King Charles has stripped the founder of Soul Survivor – an evangelical offshoot of the Church of England – of his MBE over an abuse scandal involving him wrestling and massaging young men in their underwear, it was revealed today.
Mike Pilavachi, 67, established the Anglican youth movement in 1995 and teenagers from around the world attended his annual summer festivals in their tens of thousands.
Pilavachi, described as the UK’s top ‘spiritual celebrity’, was disgraced over allegations he gave young men ‘oil massages’ while they were in their underpants in his bedroom.
The disgraced ex-Anglican priest would also take part in vigorous semi-naked wrestling matches lasting up 20 minutes. He would often sit on top of the loser.
These bouts were sometimes in church, backstage, before he began preaching to the packed Soul Survivor church in Watford.
Alleged victims said they were controlled and manipulated by the cult-like pastor who tried to paint himself as a ‘naive, celibate big kid’ when he was accused of abuse.
Even in 2020 he won praise from the then Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, who had invited him to Lambeth Palace to recognise his ‘outstanding contribution to evangelism and discipleship amongst young people’.
Later that year he was handed MBE in the New Year’s Honours for his services to young people.
But his honour has been taken away by the King, the Telegraph reported today.
Chris Bullivant, a former Soul Survivor employee, said: ‘It’s a relief that those in charge recognise what Pilavachi was doing was not appropriate pastoral care of young people’.
Pilavachi built a vast evangelical from his base in Watford over 30 years.
He founded Soul Survivor but also a Soul61 gap year course and a university programme called Momentum, all aimed at teenagers and young adults.
His church was embraced by the Church of England but he was only ordained himself in 2012.
Soul Survivor was most famous for its summer festivals, featuring evangelical preaching and music.
35,000 teenagers attended each year paying £122 for a week.
A key part of the event was Pilavachi, who was famed for his African-inspired shirts that were also worn by followers.
He is unmarried and would speak about his own vow of celibacy and the importance of no sex before marriage.
But in 2023 he stood down from the ministry and resigned from all related charity boards after young men came forward to accuse him of abuse.
A Church of England investigation a year later found he used coercive and controlling behaviour to form inappropriate relationships with members of his church.
It emerged there were concerns about his behaviour over 40 years from his time as a youth leader to his ordination in 2012 and beyond until he was exposed.
His ‘inappropriate and harmful’ wrestling with young men continued until 2018.
The report said: ‘The overall substantiated concerns are described as an abuse of power relating to his ministry, and spiritual abuse; described in guidance as a form of emotional and psychological abuse characterised by a systematic pattern of coercive and controlling behaviour in a religious context.
‘It was concluded that 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.’
David Gate, a former member of Soul Survivor who says he felt emotionally manipulated by Pilavachi, told The Sunday Times previously: ‘Sometimes I’d wrestle with him before events, sometimes it would be backstage, but always fully clothed in the company of others.
‘He did that a lot with young men. It was a sign that he liked you — you were one of ‘Mike’s boys’.
‘There seemed to always be a favourite — usually athletic, always male teenagers or young men — no older than 23.
‘If he’d win — and often he was a lot bigger than us — he might sit on top of you.
‘Looking back, it must have appeared strange, a well-built man wrestling on the floor with a 16-year-old boy.’
Victims spoke of their relief and were praised for their bravery.
Soul Survivor said in a statement: ‘We are deeply sorry to all those people who have been victims of spiritual, emotional and psychological abuse, physical wrestling and massage under Mike’s leadership.
‘There has been 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.’
It continued: ‘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.’
