New Hampshire Episcopal Bishop Tells Clergy to Prepare for 'New Era of Martyrdom' Over ICE Crackdown

📌 Key Facts

Jonathan Daniels was an Episcopal seminarian who did civil-rights work in Alabama and was killed in 1965.
Martin Luther King Jr. praised Daniels as performing "one of the most heroic Christian deeds" of his ministry.
The Episcopal Church has declared Daniels a martyr and saint; his feast day on Aug. 14 marks his arrest for peaceful protest, not the day of his death.
Bishop Robert Hirschfeld explicitly invoked Daniels’ example at the Jan. 9 Concord vigil for Renee Nicole Good.
At that vigil Hirschfeld told New Hampshire clergy to "get their affairs in order" and to prepare for "that same witness."

Many progressive users on X praise Bishop Hirschfeld's call as a courageous moral stand against perceived injustices in immigration enforcement, drawing parallels to the civil rights movement and emphasizing the Christian duty to protect the vulnerable.
Conservative commentators on X criticize the bishop for promoting civil disobedience and potentially endangering clergy by encouraging them to defy federal law, arguing that churches should not interfere in immigration policy.
Immigration advocates highlight how this reflects growing tensions in sanctuary cities, using the story to push for policy reforms that address root causes like family separations and deportation fears rather than confrontational tactics.
Religious scholars and historians on X contextualize the 'era of martyrdom' rhetoric by referencing the 1980s Sanctuary Movement, where churches sheltered refugees, noting similarities in resisting government overreach on humanitarian grounds.
Skeptics from various backgrounds express concern that such dramatic language could escalate conflicts unnecessarily, urging dialogue and legal avenues over physical confrontations to avoid violence in an already polarized immigration debate.

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Follow how coverage of this story developed over time

January 20, 2026

9:20 PM

MS NOW by Rachel Maddow

New information:

Provides extended historical framing by recounting the life, Alabama civil-rights work, and 1965 killing of Episcopal seminarian Jonathan Daniels, whom Martin Luther King Jr. praised as performing 'one of the most heroic Christian deeds' of his ministry.
Explains that Daniels has been declared a martyr and saint by the Episcopal Church, with a feast day on Aug. 14 marking his arrest for peaceful protest, not the day of his death.
Clarifies that Bishop Robert Hirschfeld explicitly invoked Daniels’ example at the Jan. 9 Concord vigil for Renee Nicole Good when telling New Hampshire clergy to 'get their affairs in order' and prepare for 'that same witness.'

January 18, 2026

5:55 PM

ABC News