Wood was born in Ohio and entered ordained ministry in the Episcopal Church. He became rector of St. Andrew's in 2000, growing it into what The Post and Courier called "one of the Lowcountry's biggest church success stories." In 2010, he led St. Andrew's out of the Episcopal Diocese of South Carolina in 2012 and became vicar general of the Diocese of the Carolinas as it formed. He was made a bishop in August 2012.
In July 2024, Wood was elected the third archbishop and primate of the ACNA. His tenure as primate was marked by several controversies within the ACNA, including allegations of interference in the ecclesiastical trial of Stewart Ruch and the attempted withdrawal of the ACNA's Special Jurisdiction of the Armed Forces and Chaplaincy following Wood's inhibition of its bishop. In October 2025 Wood became the first ACNA archbishop to have a presentment filed against him, when a complaint filed by 11 clergy and laypeople alleged that Wood had engaged in sexual misconduct, plagiarism of sermons and bullying of church staff, charges that Wood said he did not believe had merit.
Under Wood's leadership, St. Andrews was described as "one of the Lowcountry's biggest church success stories", growing to a membership of more than 3,000 and planting new churches in Goose Creek, downtown Charleston, and the Park Circle area of North Charleston. In 2006, Wood was one of three finalists in the election for bishop of South Carolina; ultimately Mark Lawrence was elected.[4] In 2010, St. Andrew's voted by a large margin to leave the Episcopal Church and affiliate with the Diocese of the Holy Spirit under the leadership of Bishop John Guernsey in the Anglican Church in North America.[5][6]
Bishop of the Carolinas
Shortly after joining ACNA, Wood became involved with efforts to create the Diocese of the Carolinas, which was formed with 14 congregations with an average Sunday attendance of over 2,700. According to its official policy, the Diocese of the Carolinas "has supported the ordination of women as deacons and priests in the church, with the provision that women may not serve in the office of rector" since its inception in 2010.[7][8]
Wood served as vicar general of the diocese while it was in formation and, in 2012, he was elected to serve as its first bishop.[9] Wood was consecrated on August 25, 2012, at St. Andrew's by Archbishop Robert Duncan. Co-consecrators included Archbishop-elect Stanley Ntagali of Uganda and Bishops Guernsey, Roger Ames, and Alphonza Gadsden.[10]
In April 2018, significant portions of the ministry center and office spaces at St. Andrew's were consumed by a structure fire. Local authorities were able prevent the fire from spreading to the historic chapel at St. Andrew's.[11]
The first year of Wood's tenure saw significant turmoil within the ACNA. In November 2024, a Washington Post investigative report revealed that the Diocese of the Mid-Atlantic had admonished leaders of The Falls Church Anglican for not opening an investigation into allegations of abuse by a former youth minister when they were first informed.[17] In May 2025, Presiding Bishop Ray Sutton of the Reformed Episcopal Church, a founding member of the ACNA, granted a one-year ministry license to provocative priest and right-wing social media figure Calvin Robinson, whose license in the Anglican Catholic Church had been revoked after ending a speech with a gesture his opponents characterized as a Nazi salute.[18] Wood issued a public statement expressing concern with the licensure: "I have concerns about Rev. Robinson’s ability to uphold the full commitments of our Anglican tradition, and his ability to model the Christ-like virtues of peace, patience, gentleness, goodness, and love." Wood added: "I do not personally believe the Rev. Robinson is a good representative of the Anglican Church in North America." The following day, Sutton withdrew the license he had granted to Robinson just 10 days earlier.[19]
In July 2025, an ecclesiastical trial commenced against Stewart Ruch of the Anglican Diocese of the Upper Midwest for allegedly mishandling disclosures of sexual abuse and habitually promoting abusive ministers within his diocese and at his cathedral parish, Church of the Resurrection.[20] Less than a week into the court proceedings, the trial was halted due to the unexpected resignation of the provincial prosecutor, who said wrote that "the trial process had been irreparably tainted" when a member of the trial court allegedly questioned one of the prosecution's witnesses for over an hour using external material that had not been admitted into evidence by the court before the trial.[21] One week later, the assistant prosecutor alleged that the ACNA's chief operating officer and chancellor had improperly shared evidence with a court member. The College of Bishops and Executive Committee of the ACNA responded by releasing statements supporting Wood and his staff while denying misconduct.[21] After a third provincial prosecutor was named, the trial resumed and concluded in October 2025.[22]
In September 2025, repeated clashes over misconduct allegations and ecclesiastical controversies resulted in the Jurisdiction of the Armed Forces and Chaplaincy (JAFC), the nonprofit overseeing endorsements of ACNA chaplains, to attempt to disaffiliate from the ACNA.[23][24] The ACNA claimed it had received multiple "credible complaints" alleging "abuse of ecclesiastical power" but not involving "any accusations of physical or sexual abuse or doctrinal concerns" by JAFC Bishop Derek Jones. At least six complainants alleged wrongful use of church discipline, at least two alleged interference with external employment, at least one alleged improper release of a priest from orders, and six alleged infliction of “financial, emotional, and psychological stress" by Jones.[25] Wood told Jones that a third party would investigate the allegations and inhibited Jones from ministry. Jones responded by saying that the JAFC nonprofit had withdrawn from the ACNA.[23][26] After the ACNA College of Bishops elected Bishop Jay Cayangyang to oversee what remained of the chaplaincy jurisdiction in the ACNA, the JAFC nonprofit sued the ACNA, alleging trademark infringement and "unfair commercial competition."[27]
Weeks later, on October 23, 2025, the Washington Post reported that Wood was the subject of a formal ecclesiastical presentment involving claims of sexual harassment, abuse of power, and plagiarism—the first time an ACNA archbishop had been presented for misconduct. According to the Post, a former children’s ministry director at St. Andrew's accused Wood of forcibly touching her and attempting to kiss her in his office in April 2024 and alleged that Wood gave her thousands of dollars from his discretionary "mercy fund" before the alleged kiss. Other complainants alleged that Wood had publicly shamed and cursed at colleagues and that he had plagiarized sermons.[22] Wood declined to answer specific questions about the accusations, which were being reviewed by the ACNA's provincial dean, Bishop Ray Sutton, to determine whether to convene a board of inquiry that would determine whether to proceed to a trial.[28] Despite not answering detailed questions, Wood denied the allegations, stating that he believed they were without merit and that he trusted ACNA's disciplinary processes to "bring clarity and truth."[22]
Personal life
Wood married Jacqueline Elizabeth Benner on February 1, 1986. Together, they have four sons and eight grandchildren.[3]
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