14 January 2022
ACNA engages Husch Blackwell LLP to investigate allegation of sexual abuse and mishandling of efforts to address such allegations. (Husch Blackwell Report)
14 January 2022
Bishop Ruch writes Archbishop Beach. He says, “I have decided to come off of my voluntary and temporary leave of absence effective March 7, 2022.”
14 January 2022
Alec Smith writes Archbishop Beach. He requests “…that the Provincial processes currently underway regarding two investigations of matters pertaining to Bp. Stewart and the Upper Midwest Diocese (“UMD”) be halted, that a sit-down meeting between Your Grace and Bp. Stewart (along with advisors) be arranged to discuss the further progress of these investigations, and that all further investigative activity and results be submitted to canonical procedures and norms.”
17 January 2022
Price, Roes, and VandeHei resign from the PRT.
8-12 February 2022
UMD Bishop’s Council meets with ACNA leadership discussing Ruch ending his LOA. UMD Bishop’s Council decides to ask Bishop Ruch to remain on leave until after the ACNA investigations are complete.
12 February 2022
Bishop John Miller calls Bishop Ruch, who is in Brazil for a family funeral, notifying him of the Bishop’s Council’s decision.
“Bp. Stewart was irate with this news and how Bp. John had never seen this side of him before…he was shocked at Stewart’s initial response to him. He reported that it took him a long time to calm Bp. Stewart down and that, by the end of the conversation, Bp. Stewart had returned to “being the person we all know and love.”
“Stewart shared that he’s been lied to, deceived, worst nightmare ever been through.”
Ruch says his relationships with Provincial leaders are deeply fractured.
March 2022
Bishop Derek Jones wrote to the primates of the Church of Nigeria and ACNA recommending canonical release of the Jurisdiction of the Armed Forces and Chaplaincy from the Church of Nigeria to the ACNA.
26 June 2022
Acting UMD Bishop John Miller places Fr. Joshua Moon and another leader on a leave of absence to allow an inquiry into allegations that Moon engaged in “a series of inappropriate interactions with a fellow member of the clergy under his direct supervision and pastoral care” that “included serious lapses of judgment and failure to maintain boundaries which violated acceptable and expected pastoral and personal behavior applicable to an ordained presbyter in this Church, a rector in this Diocese entrusted with the pastoral care of God’s people, and a married man.”
According to reporting by the Washington Post in 2025, the allegations were based on the following:
According to J.A. and church correspondence, on June 9, 2022, at St. John’s Abbey Guesthouse, northwest of Minneapolis, Moon entered her room uninvited after the two hung out by a lake along the property, she said. He put his hand on her back under her shirt and below her waist. Then, he tried to kiss her, and she stopped him.
Days later, J.A., who is also married, reported the incident to Ruch and two other church officials, she said. Despite his leave of absence, Ruch weighed in, chastising her for being alone with Moon in any setting, according to her interview and a letter she wrote to the then-archbishop. He offered her a prayer of absolution for her “sin,” she said.
“It was absolutely manipulative,” J.A. said. “What Bishop Ruch should have told me in that moment was that Josh had a criminal history and, ‘I’m so sorry — you were sexually assaulted.’”
That summer, shortly after Moon was removed as his church’s priest, he wrote to congregants. “I hope that you will somehow, someday, in love, forgive me in my needing to agree with this step,” he said.
Moon, 45, declined an interview request.
By the fall of 2022, J.A. acknowledged a failure “to maintain appropriate personal boundaries,” a confession she said she signed under threat of an ecclesiastical trial that could have ended in defrocking.
“I never wanted him to touch me nor did I invite him to,” she told The Post. “And I’ve said that repeatedly, including to Bishop Ruch.”
In September 2023, one day before J.A.’s year-long suspension would be over, Ruch extended the punishment by nine months. Citing her unwillingness to meet with him in person, he wrote in a letter to her that he could not “ascertain” her “readiness” to return to active ministry. He also barred her from speaking publicly about her disciplinary process.
Furious, she lodged a 200-page appeal with the then-archbishop, who agreed with her contention that the church’s canons didn’t permit Ruch to extend her sentence. Eventually, Ruch allowed her to transfer to another diocese, but only after she served nearly all of her prolonged punishment.
“Josh’s abuse was absolutely destructive to my life,” said J.A., now a children’s pastor at an Episcopal church in Minnesota. “But the way Bishop Ruch and the church responded was ruinous.”
