Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

We write to you today in the strong name of Jesus Christ and in the hope that only his name can bring.

It has been a busy summer for the Anglican Church in North America, and we have been represented well by our delegates to Provincial Council and Assembly. The business of the Province moved forward with revisions to Title I and Title IV of our national canons being passed by both gatherings. There was the celebration of a new diocese (the Mid-South), and the recognition that the modest growth of the churches that make up the Province is undercut by an aging demographic in many places (full reports are available here and here).

As many are aware, the Final Order from the trial of Bp. Ruch in 2025 (the 71-page document, not the decision itself) left many concerns about how the trial was conducted. After consulting with the Provincial Executive Committee, our Diocese proposed two resolutions to be considered at Provincial Council. One called for the public release of the full trial transcript. The other called for the public release of the final investigation report already commissioned by the Province. 

The two resolutions to the Council, that were the result of the work of our Bishop and Standing Committee with the Executive Committee of the ACNA, were consequently withdrawn without prejudice on the day they were to be debated and voted upon. This withdrawal was not the result of any attempt to thwart the purpose of these resolutions, nor did it represent a lack of resolve on our part. Rather, God opened a door for us to gain fuller access to the proceedings of the Ruch trial through the above-mentioned agreement with the Court for the Trial of a Bishop. We are now in a very favorable position with our chancellor Ben Hagood taking the lead in the inquiry.

Because all of this happened on the ground in Tulsa and Bishop Edgar was the only one of us present, he took the lead in the negotiations. The Standing Comittee President was informed of the opportunity on Wednesday night and was an early part of the decision to withdraw the resolutions. The Standing Committee and Bishop regret the lack of process these deadlines prevented as well as the void of information that existed in the aftermath. We wholeheartedly believe that the work of this inquiry and its release to the Standing Committees of the Province represents a large step forward in our quest for transparency.

With the trial of the Archbishop currently set to begin on September 7, we will again redouble our prayers for the health and welfare of the Anglican Church in North America and our Diocese. Please let us know if you have any questions about the decisions that were made at the recent Provincial Council and subsequent specially called Provincial Assembly. We continue to seek the best ways to keep the Diocese informed in this trying time.

Faithfully,

The Standing Committee
The Anglican Diocese of South Carolina

July 8, 2026