Retired Anglican vicar Stephen Sizer has been banned from ministry for 12 years following an Ecclesiastical ruling that he had engaged in anti-Semitic conduct.
Dr Sizer was vicar of Christ Church, Virginia Water for 20 years, until his retirement in 2017. A long-running controversy around allegations of anti-Semitism culminated in a ruling in December 2022 of the Bishop’s Disciplinary Tribunal for the Diocese of Winchester.
The tribunal ruled that he had ‘provoked and offended the Jewish community’ and ‘engaged in anti-Semitic activity’ in sharing an online article suggesting Jews were behind the 9/11 attacks. He was also found to have engaged in conduct unbecoming of a clerk in Holy Orders.
The 12-year ban includes time already served, meaning the prohibition from ministerial duties lasts until 12 December 2030.
The Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, said: ‘It is clear that the behaviour of Stephen Sizer has undermined Christian-Jewish relations, giving encouragement to conspiracy theories and tropes that have no place in public Christian ministry and the church. I renew my call for the highest possible standards among ordained ministers of the Church of England in combatting anti-Semitism of all kinds.’
The Acting Bishop of Winchester, Debbie Sellin, said the penalty ‘reflects the seriousness of the misconduct found by the tribunal’.
Sizer has not commented directly in response to the penalty, however he appears to be party to an online campaign calling the disciplinary ruling into question. He has shared an online open letter created and signed by a new alliance called Convivencia – and two of its three ‘conveners’ (Haim Breesheth from the Jewish Network for Palestine; and Massoud Shadjareh from the Islamic Human Rights).
Sizer is the third convener. Convivencia was set up in October 2022 and Sizer was appointed its Chair.
The online petition condemns what it describes as ‘the Church of England’s unjust decision’ and encourages Sizer’s supporters to sign it. To date 166 people have signed it.
Sizer has a legal right to appeal within 28 days of the penalty, under the Clergy Disciplinary Measure 2003.
