Spain’s leading experts on cults. In a chapter of his book A las afueras de la cruz (On the Outskirts of the Cross), published in 2023, Santamaría examines the practices of this specific group.

The author identifies Francisco Javier Alonso Rebollo as a member of the cult, underlining that he is also “an active priest of the IERE”.

According to researcher, the Mar Thoma Liberal Catholic Church “offers a single objective to its initiates: the realisation and manifestation of their inner Christ” through “the sacraments as means of spiritual enlightenment, supplemented by meditation”. According to his research, the group organises initiation trips to Glastonbury, championing the union “of the mystical traditions of the East and West”.

The leader of this movement, “Tau Blaise” (Alistair Bate), appears in several photographs of various Masonic ceremonies, in some of which he is also accompanied by the Anglican Francisco Javier Alonso.

Blaise acknowledges on social media that his journey of spiritual discovery has included initiation into Wiccan magic. He considers himself the successor to a lineage of magical guides “of the universal priesthood of Melchizedek”, which includes well-known occultists and Satanists such as the Englishman Aleister Crowley.

In another document, Blaise signs a diploma from the ‘Grand Priory of St Andrew’ under the ‘Holy Celtic Order of the Temple’ to authorise ‘Reverend Francisco Javier Alonso Rebollo-Akerman’ in the ‘Ecossais Rectifié’ Masonic rite.

Internal complaint

The Anglican Church in Spain faced a crisis in 2025 once these links of the Vigo priest came to light amongst priests of the IERE. The facts had been brought to the attention of Bishop Carlos López but no disciplinary action was being taken against Reverend Alonso.

One of the vicars sent a circular letter addressed to his Anglican colleagues in Spain in which he denounced Alonso’s practices as heretical. The response from Spain’s Anglican bishop was one of full support for the Vigo priest.

The IERE’s Standing Commission, led by Bishop Carlos López, went further, and issued a statement on 4 July 2025 rejecting the accusations against the reverend in Vigo. According to the Anglican leadership in Spain, the “defamatory letter” had “baseless” allegations which sought to “sow division and confusion amongst the faithful and ministers”.

The Anglican Church's Commission said “the Reverend Francisco Javier Alonso (…) is a minister in full communion, who fully upholds Christian doctrine as expressed in the doctrinal forms and the statement of faith of our Church”. Therefore,  denouncing esoteric practices in a IERE church “undermines the truth”. The Standing Commission closed its public response with a threat to “take legal action in defence of the honour, truth and integrity” of the IERE.

The priest who had sent the circular was dismissed from his posts by Bishop Carlos López.

Resignations

The crisis was not contained as other priests also reacted. In September 2025, Julian Milson tendered his resignation, after six years of ministry as pastor of the Anglican parish in the city of Valencia.

In an interview published on Evangelical Focus, Milson lamented the decisions taken by the IERE’s Standing Committee in handling this crisis. When announcing his resignation to the local congregation, Milson explained how he found it untenable to continue belonging to a church organisation that supports a minister involved in esotericism, magic and Freemasonry.

Another reverend from a parish in Barcelona resigned in July 2025. Speaking to Spanish news website Protestante Digital, he explained that he did not wish to remain with the IERE after examining the evidence and seeing how the Standing Committee and Bishop Carlos López were closing ranks around Reverend Alonso.

In recent months, Protestante Digital has sent questions to Bishop Carlos López for this report, but has received no response.