29 July 2022
Fr. Josh Moon formally admitted his responsibility for the violations identified in the Accusation. Bishop Miller writes, “Subsequently, after a great deal of prayer, reflection, and ongoing consultation with my Canonical Advisory Team (our Acting Chancellor Todd Johnson, the regional Dean, Fr. Paul Calvin; and canonical advisor, Fr. James Sweeney), Fr. Christian and Canon Molly Ruch, I imposed a disciplinary sentence upon Fr. Josh, which I and all my advisors believed was appropriate and warranted. Under the terms of that Sentence, Fr. Josh was suspended from pastoral ministry for life…”
Mid 2022
According to the Final Order in the Stewart Ruch trial: “…by mid-2022, internal tensions and political pressures within the College of Bishops had grown. Bishops expressed divergent views on safeguarding expectations, diocesan autonomy, appropriate responses to advocacy groups, the role and conduct of independent investigations, and whether disciplinary action should be pursued before investigations were complete. Some urged rapid, visible action against diocesan leadership based on perceptions, rumors, or public pressure. Others insisted that canonical due process must be preserved. This divergence produced friction within the College. Witnesses acknowledged feeling “pressured” or “swept up” by public narratives, while others emphasized their desire for impartial review.”
Bishop Menees reaches out repeatedly to Archbishop Beach, telling him to reach out to Ruch because “he’s sinking here. He’s falling into a depression. He’s been isolated and alone.”
A Zoom meeting occurs with Archbishop Beach, Bishop Menees, Bishop Ruch, Bishop Lowenfield, Bishop Atwood, and Bishop Reed. Menees recollects that they, “…discussed different things about what’s going on and how come nothing’s happening. Nothing’s moving forward. No one signed anything, etc., etc.”
27 September 2022
Husch Blackwell submits its report to the Provincial Response Team. “…per the terms of our engagement, we have not rendered any legal determinations or assessment of other policies or rules. The purpose of this report is to provide a comprehensive summary of the information collected so that the Province can assess it and determine any responsive actions.”
12 October 2022
The Telios report is delivered to the provincial leaders overseeing the investigation into Bishop Ruch. According to later reporting, it clears Ruch and blames attacks on “frustration with his conservative theology.” (Final Order of Ruch trial)
13 October 2022
Bishops Menees, Reed, Lownfield, and Dobbs demand an investigation of rumor and innuendo about Bishop Ruch. They submit a formal request to Archbishop Foley Beach asking that the provisions of Title IV, Canon 4, Section 4 to be invoked. Bishop Dobbs later says, “I willingly joined in this demand because I was personally aware of significant rumor and innuendo within the College of Bishops and the Province about Bishop Stewart’s leadership in his diocese.” (Final Order in the Ruch trial)
This request did not result in any action.
22-23 December 2022
Three bishops (Hunter, Gillin, and Ross) signed a Presentment charging Bishop Ruch with violations of Title IV Canon 2. Archbishop Beach begins the process of selecting a Board of Inquiry to evaluate the Presentment.
Senior bishops determine that Bishop Ruch should not be inhibited.
5 January 2023
Archbishop Beach informs Bishop Ruch a presentment has been received but declines to provide a copy. The Archbishop stated that Bishop Ruch would receive the presentment after that weekend, which did not happen.
7 January 2023
Chancellor Philbrick of the UMD sends a letter to Archbishop Beach demanding the presentment.
12 January 2023
During a College of Bishops meeting, Bishop Ken Ross approached Bishop Ruch and informed him that he is one of Bishop Ruch’s accusers. Bishop Ross further informed Bishop Ruch that Bishop Ross did not necessarily believe that Bishop Ruch was guilty of any crime warranting discipline, but that he was encouraged by provincial leaders to sign the presentment in order to “keep the process going.”
14 January 2023
Archbishop Beach instructs Bishop Ruch to submit a Canon IV.4.2 request by January 31.
31 January 2023
Bishop Ruch makes a secret appeal to the Provincial Tribunal to declare the Presentment invalid. The Tribunal fails to give proper notice to the Presenting Bishops or the Provincial Chancellors. They are not given a copy of what Bishop Ruch filed or given the opportunity to address the issue.
4 February 2023
The Tribunal, led by Bishop Julian Dobbs, issues a stay order attempting to block the process and compel Archbishop Beach to halt the process of fulfilling my canonically mandated responsibility to appoint a Board of Inquiry and referring the Presentment to it.
