| Tony Palmer | |
| Birth Name: | Anthony Joseph Palmer |
| Birth Date: | 4 February 1966 |
| Occupation: | Pastor |
| Bishop | |
| Church: | Communion of Evangelical Episcopal Churches |
| Type: | Bishop |
| Honorific Prefix: | The Right Reverend |
Tony Palmer, born Anthony Joseph Palmer, (4 February 1966 – 20 July 2014) was a British-born South African theologian, missiologist, missionary and author.[1] He served as a bishop within the Communion of Evangelical Episcopal Churches, and held informal ecumenical dialogue with the Catholic Church through Pope Francis until his death.[2]
Palmer was born in the United Kingdom and moved to South Africa when he was 10 years old. He and his wife maintained a website, called the Ark Community, which is described as "an internet-based, Inter-denominational Christian Convergent Community, drawing our spirituality from the 'Early Church' (33–600 AD), in particular, Celtic Christian spirituality."[3] On the Ark Community website he was known as "Father Tony Palmer" instead of using the style The Right Reverend or the title "bishop".[4] Through this religious community, Palmer served as a bishop of the Communion of Evangelical Episcopal Churches.
In January 2014, he was sent by Pope Francis to a charismatic conference hosted by televangelist Kenneth Copeland.[5] Bishops Palmer and Emilio Alvarez participated in "The Miracle of Unity".[6] [7] On 20 July 2014, after injuries sustained in a motorbike accident,[8] Palmer died.[9] [10]