The Times reports the Primus of the Scottish Episcopal Church is in fear of being deposed by the members of the church’s College of Bishops over his handling of the Anne Dyer affair. An independent investigation recommenced the Rt. Rev. Anne Dyer, Bishop of Aberdeen and Orkney be placed on a terminal sabbatical leave for mismanagement. The primus, the Most Rev. Mark Strange, is being blamed by his brother bishops for Dyer’s appointment and the public relations fiascos that have ensued.
Bishops ‘tried to frame’ leader over bullying
By Marc Horne, 23 October 2021
The head of Scotland’s Anglicans feared being deposed by his fellow bishops over a bullying row which has plunged the church into turmoil, priests have said.
Leaders of the Scottish Episcopal Church commissioned an independent report which found that the Right Rev Anne Dyer, bishop of Aberdeen and Orkney, had presided over a culture of systemic dysfunction and should stand down immediately.
The College of Bishops instead proposed a second review of the events which led to Dyer becoming Scotland’s first woman bishop in 2018. The Most Rev Mark Strange, the church primus, played an important role in her direct appointment, after a failure within the diocese to agree on a candidate. Colleagues claim Strange, the bishop of Moray, Ross and Caithness, feared he would be forced out.
“Mark started ringing round various clergy and asking if he could count on their support,” one church member said. “He said that individuals within the College of Bishops were trying to frame him for everything that had gone wrong with the Dyer debacle.”
Read it all at at the Times.
