CHARLESTON (SC)
Juicy Ecumenism (The Institute of Religion and Democracy) [Washington DC]
December 12, 2025
By Jeffrey Walton
Archbishop Steve Wood of the Anglican Church in North America (ACNA) is to be tried in a church court according to a memorandum directed to members of the denomination today.
Wood faces a formal complaint submitted by ACNA clergy and laity alleging bullying of staff, misuse of funds, and two separate allegations of inappropriate advances brought by a former children’s ministry director and an anonymous complainant.
“The Board of Inquiry finds that there is probable cause to present Archbishop Wood for trial for violation of Canon 2 of this Title,” the memorandum, signed by the unnamed Board of Inquiry Chairman, reads. In ACNA governance, a presentment against a bishop is evaluated by a board of inquiry to determine if there is enough evidence to proceed to the Court for the Trial of a Bishop (a canonically established body of seven total clergy, laity and bishops elected for three year terms by the denomination’s Provincial Council).
In the case of a presentment filed against a diocesan bishop, the board of inquiry is called by the archbishop. In the case of a presentment against the archbishop, the Dean of the Province (a bishop appointed by the College of Bishops to assist in the governance, administration, and mission of the province) calls the board of inquiry.
The Board of Inquiry voted that three charges should be considered in the trial: Violation of Ordination Vows (Canon IV.2.1.3); Conduct giving just cause for scandal or offense, including the abuse of ecclesiastical power (Canon IV.2.1.4); and Sexual Immorality (Canon IV.2.1.6).
Wood was initially placed on a temporary leave of absence on November 3. On November 17, the denomination’s 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, who serves as Dean of the Province, has assumed the duties of the Archbishop during this period.
Wood has sought to refute the first claim of sexual abuse, writing on October 24 to his congregation of St. Andrew’s Church in Mount Pleasant, South Carolina that “I unequivocally, categorically, and emphatically deny in their entirety the accusations made against me by Ms. Claire Buxton, who was employed at St. Andrew’s.”
Wood announced his retirement as rector of St. Andrew’s Church on November 3 and simultaneously his leave of absence as Bishop of the Diocese of the Carolinas where Bishop Suffragan David C. Bryan has assumed his duties.
The archbishop has not addressed those allegations concerning financial impropriety, bullying and plagiarism, other than to write that “I believe the charges against me lack merit.”
“Those who brought these charges forward are credible and trustworthy, and the charges they bring are serious. They must be investigated fully, until a trial court can determine guilt or innocence,” Anglican Diocese of South Carolina Bishop Chip Edgar wrote to his own diocese on November 13.
In recent months the ACNA has faced at least four separate instances of alleged misconduct by bishops, including the sudden departure from the denomination in September of Bishop Derek Jones as Bishop of the Armed Forces and Chaplaincy, whose attorneys subsequently initiated a lawsuit in the Federal District Court for South Carolina. Additionally, the trial of Bishop Stewart Ruch, regarding the mishandling of sexual abuse allegations by clergy and lay leaders within his diocese, concluded in October. A verdict by the ACNA Court for the Trial of a Bishop is expected by December 16. If Ruch is found to be guilty on any of the charges, sentencing will be handled by the College of Bishops.
The College met in person December 3–4 at Christ Church Cathedral in Plano, Texas. A report issued by the College stated that they assembled in a “moment that demanded humility and seriousness.”
“We have not fully met the high calling entrusted to us,” the report stated, acknowledging “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.”
“At times, these weaknesses have fallen short of the expectations the Province rightly has for its leaders. In a spirit of honest repentance, we express sorrow for the hurt that these shortcomings have caused, and we ask 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.”
More from IRD:
Anglican Archbishop on Leave Amidst Allegations
‘Season of Strain and Sorrow’: Anglican Bishops Inhibit Archbishop
Primary Sources:
Memorandum on the Presentment of Archbishop Steve Wood
News & Updates On Archbishop Wood
Report from the College of Bishops Meeting