ACNA Archbishop Steve Wood Denied Motion to Dismiss Trial

ADOSC Bishop praises newly adopted canons. Calls for greater transparency

By David W. Virtue, DD | www.virtueonline.org | June 16, 2026

ACNA Archbishop Steve Wood has been denied his motion to dismiss the canonical case against him. The presentment includes three formal charges: violation of ordination vows, conduct giving just cause for scandal or offense, and sexual immorality. The Diocese of the Carolinas confirms these correspond to specific canons — Violation of Ordination Vows (Canon IV.2.1.3), Conduct Giving Just Cause for Scandal or Offense (Canon IV.2.1.4), and Sexual Immorality (Canon IV.2.1.6). A supplementary motion to dismiss was also denied.

The court further ruled that no statute of limitations exists under ACNA's canons for charges brought in the presentment of a bishop or archbishop — foreclosing what appeared to be one of the defense's strategies and clearing the way for the trial to proceed on the merits.

The province's motion asking the College of Bishops to observe the trial was denied. A motion for an in camera (closed) trial, however, was granted.

Disciplinary Canons Reform Draws Praise

In other ACNA news, Diocese of South Carolina Bishop Chip Edgar praised the newly adopted canons making it easier to bring disciplinary charges against a bishop or priest. "Such canonical requirements, absent until now, contributed to the level of distrust and frustration marking our province today," Edgar said. "I completely support these revisions and have been impressed with the rigorous and transparent process the province undertook to get us here."

Edgar said he was particularly focused on a proposal to ratify — through a second and final vote — a change first approved by last year's Provincial Council: elevating the Governance Task Force (GTF) into a permanent Provincial Constitution and Canons Committee, written into the Canons themselves rather than left as a matter of province policy.

He added that his own diocese has put forward two resolutions for Provincial Council's consideration. The first calls for public release of the transcript from Bishop Ruch's recent trial, with redactions as necessary to protect witnesses. The second calls for public release, once complete, of the final report from the Lathrop investigation into the process leading up to that trial. "Our goal in proposing these resolutions is simple," Edgar said. "We hope to see trust that has been deeply eroded over the past few years restored in the province as it continues to navigate challenging waters."

A province that asks the watching world to take its confession of Christ seriously cannot afford to try its own bishops in the dark. Sunlight, not secrecy, is what will tell us whether ACNA still means what it says.

David W. Virtue DD writes about Anglican issues from an orthodox perspective. His website can be accessed here: www.virtueonline.org His Substack on the Middle East can be viewed here: davidvirtue2.substack.com