Scots Anglicans also rocked by scandal

Rt Rev Anne Dyer, Bishop of Aberdeen and Orkney

The resignation of the Archbishop of Canterbury over his failure to act over abuse allegations might seem like a foreign affair to most Scots. But with around 23,000 members, the Scottish Episcopal Church – part of the Anglican communion – is Scotland’s third biggest Christian denomination.

What readers might not know is it too has been rocked by a scandal of its own in recent years, one which still threatens to split what’s left of the church and calls into question the suitability of its leader to continue.

The leader, or Primus, is the Bishop of Moray, Ross & Caithness, Mark Strange, and on his watch there has been an extraordinary failure to deal with serious allegations of bullying against the Bishop of Aberdeen, Anne Dyer.

It’s been over three years since an investigation by the highly respected theologian and former Church of Scotland moderator, Prof Iain Torrance, concluded that Bishop Dyer should stand down, but she is still there, albeit now off sick, clinging to a claim she’s the innocent victim of a group of fundamentalists opposed to female bishops.

Maybe none of this matters much, but the Episcopal Church, headquartered in the West End, retains an important place in Scottish public life and its leadership should be beyond reproach, but the running sore of corroborated allegations of ill treatment in the Aberdeen diocese, and beyond, has been allowed to fester for too long.

If the best leadership is by example, then more than just one should be following that set this week by Justin Welby, however reluctantly.