Disgraced Rev. Dr Stephen Sizer faces ban by Church of England
The disgraced Rev. Dr Stephen Sizer is facing a ban by the Church of England.
Rev. Dr Sizer, 68, who was ordained in 1984 and served as a vicar at Christ Church in Virginia Water, Surrey, appeared at an ecclesiastical court in London this week facing eleven allegations of conduct that “provoked and offended” the Jewish community between 2005 and 2018. The Bishop of Winchester, in whose diocese Rev, Sizer’s church is located, suspended him in 2018 pending the outcome of this hearing.
It is the first such hearing to be public, as usually tribunals under the Clergy Discipline Measure are held in private, but the defendant has the right to request that the hearing be public, and it is believed that this is the first time that such a right has been applied. If the hearing at St Andrew’s Court finds against him, Rev. Dr Sizer could face sanctions ranging from a rebuke to expulsion from the priesthood.
Rev. Dr Sizer has claimed that an Israeli conspiracy was behind 9/11, and in February 2015 he was ordered by the Church of England to stop using social media. While the Church said that the material that Rev. Dr Sizer posted was “clearly antisemitic”, the Daily Mail revealed that former Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn wrote to the Church defending Rev. Dr Sizer, saying that he was being victimised because he “dared to speak out against Zionism.”
According to The Times, court documents list allegations that include that Rev. Dr Sizer attended a London conference at which a Hizballah politician spoke in 2005; that he met with a “senior commander of Hizballah forces” in 2006; that he spoke at a conference in Indonesia at which a Holocaust denier also spoke in 2008; that he “promoted the idea that Israel was behind the terrorist attacks on 11 September 2001 by posting a link in January 2015 to an article entitled ‘9/11: Israel did it’ that blamed Israel for the attacks”; and that he posted on Facebook in 2018 that Mr Corbyn was “a victim of the hidden hands of Zionists”.
Nicholas Leviseur, presenting the case against Rev. Dr Sizer, said that the disgraced vicar is accused of “conduct unbecoming and inappropriate for a clerk in holy orders” and argued that his behaviour went “far beyond” normal political commentary or activity, adding that “there appears to have been an unusual amount of behaviour…promoting the views of others which are bluntly antisemitic in character.”
Rev. Dr Sizer’s counsel, Stephen Hofmeyr QC, argued that Rev. Dr Sizer had said “repeatedly, unreservedly and very publicly that…antisemitism must be repudiated unequivocally” in his writings about “Christian Zionism”, and had written that: “Legitimate criticism of Israeli policies towards the Palestinians must not be used as an excuse for racism or attacks against Jewish people.” He summarised that Rev. Dr Sizer’s case “is that he is not antisemitic and that his words or conduct never have been antisemitic.”
In addition to the incidents noted above, Rev. Dr Sizer allegedly told a radio programme in 2008: “My concern is with so-called Christian Zionist organisations that…equate the Gospel with helping Jews…without telling them about the Cross…my concern is with those so-called Christian organisations that do not engage in Evangelism, that do not share Jesus with Jewish people: that’s antisemitism.”
In 2010, he reportedly posted photographs of Israeli soldiers under the title “Herod’s Soldiers Operating in Bethlehem Today”, likely a reference, reminiscent of the blood libel, to the Book of Matthew where Herod orders all baby boys in Bethlehem to be killed in an effort to kill Jesus.
Among his other inflammatory comments and activities, it has been alleged that he has a history of association with elements of the far-right, and his books have reportedly been removed from sale by a leading Christian publisher.
The hearing follows the Church of England’s apology earlier this month for centuries of antisemitism.
Campaign Against Antisemitism works to raise awareness of antisemitism among all faith and minority communities.
