(RNS) — Archbishop Steve Wood, who leads the Anglican Church in North America, will face a church trial beginning on July 20, according to an announcement from the court Tuesday (April 21).

He has been accused of sexual harassment, bullying and plagiarism and faces three church charges: alleged violation of ordination vows, conduct giving cause for “scandal or offense” and sexual immorality. The Tuesday announcement also revealed that Wood filed a motion to dismiss the case. The court will hear arguments on that motion beginning on May 7.

“We are grateful to the Court for its diligent work in this matter,” said the Rt. Rev. Julian Dobbs, who serves as dean of the province, in the statement. “I ask that our clergy and lay members join me in earnest prayer that God, in His wisdom and providence, would bring a just and righteous resolution, that His Church would be preserved in truth and unity, and that all parties involved would know His grace.”

Wood was inhibited, or temporarily suspended from his ministry, in mid-November, days after more than 140 clergy in the denomination signed an open letter calling for his inhibition. Wood previously announced he was taking a paid, voluntary leave of absence on Nov. 3, after a series of reports in The Washington Post in which a former church employee and another woman accused Wood of unwelcome sexual advances.

A bishop in South Carolina, Wood was elected in 2024 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 and marriage for same-sex couples.

The Washington Post’s Oct. 23 report broke allegations from Claire Buxton, a former children’s ministry director who served with Wood at St. Andrew’s in Mount Pleasant, South Carolina, prior to his election as archbishop. Buxton alleged to the Post that Wood gave her more than $3,000 from church funds and, in April 2024, attempted to kiss her in his office. A second woman, who identified herself only as Jane Doe, claimed Wood pressured her into situations she was “uncomfortable with” and to drink alcohol with him. It’s unclear when these alleged incidents took place.

Wood also faces allegations from several priests of bullying and plagiarism. He has denied all but the most recent allegations of sexual harassment from the unnamed woman, which he declined to comment on, and submitted to the church process for vetting the claims.

Only two other bishops have been tried in the Anglican Church in North America. Bishop Todd Atkinson was deposed in May 2024 after a church trial found he had engaged in inappropriate relationships with women and interactions with minors. On Dec. 16, an ACNA church court declared Bishop Stewart Ruch, an Anglican bishop accused of mishandling abuse allegations and failing to safeguard parishioners, not guilty on all counts after a long and tumultuous investigation process. The next day, over 70 ACNA clergy, 100 lay members and 25 former ACNA members called for an independent, third-party assessment of the Ruch investigation and trial. 

In March, ACNA’s executive committee announced it hired the firm Lathrop GPM to review how the denominational offices handled the Ruch disciplinary process, including the resignation of members from a team overseeing the abuse investigation in Ruch’s diocese and allegations of improper sharing of abuse case files with the court. The firm will not revisit the Ruch trial outcome.

The anti-abuse advocacy group ACNAtoo noted that Lathrop has been critiqued in church abuse circles for prioritizing institutions over survivors, including by the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests and advocate and lawyer Boz Tchividjian.

A fourth bishop, Derek Jones, will face a church trial on charges including disobeying church bylaws and promoting schism. Jones oversaw a jurisdiction that endorsed ACNA’s chaplains and announced his departure from the denomination in September after the archbishop moved to investigate misconduct allegations against him. His trial date has not yet been set.

For years, church leaders have been developing a proposed overhaul of Title IV, the denomination’s clergy misconduct and abuse protocols. The rewrite aims to clarify the process, making it easier to submit complaints against bishops while also introducing “off-ramps” so that not every complaint becomes an investigation. After several cycles of public feedback, the proposed changes will be considered this June. If adopted, the revisions would go into effect in January 2027.