An Anglican Church in North America (ACNA) court has found a bishop who led a chaplains’ group out of the conservative denomination guilty of causing schism and abusing the power of his office.
The Aug. 19 final judgment against Bishop Derek Jones sends the case to ACNA’s College of Bishops for sentencing, after a 30-day period in which Jones may appeal.
The Court for the Trial of a Bishop granted a motion for summary judgment after Jones did not answer the charges or cooperate with the investigation.
“This Court unanimously finds Bishop Derek Jones guilty of each of the four canonical offenses brought against him in the October 21, 2025 Presentment,” the judgment states.
Jones faced four charges: willful refusal of a “Godly Admonition,” disobedience to church canons, conduct causing scandal or offense through abuse of ecclesiastical power and promoting and causing schism.
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Jones had overseen ACNA’s chaplaincy program since 2014. He rejected the denomination’s investigation, launched last year, calling it “a witch hunt.” Jones, suspended from ministry in September, announced his separation from the ACNA.
The ACNA maintained that Jones could not leave while under discipline. Jones and other bishops later formed the Anglican Reformed Catholic Church, a new denomination organized into three dioceses.
Reached by telephone on Friday, an ARCC spokesman said the ACNA “never had authority” over Jones, who was “never part of the ACNA, as evidence in the South Carolina court already shows. … They (ACNA) never consummated the agreement that they made with the Church of Nigeria,” of which Jones was a part.
ACNA officials could not be reached Friday.
The church court said Jones remains an ACNA bishop subject to its governance and discipline. It also found he violated the September 2025 inhibition barring him from functioning publicly as clergy.
The judgment said Jones continued acting as a bishop, wore vestments and performed episcopal services. It cited his June 10 consecration of Andrew Hayler as a bishop.
The court reserved its strongest findings for the abuse-of-power charge, calling it “at the root of this matter.”
It found “ample evidence” Jones manipulated clergy, tried to discipline people outside his authority and inflicted financial, emotional and psychological stress on people under his care.
The court condemned a tithing system that tied a chaplain’s “Good Standing” to mandatory donations to the Special Jurisdiction of the Armed Forces and Chaplaincy (SJAFC), which Jones oversaw.
“Respondent’s draconian approach to tithing, which was tied to career advancement, endorsement, and security, constitutes an abuse of ecclesiastical power,” the court wrote.
The judgment said Jones used tithes as leverage against chaplains and improperly withheld one chaplain’s transfer based on the policy.
It also found Jones retaliated against another chaplain who reported his actions to senior ACNA bishops and spread false allegations of financial misconduct to that chaplain’s employer.
In a third incident the court noted, Jones backdated a document and attempted to discipline a military chaplain who was not under his canonical authority.
The court said the province, or denomination, proved all four charges by clear and convincing evidence, the standard required under ACNA canons.
On the schism charge, the court cited Jones’ creation of the Anglican Reformed Catholic Church and efforts to persuade ACNA chaplains to join it.
Jones previously contended ACNA leaders targeted him amid a dispute over the status of the special jurisdiction for chaplains. He wanted the jurisdiction recognized as a diocese.
Jones and his supporters also said his conservative criticism of progressive ACNA leaders contributed to the conflict.
The court rejected Jones’ attempt to withdraw the chaplaincy jurisdiction from ACNA. The court said the jurisdiction is not a diocese with the authority to withdraw under the provision Jones invoked.
What happens next turns on whether Jones appeals. The court referred its findings to the College of Bishops for sentencing, but Jones has a 30-day period in which he may appeal.
The judgment does not recommend a sentence to the College of Bishops.
The court also urged the bishops to consider reversing disciplinary actions that Jones imposed on chaplains, when warranted.
“Surely a pastoral response to a wolf involves the protection of sheep,” the court quoted one chaplain as saying.
The court said it lacked authority to undo those disciplinary actions itself. But it asked the College of Bishops to consider “a biblical and canonical response” to them.
The judges also expressed regret for “the pain and suffering caused by the abuses” and prayed for healing, peace and restoration for those affected.
Mark A. Kellner is a reporter based in Mesquite, Nevada. He most recently covered statewide elections for the New York Post and was for three years the Faith & Family Reporter for The Washington Times. Mark is a graduate of the University of the Cumberlands and also attended Boston University’s College of Communication.
2 Responses
Writers constantly refer to the ACNA as a “conservative denomination.”
Multiple levels of schism here when bishop forms small new denomination after leaving prior larger denomination that broke away from a previous even larger denomination that was part of an even larger communion of churches under the purview of a national church that broke away from a much larger church that is universal in scope.