As the Church of England goes woke, hundreds of Anglican priests are joining the Roman Catholic Church. A report in the Telegraph yesterday relays that one third of Catholic priests ordained between 1992 and 2024 were former Anglican clergy members. That amounts to 700 Anglican (and Scottish Episcopalian) priests joining the Catholic Church since the Anglican Church’s 1992 decision to allow women to become priests. The study cited by the Telegraph, carried out by St. Mary’s University in London, stated that 16 Anglican bishops also converted to Catholicism.

This year is the 1,700th anniversary of the Council of Nicaea, in which the civil government intervened to force the unification of Christian doctrine. Many Christian leaders are using the occasion to advocate for reunification. Yet the Bible tells us that such “Christian unity” is not always good.

The 700 Anglican priests who joined the Catholic Church are correct that the Bible forbids women to be priests (1 Timothy 2:12), but they do not understand what the Bible teaches about a great false church (see Revelation 17-19).

The Bible often uses the symbol of a woman to represent a church (2 Corinthians 11:2; Revelation 19:7; Ephesians 5:22-27). Isaiah 47 describes a specific church that it calls “the lady of kingdoms.” She has relations with and influence over many nations, but she has protesting daughter churches. She vows to bring her daughters back into the fold, saying, “I shall not sit as a widow, neither shall I know the loss of children” (verse 8).

Herbert W. Armstrong, who founded the Plain Truth (predecessor to the Trumpet), taught for decades that scriptures such as this one describe a coming reunification of Catholics and Protestants. Notice this excerpt from the October 1961 Plain Truth:

The pope will step in as the supreme unifying authority—the only one that can finally unite the differing nations of Europe. The iron jurisdiction over both schools and religion will be turned over to the Roman Catholic Church. Europe will go Roman Catholic! Protestantism will be absorbed into the ‘mother’ church—and totally abolished.

To understand what the Bible says about the religious system that will dominate the Western world in this generation, request your free copy of Mr. Armstrong’s booklet Who or What Is the Prophetic Beast?