15 February 2023
Julian Dobbs as Presiding Judge and Bishop issues a Summons to Archbishop Beach to respond to Ruch’s Amended Petition for Declarations, which ended with a request from the Tribunal “…dismissing the presentment and enjoining the Archbishop from submitting the Presentment and Addendum to a Board of Inquiry.”
29 March 2023
Archbishop Beach responds to Bishop Dobbs in a letter, saying, “The Tribunal should vacate its purported “Stay Order” immediately. The “Stay Order” was issued in violation of the Tribunal’s own Rules of Court, in violation of the ACNA Canons, in violation of due process, natural justice and fairness, and without proper jurisdiction. The “Stay Order” is not in fact a “stay” of the Tribunal’s own proceedings but rather a purported temporary restraining order (“TRO”) issued to another canonical officer and body. The “Stay Order” was issued without any factual showing by the Petitioner nor any argument or authority to satisfy the heavy burden that a movant seeking a TRO or preliminary injunction must carry. Rather than preserve the status quo, the “Stay Order” purports to reverse the status quo. It is void ab initio, without legal effect, and should immediately be formally vacated before any further proceedings.”
7 June 2023
Archbishop Beach sends a Province-wide email about the contention with the Tribunal and Bishop Ruch.
1 April 2024
ACNA Ecclesiastical Court for the Trial of a Bishop convicts Bishop Todd Atkinson of Via Apostolica of several offenses, and he was removed from ordained ministry following the conclusion of his ecclesiastical trial.
4 May 2024
Ruch’s legal team files a Motion to Disqualify the Provincial Prosecutor.
22 June 2024
ACNA elects the Rt. Rev. Steve Wood, bishop of the Diocese of the Carolinas as the third Archbishop. Bishop Derek Jones claims he stopped Bishop Julian Dobbs from election.
26 June 2024
Claire Buxton tells a clergyman in South Carolina that Steve Wood sexually harassed her.
30 June 2024
The Ruch court rules against a motion from Ruch to disqualify the Provincial Prosecutor, Alan Runyan.
19 September 2024
Bishop Chip Edgar tells Rev. Robert Sturdy that Buxton and others should seek reconciliation with Steve Wood.
26 March 2025
Presentment and affidavits are given to Bishop Edgar, who agrees to sign the presentment and recruit signatures.
15 April 2025
Two bishops refuse to read the presentment, including DOMA Bishop Chris Warner. Another bishop reads it and proposes private reconciliation. According to the Washington Post:
“Chris Warner, a Virginia-based bishop overseeing churches in the Mid-Atlantic, told The Post in an interview that he declined to endorse the presentment. He said that when he was approached in May, he didn’t read the complaint. He said he knew from one of its authors that the document contained allegations that Wood behaved “improperly” with a female staff member at St. Andrew’s Church. But Warner said he didn’t know about the specific allegation — that Wood placed his hand on the back of the woman’s head and tried to turn it toward him for a kiss.
Still, he said, “I had some sense that (the allegation) was possible along those lines.” He said he understood that there was a “potential unwanted advance that did not involve physical touch.”
In the spring, when Warner was asked to review the presentment, he said he told one of its authors that the group should first submit the complaint to the denomination’s head of safeguarding and canonical affairs. He said that if they felt “stonewalled” through that process, they could return to him — and then he’d read it.”
27 May 2025
The Vestry of Incarnation Anglican Church (Williamsburg, VA) write Archbishop Wood, requesting an inquiry into DOMA Bishop Chris Warner for “multiple grievous contraventions of canonical duty, pastoral responsibility, and episcopal integrity under 1 Peter 5:2–3; Titus 1:7–9; 1 Timothy 3; and Title III, Canon 8 of the Canons.”
19 July 2025
C. Alan Runyan resigns as Provincial Prosecutor from the Ruch trial. He calls for “the entire record including everything submitted to the Court since this prosecution began” to be made available to the ACNA churches and members.
25 July 2025
Deputy Prosecutor in the Ruch trial, Rachel Thebeau, writes a public letter stating: “The proper channels are now compromised. Our sheep deserve better from our shepherds who are called to lay down their lives for us, not the other way around. You deserve to know that the Archbishop was aware his staff and chancellor made decisions that had a direct, negative, and irreversible impact on the Court proceedings. You deserve to know that a court member took intentional actions to go outside the process and it undermined the integrity of the Court. You deserve to know that the Archbishop is avoiding the real problem that remains by hanging the Provincial Prosecutor out to dry. You deserve to know what happened. You deserve to see the video and transcript and decide for yourself. You deserve a complete and competent prosecution. And you deserve an archbishop, staff, and court that is honest with you.
