(RNS) — A second woman has come forward with allegations of sexual harassment against the leader of the Anglican Church in North America after an Oct. 23 report in The Washington Post in which a former church employee detailed his alleged attempt to kiss her against her will in his office.
According to a new report from the Post, the second complaint came from a woman, identified only as Jane Doe, who accused Archbishop Steve Wood of “pressuring me to be in situations I was uncomfortable with, even after I expressed my discomfort, pressuring me to be in a private space with him, one-on-one, to drink alcohol with him, despite me saying it was inappropriate and that I was uncomfortable.”
Wood, a bishop in South Carolina, was elected last year to lead the ACNA, a small denomination that began in 2009 as a breakaway group of congregations that objected to the Episcopal Church and Anglican Church of Canada’s acceptance of openly LGBTQ+ clergy.
He also faces allegations from several priests of bullying and plagiarism. He has denied all but the most recent allegations, which he declined to comment on, and is submitting to a church process for vetting the claims.
Religion News Service was unable to reach the woman, who declined an interview request from the Post and has reportedly said she will cooperate with a church investigation if she can remain anonymous. In response to the new allegations, an ACNA spokesperson said, “In order to preserve the integrity of the formal investigation that’s underway, we cannot offer a comment.”
The Washington Post Oct. 23 report broke the story of the allegations from Claire Buxton, the former children’s ministry director who served with Wood at St. Andrew’s prior to his election as archbishop. Buxton told the Post that Wood gave her more than $3,000 from church funds and, in April 2024, attempted to kiss her in his office.
ACNA’s former communications director, Andrew Gross, told RNS that Wood exhibited concerning behavior after beginning his tenure as archbishop. Gross, who left his position earlier this year after more than a decade in the role, claimed Wood was often preoccupied about possible claims of misconduct against him.
Gross said he heard a “credible report” from sources with “first-hand knowledge” that Wood and Bishop Ray Sutton, who serves as the denomination’s dean, spoke about a possible “bishop-friendly” Board of Inquiry, a 10-person body appointed to investigate claims of misconduct against bishops after a complaint has formally been made. Sutton denied to the Post that this conversation took place.
Gross also told the Post that in the fall of 2024, when he was briefing Wood about misconduct allegations against ACNA bishops, Wood cut him off, saying he didn’t want to know anything more.
On Monday, Wood announced a voluntary paid leave of absence from his position as archbishop and as bishop of his diocese. He also made effective his previously planned retirement as rector of his church in Mount Pleasant, South Carolina.
In the interim, Sutton will take over Wood’s responsibilities as archbishop. Sutton has appointed a Board of Inquiry that will assess the charges against Wood, including alleged violation of ordination vows, conduct giving cause for “scandal or offense” and sexual immorality; that board, which must still be approved, will determine whether Wood will face a church trial.
But Gross said Sutton’s alleged collusion with Wood to manipulate the Board of Inquiry has introduced further questions about the process. “I am concerned about what role Sutton may have had, or may have in the future, in forming and overseeing the Board of Inquiry,” Gross told RNS. “The ACNA membership desperately needs this process to be, as a bishop is supposed to be, above reproach.”
An update that appeared Friday on the ACNA website said Sutton had recused himself from “all matters pertaining to Archbishop Wood’s Board of Inquiry and any subsequent disciplinary process.” Bishop Julian Dobbs, who is assisting Sutton during the archbishop’s absence, will form a three-member panel of bishops who will “review and approve the composition of the Board of Inquiry to ensure its impartiality,” receive the board’s report and represent Sutton in any other action during the disciplinary process involving Wood.
Gross said it will be crucial to clarify what Sutton’s role is, as well as the roles of the denominational office’s staff and lawyer, now that the archbishop is on leave. “For the processes going forward to be credible, the ACNA membership needs to know who is leading, who is supporting the process, how they are doing so and who is being appropriately firewalled off,” he said.
Earlier this week, a group of four chaplains with ties to ACNA’s chaplaincy jurisdiction released a public statement criticizing Sutton’s appointment as interim archbishop for separate reasons. The chaplains say Sutton played a key role in mishandling their complaints against Bishop Derek Jones, who oversees the Jurisdiction of the Armed Forces and Chaplaincy, which has clashed with church leaders over an investigation into Jones’ behavior. In September, the jurisdiction, which was responsible for endorsing, or credentialing, ACNA’s chaplains, exited the denomination and sued it for trademark infringement and unfair business practices.
A mediation between ACNA and the jurisdiction ended in an impasse, and ACNA has until Nov. 18 to respond to the jurisdiction’s complaint, according to an ACNA spokesperson. Last month, the spokesperson said, ACNA was approved as a religious endorser by the Armed Forces Chaplaincy Board and can now endorse its own chaplains.
The chaplains who issued the public statement believe Sutton lacks the credibility to lead the denomination. In emails to RNS, a representative of the group wrote, “The main concern is about restoring Provincial credibility and biblical witness. In our opinion Sutton has a documented history of not carefully handling cases of spiritual abuse.” They claim Sutton’s failure to take their complaints seriously caused one chaplain to face “years of emotional and psychological harm.”
“The ACNA in our opinion needs to put itself in compliance with standard, evidence-based, proven processes of Human Resources and employee discipline,” the spokesperson for the chaplains told RNS in the email. The ACNA is in the midst of overhauling its clergy misconduct and abuse protocols, though any changes adopted next year would not go into effect until January 2027.
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