Board of Inquiry announces second ecclesiastical trial for Bishop Stewart Ruch

On November 6, 2023, the ACNA Province announced that a Board of Inquiry appointed by Archbishop Foley Beach found probable cause to present Bp. Stewart Ruch of the ACNA Diocese of the Upper Midwest (UMD) for an ecclesiastical trial for violating Canons IV.2.4 and IV.2.10, as laid out in a presentment brought by three ACNA bishops on December 23, 2022. 

This follows an August 15, 2023 Provincial announcement of an ecclesiastical trial of Bp. Ruch following a Board of Inquiry’s examination of a separate presentment brought by clergy and lay members in June 2023, in which Bp. Ruch was charged with violating Canons IV.2.3, IV.2.4, and IV.2.9. 

Further details regarding the timeline and process of either trial have yet to be announced. 

The Province also has yet to give an update regarding the ecclesiastical trial of Bp. Todd Atkinson of the former ACNA missionary diocese Via Apostolica. Though geographically located in Canada, the clergy of Via Apostolica were canonically resident in the UMD. 

During Bp. Ruch’s 2021-2022 leave of absence, Bp. Atkinson was appointed by the Province as the UMD’s acting assistant bishop and briefly served in this role until he, too, was asked to go on leave. Bp. Atkinson was charged with four violations of Canon IV.2.4, and his trial was announced on September 13, 2022.

For readers unfamiliar with the ACNA ecclesiastical trial process, we published answers to some basic questions in August.