The head of the Scottish Episcopal Church (SEC) has been accused of failing victims after re-instating the country's first female bishop after she was accused of bullying.
Lord Glenarthur, a former government minister and church member, said Most Rev Mark Strange should resign and says the abuse allegations against Bishop Anne Dyer were mishandled.
In a letter seen by The Times, claims are made that the Church failed to properly support victims and mishandled safeguarding procedures over the case.
The letter is written by Richard Murray of Donside Churches and Dr Stephen Goodyear of St Devenick’s Church and says victims first heard that Bishop Anne had been cleared through the media, not from the Church. They accuse Bishop Mark Strange, the Primus (leader) of the SEC, of failing to contact victims or ensure proper safeguarding.
Bishop Anne, the Scottish Episcopal Church's Bishop of Aberdeen and Orkney, was suspended in 2022 following three complaints against her.
She denies any wrongdoing and says she herself is a victim of bullying.
In October, the procurator - the Church lawyer - Paul Reid KC, decided to drop several bullying charges against her, saying it wasn't in the public interest to pursue them.
Following that, Bishop Anne returned to work, telling BBC Radio Shetland it was time to "move forward".
In a statement, an SEC spokesman said: “Complaints were made and investigated under an established legal process, and during that process the Church’s independent procurator, an advocate, decided not to lead evidence at a Clergy Discipline Tribunal. His decision was accepted by the tribunal.
“The procurator provided a note of reasons to explain in detail why he decided not to lead any evidence on charges, all of which had been denied by the bishop. The consequence of that decision, set out in the published note of reasons, led directly to the lifting of the bishop’s suspension."
They also claim that support was made available to people throughout the process.
However, Murray and Goodyear say the Church ignored its own safeguarding rules when the Procurator chose not to take the case to a disciplinary tribunal, saying he lacked the authority to judge the truth of the claims and that Bishop Anne was allowed to return to her role in the same diocese where multiple complaints had been made.
Church members also say they were not made aware of Bishop Anne's return. Daphne Audsley, the Church’s assistant safeguarding officer, said she was not consulted before the bishop was reinstated and John Wyllie, the Church’s head of safeguarding, found out two weeks later.