{"id":15566,"date":"2026-09-30T09:54:10","date_gmt":"2026-09-30T13:54:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/christnewstoday\/?p=15566"},"modified":"2026-09-30T09:54:10","modified_gmt":"2026-09-30T13:54:10","slug":"episcopal-priest-sparks-outrage-after-claiming-god-is-nonbinary-and-jesus-is-trans","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/christnewstoday\/2026\/09\/episcopal-priest-sparks-outrage-after-claiming-god-is-nonbinary-and-jesus-is-trans.html","title":{"rendered":"Episcopal Priest Sparks Outrage After Claiming \u2018God is Nonbinary\u2019 and \u2018Jesus is Trans\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"
The Dissenter \/ X<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

An Episcopal priest in New York City is facing widespread criticism after a sermon resurfaced in which the priest claimed \u201cGod is nonbinary\u201d and suggested Jesus Christ was transgender.<\/p>\n

The Rev. Flourish Klink<\/a>, who identifies as transgender and nonbinary, made the remarks during a March homily at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine in New York City. The sermon<\/a> later drew renewed attention after a clip posted to X<\/a> went viral, drawing millions of views and strong reactions from Christian leaders.<\/p>\n

\u201cGod is nonbinary,\u201d Klink told the congregation. \u201cBut I\u2019m going to go further than that, and I\u2019m going to say God is actually also trans.\u201d<\/p>\n

Klink argued that because God transcends human categories of male and female, Jesus was \u201cassigned a gender at birth\u201d when Mary recognized Him as a boy.<\/p>\n

\u201cGod isn\u2019t a boy, we have established this. God is beyond boy and girl,\u201d Klink said. \u201cGod was assigned a gender at birth, and later on it became clear that that gender wasn\u2019t quite right.\u201d<\/p>\n

Klink went on to suggest Jesus\u2019 life challenged traditional masculinity because He did not marry and interacted with women in ways that were unusual for His time.<\/p>\n

The priest acknowledged that the argument was speculative and not explicitly stated in Scripture, but went further when discussing Christ\u2019s resurrection. Noting that Jesus was not immediately recognized in some post-resurrection appearances, Klink suggested He could have returned in a different form.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think Jesus was resurrected as Jesus\u2019 true self, which is beyond male or female,\u201d Klink said. \u201cI think Jesus was not only transfigured; I think Jesus transitioned.\u201d<\/p>\n

The claims drew immediate pushback from Christians who pointed to biblical passages identifying Jesus as male. In Luke 1:30-31, the angel Gabriel tells Mary before Christ\u2019s birth that she will \u201cgive birth to a son\u201d and name Him Jesus.<\/p>\n

Bishop Ceirion H. Dewar of the Confessing Anglican Church criticized Klink\u2019s interpretation, arguing that Christian leaders should distinguish personal speculation from biblical revelation.<\/p>\n

\u201cJesus Christ is not a blank canvas upon which ungodly clergy may paint whatever anthropology happens to be fashionable in their generation,\u201d Dewar wrote<\/a> on X.<\/p>\n

He also stressed that people struggling with questions about sex or gender deserve \u201ccompassion, dignity and serious pastoral care,\u201d while arguing that changing historic Christian teaching about Christ is not the appropriate response.<\/p>\n

Christian author and broadcaster Eric Metaxas also condemned the sermon.<\/p>\n

Historic Christian teaching affirms both that God transcends human limitations and that Jesus became fully human as a man. The New Testament repeatedly refers to Christ as male, including His identification as the Son of God and the promised descendant of David.<\/p>\n

Klink holds a Master of Divinity from Union Theological Seminary and co-chairs the Greater New York Area Episcopal Trans Task Force<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The controversy comes as other progressive interpretations of biblical figures and gender are generating debate online, highlighting the growing divide among Christians over sexuality, gender and the authority of scripture.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

An Episcopal priest in New York City is facing widespread criticism after a sermon resurfaced in which the priest claimed \u201cGod is nonbinary\u201d and suggested Jesus Christ was transgender. The Rev. Flourish Klink, who identifies as transgender and nonbinary, made the remarks during a March homily at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine in…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":516,"featured_media":15569,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fbia_status":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-15566","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\nEpiscopal Priest Sparks Outrage After Claiming \u2018God is Nonbinary\u2019 and \u2018Jesus is Trans\u2019<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"An Episcopal priest sparks outrage after claiming \u201cGod is nonbinary\u201d and suggesting Jesus was transgender in a viral sermon.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" 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