MOUNT PLEASANT: Plot Thickens with new Sexual Harassment Charges against ACNA Archbishop Rt. Rev. Steve Wood has not been inhibited as bishops circle the wagons
- Charles Perez
- 3 days ago
- 5 min read
By David W. Virtue, DD
Nov. 8, 2025
A second sexual harassment complaint has emerged against ACNA Archbishop Stephen Wood, just weeks after reports of a first allegation erupted, leaving clergy and parishioners stunned nationwide that he was elected with knowledge by the bishops of this and other charges against him.
The Washington Post which broke the first story reported the new complaint, submitted anonymously to the church Nov. 6 by “Jane Doe 1.” It accuses Wood of misconduct and sexual harassment, alleging that he pressured her to drink alcohol alone with him despite her expressing discomfort,
The statement does not identify the location or time period when the alleged actions occurred, the newspaper reported.
Wood who faces presentment charges, is on voluntary paid leave of absence as archbishop and bishop of the Diocese of the Carolinas until proceedings against him reach a conclusion. Wood also announced his retirement as rector of St. Andrew’s Church in Mount Pleasant where he has served for 25 years.
REC Bishop Ray Sutton has assumed the archbishop’s responsibilities in the interim and the Rt. Rev. Terrell Glenn is the acting bishop.
The former church staff member accused Wood of touching the back of her head and trying to kiss her in his office in April 2024, according to The Washington Post. The woman reportedly told The Post that Wood also presented her with thousands of dollars in unexpected payments from church funds before the alleged advance. In addition, priests complained that Wood bullied church staff members, the newspaper reported.
“I do not believe these complaints have merit,” Wood said in a statement regarding the first allegation, The Post and Courier reported. “I trust the process outlined in our canons to bring clarity and truth in these matters.”
The first public accusation against Wood came from a former church ministry director at St. Andrew’s, The Washington Post first reported Oct. 23. The allegations come from Wood’s time as the leader of the church before his election in June 2024 as the Archbishop of the Province of the Anglican Church in North America.
What is staggering is that Wood has not been inhibited by the House of Bishops over the severity of the charges.
The Post emailed Wood specific questions about the allegations in the revised presentment, but he declined to comment.
If the denomination calls for an ecclesiastical trial, a guilty verdict could result in Wood’s being defrocked.
ACROSS the denomination response is beginning to pour in over the allegations.
The Rev. Dr. Kendall Harmon an ACNA priest who resides in Charleston, SC wrote that, “To state the matter carefully: ACNA is in profound trouble, and I do not think that the people in charge of ACNA see how much trouble we are in.”
Harmon placed the blame on the process by which allegations of misbehavior by ACNA leaders are adjudicated and said, “it is incredibly messed up and needs to be deeply reformed. It speaks to a process in a canonical system that does not work properly by any reasonable standard.”
Almost everyone whom I’ve seen in ACNA who is looking at the situation is looking at it backwards. They are saying things like trust the process, isn’t it terrible that people in the church felt it necessary to go to a secular newspaper like the Washington Post in order to do what they felt had to be done.
To me that is entirely upside down; the question everyone in active leadership should be asking themselves is supposing I was part of the group that made these allegations.
A group of people who love ACNA had such a profound mistrust of the existing process that they felt they had a better chance of beginning to get the truth into the light in a secular newspaper as opposed to the process provided by the church! It is clear that they did not because they felt that they could not.
Harmon charges that the Canon for Safeguarding and a chancellor who works for Steve Wood should not have been involved in the process at all. “It speaks to a process which is so deeply wrong that it is nearly or entirely bankrupt.”
Harmon charges that Bishop Ray Sutton, who is now the bishop in charge of this process, had written a letter to the ACNA House of bishops in which he discussed the overcoming of these objections by suggesting that the process by which the objections were made was legitimate. “It was anything but. Other people could have been appointed to make objections, but not people who work for or were appointed by the current person accused.” None of the other leaders have made an objection to this, said Harmon.
“What we are looking at here, brother and sisters, is a colossal mess which has so many things out of kilter one hardly knows where to start,” bemoaned Harmon. You can read his full report here:
Warren Cole Smith writing for Ministry Watch, and an Anglican, was more forthright and said it is hard to come to any conclusion other than this: ACNA is in crisis, and it is not at all clear to me that it will survive in its present form.
All of the current controversies — those involving Archbishop Wood and Bishops Ruch and Jones — have also highlighted the inadequacy of the church’s canons to deal with matters of conflict and discipline, he wrote.
Smith believes that Wood has never been up to the task and should resign as archbishop of the Anglican Church in North America.
You can read more here: https://www.virtueonline.org/post/acna-in-crisis-steve-wood-should-resign-as-archbishop-of-the-anglican-church-in-north-america
Another bishop Derek Jones, who has led the military chaplain corps, is now behind a rancorous attempt to leave ACNA and take more than 300 chaplains with him. This has been met with grim opposition by bishops Wood, Sutton and Phil Ashey who have been vocal in their opposition to Bishop Jones. Ashey contends that the charges against Jones, which include allegations of ecclesiastical power abuse and wrongful use of disciplinary processes, are grounds for an inhibition. The ACNA's College of Bishops has declared Jones' seat vacant, and the Rt. Rev. Jerome R. Cayangyang has been elected as the new Bishop for the ACNA Special Jurisdiction for the Armed Forces and Chaplaincy.
The jury is still out as to where all this will go.
One voice of moderation is the Rev. Dr. Bryan Hollon, President of Trinity Anglican Seminary in Ambridge, PA.
“The discipline taking place in our Province is not a sign of a broken church. Nor is it institutional self-protection or damage control. It is the fruit of a Christian community abiding in the Word of God. When we take Scripture seriously, believe that ordination vows genuinely bind us, and we refuse to treat moral integrity as optional – discipline becomes a necessary and ongoing process for Christian communities seeking to be faithful to Jesus Christ. The very fact that we’re willing to scrutinize and correct our own leaders is evidence that we’re taking God’s Word seriously. It’s not necessarily evidence that the church is broken. It’s often evidence the church is functioning as it should.”
He concluded by saying that “Discipline is not a sign the church is dying. It’s a sign the church is serious about holiness, that we believe our vows matter, and that Scripture’s standards apply to everyone. The ACNA was born because we needed a province where faith would be guarded and leaders held accountable. We are seeing what that looks like in practice. It’s messy and painful but necessary.”
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