Mike Pilavachi, the vicar who founded the Soul Survivor Christian youth festivals, “used his spiritual authority to control” victims, the Church of England has concluded as it commissioned a KC-led review.
Pilavachi, 65, is the charismatic evangelical Christian founder of Soul Survivor Watford church in Hertfordshire, as well as its namesake summer youth festivals, which ran from 1993 until 2019 and attracted tens of thousands of teenagers from around the world.
Since April, The Telegraph has been uncovering the allegations of abuse levelled at Pilavachi and spoke to his victims who revealed for the first time how they were encouraged to receive full-body oil massages in their underwear in his bedroom and vigorous wrestling matches that could last as long as 20 minutes at a time – sometimes in church.
As a result of the allegations against him, the Church of England’s National Safeguarding Team (NST) and the Diocese of St Albans launched a joint investigation, which prompted more than 100 people to come forward. On Wednesday it concluded that safeguarding concerns relating to his leadership and ministry spanning 40 years were substantiated.
The internal investigation found that Pilavachi exhibited “an abuse of power relating to his ministry and spiritual abuse”, adding: “he used his spiritual authority to control people and that his coercive and controlling behaviour led to inappropriate relationships, the physical wrestling of youths and massaging of young male interns.”
The NST said that the substantiated concerns related to his conduct in his leadership and ministry at Soul Survivor both before and after he was ordained in 2012 and spanning 40 years from his time as a youth leader through to the current day.
Soul Survivor Watford said in a statement: “We are deeply sorry to all those people who have been victims of spiritual, emotional and psychological abuse under Mike’s leadership through a systematic pattern of coercive and controlling behaviour.”
The church has now commissioned an independent review to be led by Fiona Scolding KC, with a full report to be published upon conclusion.
Responding to the NST announcement, Richard Scorer, a solicitor at Slater and Gordon who represents some of the complainants, said: “We will need to see the full detail, but we certainly welcome the acknowledgement by the NST that abuse has occurred and that safeguarding concerns have been substantiated.
“We previously called for an independent KC-led review and so welcome the announcement of this in principle, although obviously we will need to see the terms of reference and understand the exact scope of the review to assess whether it meets the need for a comprehensive independent inquiry.”
However, one source who gave evidence to the NST and who spoke on condition of anonymity, said that the NST conclusions did not go far enough, adding: “Yet another milquetoast response without the guts to call a spade a spade.”
The Soul Survivor movement has spawned global offshoots in countries including the Netherlands, South Africa, Australia, Canada, the US, and New Zealand, which continue to run today, and has converted thousands of people to the faith.
As a result of the allegations made against him, Pilavachi was suspended from Soul Survivor Watford in May, while the NST and the Diocese of St Albans carried out an internal investigation which has repeatedly been criticised for its lack of independence.
In July, Pilavachi made his first public statement saying he “seeks forgiveness from any whom I have hurt” as he resigned as associate pastor of the church he founded. He also resigned his licence to the Bishop of St Albans, and therefore cannot currently minister in the Church of England.
‘The blast radius of his toxic leadership’
Responding to the outcome of the NST and Diocese of St Albans’ internal investigation, David Gate, a US-based poet and writer who was a former leader of Soul Survivor and a victim of Pilavachi’s spiritual abuse, said: “The NST is right in affirming that Mike engaged in decades long, systematic patterns of emotional and psychological abuse.
“I hope more of those testimonies make it into the public sphere so we can know the whole saddening truth about his ministry. It is hugely disappointing that Mike will face no direct consequences after his cowardly decision to quit the CofE. Once again he leaves everyone else to deal with the blast radius of his toxic leadership.”
The internal church investigation has previously prompted criticism from those who have disclosed evidence, as well as victims, who have accused it of being “toothless”.
The NST investigators had previously said that only if there was evidence of misconduct after 2012, when Pilavachi was ordained, can a separate investigation be triggered and internal Church disciplinary proceedings be activated.
However, following the conclusion of its internal review, NST officials have taken out a complaint against Pilavachi under the Clergy Discipline Measure – the internal church disciplinary mechanism – relating to a safeguarding concern following his ordination. The NST said that this was an ongoing process and it could provide any further details.
‘This has been a painful process’
The Bishop of St Albans, the Rt Rev Alan Smith, said: “This has been a painful process for everyone involved, going back over years. I am sorry on behalf of the Church for the hurt caused and would like to acknowledge the courage of those who came forward to share their lived experience. I am aware there will be further contact with individuals about a more personalised response.”
A spokesman for Soul Survivor Watford said: “We are grateful to all those who have contributed to this process, who by coming forward have brought Mike’s abusive behaviour into the light. We are deeply sorry to all those people who have been victims of spiritual, emotional and psychological abuse under Mike’s leadership through a systematic pattern of coercive and controlling behaviour.
“We are saddened that these behaviours happened in a context that should have provided safety and spiritual support. We are committed to learning lessons from what has happened and to put in place further practices and procedures that will seek to ensure this kind of behaviour does not happen in the future.
“We are aware of the hurt many individuals have and continue to experience as a result of Mike’s abuse and are truly sorry for the part Soul Survivor has played. We have been working with the NST to provide counselling and advocacy support to the individuals they have identified as finding it most beneficial. We remain committed to ensuring our church is safe and welcoming for all.”
The Telegraph understands that the NST did not inform detectives from Hertfordshire Constabulary, who are aware of the internal NST review, of the outcome of its investigation. However, it is under no obligation to do so.
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