I’m sorry for all of us that this has not been the case.
29 July 2025
ACNA issues a joint statement from the College of Bishops and the Executive Committee affirming the integrity of the Archbishop, his provincial staff, and the Chancellor.
29 July 2025
Bishop Chip Edgar writes his diocese and says he “was not involved in the development of that statement and tried to object to its release…”
8 August 2025
The Standing Committee of the Anglican Diocese of South Carolina writes to the clergy, “…we request an independent, third party investigation into the Provincial Office’s actions during the course of the trial, to begin no later than 60 days after the conclusion of the trial process. We invite other Dioceses of the ACNA to join us in this petition.”
26 August 2025
Dean Michael Guernsey of Holy Cross, Loganville (Foley Beach’s home church) placed on a leave of absence.
12 September 2025
Archbishop Wood issues a Godly Admonition to Bishop Jones.
22 September 2025
Bishop Jones conducts an All Hands video denying the charges, attacking the ACNA, and stating that Bishop Dobbs is guilty of financial misconduct.
25 September 2025
The Standing Committee of the Diocese of the Living Word issues a statement, including: “After careful review of the public allegations made on September 23rd by Bishop Derek Jones regarding financial matters from 2017-2019, and having examined the independent forensic accounting review conducted by Paul Cursano CPA, the Standing Committee unanimously finds these allegations to be without merit and slanderous in nature.”
16 October 2025
GAFCON proclaims a reordered Global Anglican Communion “governed by a Council of Primates, choosing from among ourselves a primus inter pares—a first among equals—to serve in collegial oversight.”
20 October 2025
A group of four priests and seven lay ACNA members submits allegations of sexual, financial, and behavioral misconduct against Archbishop Steve Wood.
23 October 2025
The Washington Post reports a presentment against Archbishop Wood, including sexual misconduct with a staff member, financial misconduct, spiritual abuse, and plagiarism.
31 October 2025
Bishop Clark Lowenfield writes to the ACNA College of Bishops, saying in part “We, corporately, are and will be responsible before our Lord’s throne for the accountability of each other as Apostles. And I believe that accountability must begin with ourselves, individually. We all must repent of so much.”
3 November 2025
ACNA Archbishop Wood takes a voluntary paid leave of absence from his position as archbishop and as bishop of his diocese pending the resolution of proceedings to address allegations brought against him.. He also made effective his previously planned retirement as rector of his church in Mount Pleasant, South Carolina.
Bishop Ray Sutton takes on the role temporarily.
4 November 2025
The Standing Committee of the Diocese of South Carolina meets in executive session with Bishop Edgar, Canon Jim Lewis, and Ben Hagood to review the allegations in the Presentment against Archbishop Wood.
4 November 2025
An open letter from clergy claiming to be victims of Bishop Derek Jones is published on Anglican Ink and is distributed to all of the members of the ACNA College of Bishops by a senior member of the college. It claims “We submit to you that the College of Bishops in the past has been willfully ignorant, grossly incompetent, and negligent, and that this is attested by the fact that none of them knew that Derek Jones, the previous chaplaincy endorser for the ACNA, registered his personal 501c3 with the Armed Forces Chaplains Board while claiming to represent the entire denomination as the ACNA endorser.”
It alleges spiritual abuse of at least two clergy.
6 November 2025
The court in the Derek Jones lawsuit vs. ACNA granted in part and denied in part the 8 Oct 2025 request for a temporary restraining order.
7 November 2025
The Washington Post reports that the amended complaint against Archbishop Wood now contains the statement of a woman identified as “Jane Doe 1,” who alleges that Wood sexually harassed her.
On the evening of November 7 the ACNA announces that Bishop Sutton recused himself from the Wood matter and that Sutton appointed Bishop Julian Dobbs to appoint, in turn, a three-member panel of bishops to “review and approve the composition” of the already-selected Board of Inquiry. (https://livingchurch.org/news/acna-archbishop-faces-second-sexual-misconduct-complaint/)
Andrew Gross, ACNA’s former communications director, “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.”
