Overview
- An ACNA Board of Inquiry concluded there is probable cause to charge Stephen Wood with violating ordination vows, sexual immorality, and conduct giving just cause for scandal or offense, including abuse of ecclesiastical power.
- The case will proceed to the Court for the Trial of a Bishop, a seven-member body that adjudicates charges against bishops under church canons.
- A presentment filed in October by clergy and laity triggered the inquiry after reporting detailed allegations of sexual misconduct and abuse of power, with later coverage noting a second formal accusation.
- Wood has denied wrongdoing, is on voluntary leave, and is under a 60-day inhibition from ministry issued with the consent of five senior bishops.
- Provincial duties are being handled by Dean Bishop Julian Dobbs and the Diocese of the Carolinas by Acting Bishop David Bryan, and potential penalties upon conviction range from censure to suspension to removal from ministry.