Board of Inquiry Finds Probable Cause to Try Anglican Archbishop Steve Wood on Three Charges

Archbishop Steve Wood of the Anglican Church in North America (ACNA) is to be tried in a church court, according to a memorandum sent today to members of the denomination. The memorandum was signed by the Board of Inquiry Chairman, whose name was not given in the material reviewed.

Wood faces a formal complaint submitted by ACNA clergy and laity. The complaint alleges bullying of staff, misuse of funds, and two separate allegations of inappropriate advances, brought by a former children’s ministry director and by an anonymous complainant. In the memorandum, the Board of Inquiry stated that there is probable cause to present Wood for trial for violation of Canon 2 of the church’s canons. Under ACNA governance, a presentment against a bishop is reviewed by a board of inquiry to determine whether there is enough evidence to proceed to the Court for the Trial of a Bishop, a seven-member body of clergy, laity and bishops elected for three-year terms by the Provincial Council. When the presentment is against the archbishop, the Dean of the Province, a bishop appointed by the College of Bishops, calls the board of inquiry.

The Board of Inquiry voted that three charges be considered at trial: violation of ordination vows; conduct giving just cause for scandal or offense, including the abuse of ecclesiastical power; and sexual immorality. Leaders who hold greater responsibility are held to a higher standard of answering for their conduct (Luke 12:48).

Wood was placed on temporary leave of absence on November 3. On November 17, the College of Bishops suspended him from the exercise of ordained ministry for 60 days, following the written consent of the five senior-most bishops. Bishop Julian Dobbs, Dean of the Province, has assumed the duties of the archbishop during the suspension. Wood also announced his retirement as rector of St. Andrew’s Church in Mount Pleasant, South Carolina, on November 3, and stepped aside as Bishop of the Diocese of the Carolinas, where Bishop Suffragan David C. Bryan has assumed his duties.

Wood has denied the allegations of sexual misconduct. In a October 24 letter to his congregation at St. Andrew’s, he wrote that he “unequivocally, categorically, and emphatically den[ies] in their entirety the accusations made against me by Ms. Claire Buxton, who was employed at St. Andrew’s.” He has not publicly addressed the allegations concerning financial impropriety, bullying and plagiarism, other than to write that “I believe the charges against me lack merit.” On November 13, Anglican Diocese of South Carolina Bishop Chip Edgar wrote to his own diocese that the people who brought the charges “are credible and trustworthy” and that the charges “must be investigated fully, until a trial court can determine guilt or innocence.”

The case comes amid other disputes involving ACNA bishops. In recent months the denomination has faced at least four separate instances of alleged misconduct by bishops. In September, Bishop Derek Jones left the denomination suddenly as Bishop of the Armed Forces and Chaplaincy, and his attorneys subsequently filed a lawsuit in the Federal District Court for South Carolina. The trial of Bishop Stewart Ruch, concerning the handling of sexual abuse allegations by clergy and lay leaders within his diocese, concluded in October. A verdict from the ACNA Court for the Trial of a Bishop is expected by December 16. If Ruch is found guilty on any charge, sentencing will be handled by the College of Bishops.

The College met in person December 3 to 4 at Christ Church Cathedral in Plano, Texas. In a report, the College said it had assembled in a “moment that demanded humility and seriousness.” The report stated, “We have not fully met the high calling entrusted to us,” and acknowledged “moments of weakness in our relationships with one another, instances where our courage has flagged, and occasions when we lacked attentiveness or care for the flock committed to us.” The College wrote that it asked “the clergy and people of the Anglican Church in North America to forgive us where we have not lived up to the sacred trust placed in us.”

Source: Read the original report