Two ACNA Bishops at Odds Over How to Treat Archbishop Steve Wood. Bishop Dobbs formally inhibits Archbishop Wood in zoom meeting with Bishops
- Charles Perez
- Nov 17
- 3 min read
Updated: Nov 18
By David W. Virtue, DD
November 17, 2025
There are two conflicting views emerging among ACNA bishops over Archbishop Steve Wood and how he should be treated, and whether or not he should be inhibited as he faces presentment charges related to alleged sexual misconduct, plagiarism and abuse.
Bishop Chris Warner, Diocese of the Mid-Atlantic (DOMA) has come out with a statement saying, “at the outset let me remind you at this stage, these are allegations, not findings not a verdict at trial. That this presentment was sent to the Washington Post is disheartening because the article insinuates, there is the expectation by some that the College of Bishops will not seek to do the right thing in this matter.”
Warner is too disingenuous by half. Both he and Bishop Chip Edgar (DSC) were approached by complainants in the Wood matter but they did not back a presentment.
Warner is on record stating that he was one of four bishops that complainants approached six months ago regarding Archbishop Wood: they did contact bishops before going to the media.
Warner is treating us like we are dupes and suckers. He is treating us with contempt, one knowledgeable insider told VOL.
By contrast, South Carolina ACNA Bishop Chip Edgar has called for the inhibition of the ACNA archbishop. In a letter to his diocese Edgar said, “I want to clarify my support for the Complainants in the matter concerning Archbishop Wood and I have urged the senior bishops to call for Archbishop Wood’s inhibition.”
Bishop Edgar said that it was not true that complainants had gone to the press before they initiated the disciplinary process.
“I’ve written to the College of Bishops explaining to them that, for over six months the complainants sought a way forward, following the canonical structures of the Anglican Church in North America. I and several other bishops were involved at this preliminary stage. Throughout their efforts, they were stymied by a system that appeared unable to do what it is designed to do. I’ve asked the College for a unified, public apology for these disparaging statements.”
Edgar apologized for his lack of support of the Presentment to the complainants. “Those who brought these charges forward are credible and trustworthy, and the charges they bring are serious. They must be investigated fully, until a trial court can determine guilt or innocence.”
Edgar said that calling for an inhibition of the archbishop makes no judgment as to the guilt or innocence in the face of charges, rather it is an acknowledgement that continued ministry in the face of serious charges further damages the reputation of the Church.
Among the many things missing is complete transparency.
Christopher Edward Marchand, said that those who had their hearts set on becoming primate were not elected, he wrote on Facebook.
His solution is for ACNA bishops to hire outside independent church trauma experts to openly assess the cases in front of us and advise us on our disciplinary canons, there might be hope for our future. Bishops disciplining bishops behind closed doors is a silly unworkable solution. The next time we elect a primate, we must call it an assembly, not a conclave. We are electing a leader not a pope.
ACNA is facing its Kairos moment. The bishops met on a zoom call over the weekend with Bishop Julian Dobbs (Diocese of the Living Word) declaring that Archbishop Wood had now been inhibited and he was in charge.
But one astute observer noted that what is really interesting is the College of Bishops has not in any way reassured the church that it is not going to crash and burn. “I have never seen organizational chaos so quickly dissolve into total systemic collapse…but given so much cover up over the last decade and the secrecy of the College of Bishops, it is no wonder this has happened with no checks or balances combined with the sort of autocratic tyranny I have witnessed at every turn...threats of trials and defrocking, commands to be silent, hierarchal tyranny and rogue diocesan operations.”
A complete house cleaning is needed. Anything less does not do or lead to justice for the complainants.
END
My fear is that this situation may lead to a breakup in the ACNA just as the Global Anglican Communion is finally being organized. The timing couldn't be worse. We need a stong American branch of the Global Anglican Communion. My fear is that some within the Reformed Episcopal Church, of which I am a member, may seek to break with ACNA (the REC bishops have seats in the ACNA and the original structure of the ACNA was the brainchild of an REC Presiding Bishop). If the REC were to break with ACNA it would become a mere dot on the Anglican map unless it was somehow allowed into the GAC while maintaining full independence from ACNA. Even worse, if…
Seems like none of this would've gone anywhere were it not for the questionable accusations of Claire Buxton.
We all want truth and transparency. But we can't have it can we when the bishops keep trying to silence everyone for fear of damaging a trial process or hurting someone's reputation. And then they break their own rules by sending out statements. I am so sick and tired of their trying to control the narrative and silence people. We are only as sick as our secrets, and there's a damn truckload of them that need to be exposed.
Who is the quoted "astute observer?"
The grief in all of this is not simply the allegations themselves, but the widening fracture in our witness. Whatever one thinks of the presentment, the inhibition, or the varied responses of individual bishops, the Church cannot afford to meet a moment of crisis by defaulting to defensiveness, secrecy, or intramural accusations.
The complainants deserve truth. The accused deserves truth. And the Church deserves nothing less than truth spoken in the full light of day. Transparency is not optional for a body that claims to be shaped by the Gospel.
Faithful bishops often find themselves in impossible systems—not because they lack courage, but because the structures around them do not allow clarity or timely action. When those systems falter, the…