13 November 2025
Bishop Chip Edgar writes to his diocese and informs them that he has written to the College of Bishops: “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 (if it is worth noting that this is well known, and a complete overhaul of these Canons is currently underway and should be completed about a year from now). I’ve asked the College for a unified, public apology for these disparaging statements.”
“In addition, in my letter to the College of Bishops, I urged the senior bishops tasked with calling for an inhibition of the Archbishop to do so. An inhibition makes no judgment as to guilt or innocence in the face of charges. Rather, it is an acknowledgment that continued ministry in the face of serious charges further damages the reputation of the Church.”
There is a follow up Zoom meeting with the laity and Standing Committee.
14 November 2025
Journalist Ian Shapira says on X that ACNA “is now calling Archbishop Steve Wood’s paid leave of absence a “voluntary inhibition.”
This is the first known mention of Wood’s leave being an inhibition.
15 November 2025
The Diocese of South Carolina publicizes that it will contact the College of Bishops “…urging them to correct the false narrative that has circulated regarding the victims, and to not only inhibit Archbishop Wood but to issue a godly admonition.Separately, DOMA Bishop Chris Warner admits that “…he was one of the four bishops that complainants approached six months ago regarding (the) archbishop.” (Jeff Walton on x)
15 November 2025
The College of Bishops met on November 15, 2025, by Zoom, with the Chancellor in attendance. Ray Sutton resigns as the Dean. Bishop Julian Dobbs is made the Dean.
16 November 2025
Bishop Dobbs inhibits Archbishop Wood.
2 December 2025
At the request of the ACNA, the JAFC attorneys send an ‘offer of compromise subject to Rule 408 of the Federal Rules of Evidence’ to the ACNA.
2 December 2025
Former Archbishop Beach announces the resignation of Dean Michael Guernsey from Holy Cross, Loganville due to various aspects of parish leadership, communication, and Fr. Michael’s overall health and wellbeing.”
3-4 December 2025
ACNA bishops meet in person in Plano for a “Special Called Meeting” “During our meeting, we heard from those bishops who had prior awareness of the presentment that was later filed against Archbishop Steve Wood. This required us to engage in forthright conversation about the responsibilities of episcopal oversight, the need to speak truthfully among ourselves, and the necessity of guarding the integrity of our common life. We did not pass over these matters lightly. The discussion was undertaken with seriousness, candor, and a commitment to rebuild confidence where it has been shaken.”
Bishop Ashey writes about the meeting, “We spent significant time listening to one another, asking questions of those bishops who had prior awareness of the current presentments, and discussing the lack of clarity that has long dogged our efforts to apply discipline to ourselves as bishops. By discipline, I mean discipline that is honest, open, and consistent with the principles of natural justice, due process, fairness and the unique purpose of such discipline—to make better disciples of everyone in the process. We prayed for those who are in pain, for those who have brought complaints, and for all who are walking through the disciplinary processes of the Church. Bishop Julian Dobbs, Dean of Provincial Affairs, rendered an extraordinary service to the province by shaping our time together around honest and difficult conversations, punctuated by prayer, a litany of repentance, and the opportunity to seek confession for our own sins, with an elder bishop-confessor set aside for that purpose.”
6 December 2025
The ACNA College of Bishops sends a report on their meeting. The collective statement says “In a spirit of honest repentance, we express sorrow for the hurt that these shortcomings have caused, and we ask the clergy and people of the Anglican Church in North America to forgive us where we have not lived up to the sacred trust placed in us.”
10 December 2025
The Bishop Derek Jones group creates a new denomination, the Anglican Reformed Catholic Church. It is incorporated in Alabama by Deacon Joe Saloom. The denomination starts with The Anglican Diocese of St. Andrew for the west, The Anglican Diocese of St. Martin for the east, and the JAFC remaining as it was. The initial leadership consists of Bishop Michael Williams, Archdeacon Basil Maduka, and Bishop Jones.
12 December 2025
The ACNA Board of Inquiry finds that there is probable cause to present Archbishop Wood for trial for violation of Canon 2 of Title IV. Three charges will be considered:
- Violation of Ordination Vows (Canon IV.2.1.3);
- Conduct giving just cause for scandal or offense, including the abuse of ecclesiastical power (Canon IV.2.1.4); and
- Sexual Immorality (Canon IV.2.1.6).
16 December 2025
The court for the Stewart Ruch trial finds him not guilty on every count.
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