Episcopal Priest Deposed From Ministry For Endorsing Psychedelic Drugs, Magic Mushrooms

The Rev. Hunt Priest, founder of the ‘Christian Psychedelic Society’ Ligare, was deposed from the Episcopal Church’s ministry by Bishop Frank Logue of Georgia earlier this week, concluding a 13-month Title IV disciplinary process.

The action followed a complaint by the Rev. Joe Welker, a Presbyterian pastor and former Ligare intern, who accused Priest of endorsing illegal psychedelics, particularly psilocybin, and leveraging his priestly authority to promote Ligare’s mission, which the diocese deemed outside sacramental ministry.

In 2015, Priest was reading the progressive Christian magazine The Christian Century when he came across an advertisement for a study by researchers at Johns Hopkins, reading: “Seeking Clergy to Take Part in a Research Study of Psilocybin and Sacred Experience.”

He participated in the study, which he described as a “profound” and “very Christian” experience that alleviated his severe anxiety and shaped his advocacy for integrating psychedelic healing into pastoral care. According to The Living Church, Priest resigned as rector of St. Peter’s Church in Savannah in 2021 to found Ligare, a “Christian psychedelic society discerning how our faith and traditions may support the ethical and spiritually grounded use of psychedelics for the purpose of healing and renewal.”

Ligare is also an “open network of people who believe that Christianity and other existing religious traditions offer paths for preparing for, experiencing, finding meaning, and integrating mystical experiences, including those occasioned by sacred plants and compounds.”

Despite insisting that his organization did not provide psychedelic experiences but instead focused on educating clergy about medical research to support congregants undergoing treatment, akin to other medical pastoral care, the diocese launched an investigation.

Welker, who described himself as a former “believer in the psychedelic gospel,” raised concerns about Ligare’s ethics, alleging deceptive practices and insufficient focus on risks, including reports of sexual abuse in psychedelic trials. He ended his internship early, citing recklessness, and later initiated the Title IV complaint after receiving a cease-and-desist letter from Priest’s lawyers regarding his critical Substack posts.

The diocese’s investigation, conducted by an outside lawyer and reviewed by a four-person reference panel, cited church canons on “conduct involving dishonesty, fraud, deceit, or misrepresentation” and “conduct unbecoming a member of the clergy.”

The panel concluded that Priest’s public statements promoted the safety of psychedelics, a Schedule I controlled substance under federal law, rather than their legal use, and that his work at Ligare did not align with traditional priestly duties.

Bishop Logue offered Priest the option to resign from Ligare and return to parish work or surrender his ordination. Priest chose to resign his priesthood, viewing Ligare as an extension of his ministry, a perspective the diocese’s reference panel rejected.

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