{"id":147168,"date":"2026-09-10T08:59:00","date_gmt":"2026-09-10T12:59:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/kendallharmon.net\/?p=147168"},"modified":"2026-09-10T19:00:07","modified_gmt":"2026-09-10T23:00:07","slug":"as-the-archbishop-of-acna-steve-wood-undergoes-his-trial-a-reminder-from-his-own-diocese-of-the-charges-and-process-involved","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/kendallharmon.net\/?p=147168","title":{"rendered":"As the Archbishop of ACNA steve Wood undergoes his trial, a reminder from his own diocese of the charges and process involved"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>&nbsp;What is happening?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>On October 23, 2025,&nbsp;<em>The Washington Post<\/em>&nbsp;reported that Archbishop Steve Wood, leader of the Anglican Church in North America (ACNA), is the subject of a formal presentment\u2014a canonical complaint alleging sexual misconduct and other violations of church canons.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Summary of Allegations<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The presentment, filed October 20, 2025, centers on claims by Claire Buxton, a former children\u2019s ministry director at St. Andrew\u2019s Church in Mount Pleasant, South Carolina.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Buxton alleges that between 2021 and 2024, Wood made inappropriate comments and gestures toward her, culminating in an unwanted advance in April 2024, when he allegedly attempted to kiss her.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>She also reported receiving about $3,500 in unsolicited payments from church funds over a 13-month period.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Additional accusations in the presentment include plagiarized sermons, bullying of staff, and misuse of church resources.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>On November 7, 2025,\u00a0<em>The Washington Post<\/em>\u00a0reported that a second woman had come forward with allegations of sexual harassment, and the presentment was amended to include her affidavit and additional testimony from former colleagues.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Wood has stated he believes the allegations \u201clack merit\u201d and has expressed trust in the ACNA\u2019s canonical process.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>2. What is the ACNA doing about it?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Upon receiving the presentment, ACNA initiated its disciplinary process, referring the case to a Board of Inquiry to determine whether an ecclesiastical trial is warranted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>November 4, 2025<\/strong>, the ACNA reported that Archbishop Wood took a voluntary, paid leave of absence from his roles as Archbishop and Bishop of the Carolinas. Bishop Ray Sutton, Dean of the Province, was appointed to oversee the Archbishop\u2019s duties during the investigation. To help ensure objectivity in the proceedings, Bishop Sutton formally recused himself from all matters pertaining to Archbishop Wood\u2019s Board of Inquiry and any subsequent disciplinary process, according to the ACNA.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Bishop Sutton appointed Bishop Julian Dobbs, who is serving as Dean of Provincial Affairs, to form a three-member panel of bishops to represent Bishop Sutton in any action he may be required to take in the disciplinary process against Archbishop Wood. This newly formed panel will review and approve the composition of the Board of Inquiry (BOI) to ensure its impartiality, and receive its report.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Wood also announced his retirement as rector of St. Andrew\u2019s, describing it as previously planned.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>November 16, 2025<\/strong>, Bishop Julian Dobbs, with the written consent of the five senior diocesan bishops of the College, determined by date of admission, Bishop Julian Dobbs inhibited Archbishop Stephen D. Wood from the exercise or ordained ministry in the Anglican Church in North America, in accordance with the canons of our Church. This inhibition does not determine guilt or innocence, nor does it pre-judge any allegation or any step that may follow. The canons provide for the imposition of an inhibition when it is determined to be in the best interests of the Church to do so. The inhibition document may be found here: [<a href=\"https:\/\/linkprotect.cudasvc.com\/url?a=https%3a%2f%2fn8m68ghab.cc.rs6.net%2ftn.jsp%3ff%3d001XN3VEEMFxoYihHrALOZZljGmAUcHvwX70ZN9XgrHVmHHM7lUun7lgCirP0LxYsEgWXFTIy5tTN5c9y41QBUVQnG2uelsf2jPJmqAT37mgfCqAHAS5HMH6SR5jKNh_MWELCWq7uEzuZRziJbPdEaXfo7ONcioTHWvqoe40oPZ8FoZAv3K2mHe7HtapL8Stjjfq_33ob7Yb_QU5XurhNlELQZ466aE14f1ie6OeE7uJtU%3d%26c%3da90_mKSRaalpwpWWTUYHy7nyByhc8kUcfLYOUXTTRgGefr9ZC9TkZQ%3d%3d%26ch%3ddaJAl630WgR1gx1Dapvuy_pWzop7h3Jj9ilPCM7b_js3KhK3kTEjWA%3d%3d&amp;c=E,1,E8Izci1VepPdvaTxti3hBquNLdtuaveEzwHlOyAFd58hxf7i004l3o3gdrshebj3B-0TMjpUg2xwjV2vypViv6kn6tlDaxLk59ITC5MQaN0mHg,,&amp;typo=1\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">link to inhibition document<\/a>].<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>As stipulated in the Constitution of the Anglican Diocese of the Carolinas, Bishop David Bryan, as Bishop Suffragan, is now assuming the duties of Acting Bishop of the Diocese of the Carolinas for the duration of this period.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The ACNA has emphasized that Archbishop Wood is accountable to the same canonical standards and disciplinary process as any other leader accused of misconduct.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/adoc.church\/understanding-the-allegations-involving-archbishop-steve-wood\/\">Read it all<\/a>.<\/p><blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">The Anglican Church in North America (<a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/The_ACNA?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@The_ACNA<\/a>) has never put a sitting archbishop on trial.<br><br>That changes next week when the trial of Steve Wood begins. He faces charges of sexual immorality, abuse of church power and violating his ordination vows.<a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/9dP3rILsAF\">https:\/\/t.co\/9dP3rILsAF<\/a><\/p>&mdash; Roys Report (@ReachRoysReport) <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/ReachRoysReport\/status\/2095942708116238519?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">September 4, 2026<\/a><\/blockquote> <script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.x.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&nbsp;What is happening? On October 23, 2025,&nbsp;The Washington Post&nbsp;reported that Archbishop Steve Wood, leader of the Anglican Church in North America (ACNA), is the subject of a formal presentment\u2014a canonical complaint alleging sexual misconduct and other violations of church canons.<span class=\"ellipsis\">&hellip;<\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"read-more\"><a href=\"https:\/\/kendallharmon.net\/?p=147168\">Read more &#8250;<\/a><\/div>\n<p><!-- end of .read-more --><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":794,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[54,63,168,435,184,177],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-147168","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-south-carolina","category-anglican-church-in-north-america-acna","category-ethics-moral-theology","category-ministry-of-the-ordained","category-parish-ministry","category-pastoral-theology"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/kendallharmon.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/147168","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/kendallharmon.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/kendallharmon.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kendallharmon.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/794"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kendallharmon.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=147168"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/kendallharmon.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/147168\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":147171,"href":"https:\/\/kendallharmon.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/147168\/revisions\/147171"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kendallharmon.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=147168"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kendallharmon.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=147168"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kendallharmon.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=147168"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}