The Anglican Church in North America faces an escalating crisis on multiple fronts, including a $1 million lawsuit from its former chaplaincy jurisdiction, the disaffiliation of that body and formal misconduct allegations against two of its most senior bishops.
The fledgling denomination broke away from the Episcopal Church in 2009 over issues such as LGBTQ clergy, same-sex weddings and women’s ordination. The current set of complex conflicts escalated publicly in late September 2025 and has since devolved into internal disputes and civil litigation, straining the young breakaway denomination’s systems of accountability.
On Oct. 6, the Jurisdiction of the Armed Forces and Chaplaincy, led by Bishop Derek Jones, filed a lawsuit against the ACNA in U.S. District Court. The suit alleges trademark infringement and seeks $1 million in damages.
Stephen D. “Steve” Wood
The lawsuit is the culmination of a dispute that went public Sept. 22, when ACNA Archbishop Steve Wood inhibited Jones from ministry, citing “credible complaints” of abuse of “ecclesiastical power.”
In response, the JAFC, which functions as the official endorsing body for ACNA chaplains, immediately announced its departure from the denomination. Jones and the JAFC leadership argue the JAFC is an independent nonprofit entity and Archbishop Wood’s investigation was unlawful. The ACNA disputes this, maintaining the JAFC is a “canonical ministry” of the church. The denomination’s College of Bishops subsequently declared Jones’ seat vacant and elected a new bishop to oversee its chaplains.
The lawsuit claims the ACNA’s actions have caused “irreparable harm” to the JAFC’s “business reputation and goodwill,” resulting in the loss of half its income and chaplains.
The complaints against Jones are numerous and continue to trickle in.
First, there are allegations from chaplains who described Jones as heavy-handed and “vindictive,” claiming he threatened to revoke their ecclesiastical endorsements (a requirement for their jobs) if they missed tithe payments. Critics of JAFC allege Jones was the master of an elaborate “pay to play” system that mandated Anglican chaplains pay a tithe of their income to the jurisdiction or risk losing their endorsement. If a chaplain wants to seek an endorsement elsewhere because they cannot afford the mandatory offering, JAFC canons forbid chaplains from even “making inquiry” about transferring to another jurisdiction or endorsement.
Second, on Oct. 28 hosts of “Anglican Unscripted,” a popular independent news and analysis show in the Anglosphere, confirmed that a formal presentment was filed against Jones, accusing him of a “pattern of fraud, abuse, lying, conduct unbecoming a member of the clergy, spiritual bullying and emotional bullying.”
George Conger
George Conger, an Episcopal priest in the Diocese of Central Florida and cohost of “Anglican Unscripted’ stated that the allegations, which reportedly date back to 2022, were allegedly “sat on” by the denomination’s former archbishop, Foley Beach.
The alleged complaint, the text of which has not been made public, paints Jones as a “petty and vindictive tyrant” who sought to “destroy the person making the allegation.”
Conger also chimed in with his own assessment as a pastor and priest: “We’ve had detailed reports from some of his alleged victims and these poor fellas, they are suffering. Something happened. … It’s hard to understand or if you’re not in the victim’s shoes to see how angry they are, how hurt they are.”
For his part, Jones has denied the allegations, telling RNS they are “unfounded” and suggesting the conflict is part of a broader theological debate over his complementarian stance against what he calls the ACNA’s “egalitarian agenda” and “woke” culture.
Meanwhile, as BNG previously reported, Archbishop Steve Wood is facing his own separate misconduct allegations. These include allegations of sexual harassment of a former employee at his church in 2024, bullying and cursing at staff, and alleged financial impropriety.
“Anglican Unscripted” hosts alleged in their most recent episode that there are “rumors of more complaints coming down the pike against Steve Wood.”
The dual crises have led commentators to charge the ACNA with hypocrisy and a failure of its governing structures.
Conger described the ACNA’s current episcopal structure as a “quasi Roman Catholic papal system” and argued the denomination must “clean up its own internal act” if it hopes to maintain its standing as a leader in the forthcoming so-called Global Anglican Communion, which has split from the Anglican Communion over its consecration of Sarah Mullally as Archbishop of Canterbury.
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