Scotland’s first woman bishop is at the centre of a “bullying” row that is threatening to cause a schism with the Episcopal Church.
The Rt Reverend Anne Dyer, 63, was consecrated as the Anglican bishop of Aberdeen and Orkney in 2018. The Scottish Episcopal Church has begun an investigation after she dismissed the musical director at her cathedral and suspended a high-profile priest.
Lord Glenarthur, a church member and a minister of state for Scotland in the Thatcher government, was so dismayed that he wrote to The Most Rev Mark Strange, primus of the Scottish Episcopal Church, urging him to intervene. He alleges that he was “deliberately misled” when he asked Bishop Dyer about recent developments and insisted that there was growing unease over her conduct.
Last year she and the other bishops from the country’s third largest Christian denomination took part in bullying awareness training after a report suggested that harassment was endemic within Scotland’s Anglican community. A survey found a “negative atmosphere which can foster bullying and harassment within the church” — with more than a third of clergy reporting being victimised.
Read it all (requires subscription).
Scotland’s first woman bishop is at the centre of a bullying row – a year after all bishops in the Episcopal Church underwent bullying training. https://t.co/xMUczJ2YIY
— TimesEditorScotland (@magnusllewellin) January 9, 2021