Dr Stephen Sizer, the retired vicar of Christ Church Virginia Water who has for years strongly rejected allegations of antisemitism, was this week due to face a Clergy Disciplinary Measure (CDM) following a further complaint by the Board of Deputies of British Jews.
The Board first made a complaint against the evangelical vicar back in 2012, alleging he had made antisemitic statements and published links to antisemitic web sites. This was resolved in 2013 through a conciliation process under the CDM process.
The conciliation report stated: ‘Without accepting the substance of the complaint, Dr Sizer regrets that on occasions his use of language has caused offence to some and agrees that he should have reflected on his choice of words more carefully.’
However, following further allegations, including several posts by Sizer on social media, the Board brought a further complaint in 2018. The Bishop’s Disciplinary Tribunal for the Diocese of Winchester was due to hear the complaint beginning on 23 May in London.
Sizer has stated he will not comment until after the conclusion of the tribunal. It is not known when the tribunal decision will be handed down. last month, the CDM As en reported comes in the wake of persistent allegations, levied by two Jewish Christians, Nick Howard and James Mendelsohn, that conservative evangelicals have failed to speak out against some of Sizer’s views.
en asked a number mentioned by Howard and Mendelsohn to comment following publication of that article. A spokesperson for Christianity Explored responded: ‘Christianity Explored Ministries welcomes the news that the Church of England is to launch a legal investigation into these long-running and serious allegations.’
Others contacted included William Taylor, the South-East Gospel Partnership, GAFCON, ReNew, Church Society, Simon Vibert of Christ Church Virginia Water, the en board and IVP. They have either not responded or said they will not comment.
After the death of Palestinian-American journalist Shireen Abu Aqla, who was killed on 11 May while covering an Israeli army raid on the West Bank, Sizer shared on his own Facebook page a post from writer, poet and activist Susan Nevens describing Israeli soldiers as ‘vermin masquerading as human beings’. In response, Mendelsohn tweeted: ‘I cannot imagine any other evangelical Christian leader sharing a post which describes Israeli soldiers as “vermin masquerading as human beings”. Not even other anti-Zionists. Can you?’
In a rare unanimous statement, the UN security council condemned Aqla’s killing and called for ‘an immediate, thorough, transparent and impartial investigation into her killing’.
The leaders of 15 Christian denominations in Jerusalem also condemned what they called the ‘violent intrusion’ of Israeli police into Abu Aqla’s funeral procession
