Renowned Christian author Philip Yancey has publicly admitted to a lengthy extramarital affair, declaring in a statement to Christianity Today that he can no longer serve in ministry roles.

In a candid acknowledgment of his actions, Yancey expressed no attempt to justify the affair, instead recognizing the moral failings and the profound impact of his choices.

“I am deeply ashamed to admit that for eight years, I willingly engaged in a sinful affair with a married woman,” Yancey stated. “This behavior goes against everything I uphold about marriage, contradicts my faith, and has inflicted significant pain on her husband and our families. For the sake of privacy, I will not disclose further details,” he added, as reported by Christianity Today.

Philip Yancey appeared at Waterstone Community Church on April 18, 2019, in Littleton, Colorado. (Photo by Joe Amon/MediaNews Group/The Denver Post via Getty Images)

Yancey further stated, “I have confessed my wrongdoing to God and my wife and am now committed to a professional counseling and accountability program. I have failed both morally and spiritually and am deeply saddened by the harm I’ve caused. I understand that my actions may disillusion readers who have previously trusted my work. Most distressingly, my sin has brought dishonor to God. I am overwhelmed with remorse and repentance and rely solely on God’s mercy and grace,” he conveyed, according to the publication.

“I am now focused on rebuilding trust and restoring my marriage of 55 years. Having disqualified myself from Christian ministry, I am therefore retiring from writing, speaking, and social media. Instead, I need to spend my remaining years living up to the words I have already written. I pray for God’s grace and forgiveness — as well as yours — and for healing in the lives of those I’ve wounded,” Yancey wrote in the emailed statement, according to Christianity Today.

He also supplied the outlet with a statement from his wife. 

A Denver County Jail inmate confined to dormitory Twelve Alpha reads a book by Philip Yancey called Where Is God When It Hurts?  ( Karl Gehring/The Denver Post via Getty Images)

In the statement, Janet Yancey noted that in the face of this “trauma and devastation” she does not plan to break her “marriage vow,” and she asked for people to pray for her and her husband.

“I, Janet Yancey, am speaking from a place of trauma and devastation that only people who have lived through betrayal can understand. Yet I made a sacred and binding marriage vow 55½ years ago, and I will not break that promise. I accept and understand that God through Jesus has paid for and forgiven the sins of the world, including Philip’s. God grant me the grace to forgive also, despite my unfathomable trauma. Please pray for us,” she said in the statement, according to the outlet.

Christian cross against the sky.  (Godong/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)

In a 2023 piece about being diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease, Yancey wrote, “I have an omnicompetent wife of 52 years who takes my health and well-being as a personal challenge.”

“Sixteen years ago, when I lay strapped to a backboard with a broken neck after an auto accident, Janet drove through a blizzard to retrieve me. Already she was mentally redesigning our house in case she needed to prepare for life with a paralytic. She shows that same selfless, fierce loyalty now, even as she faces the potentially demanding role of caregiving,” he wrote in the piece.