Episcopal priest punished for alleged adultery, ‘conduct unbecoming’ appeals decision
An Episcopal Church priest punished for offenses that include alleged adultery and other questionable behaviors has appealed the decision.
The Rev. Daniel McClain, former rector at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Oakwood, Ohio, filed an appeal with the Episcopal Church Court of Review, which met online last week to hear oral arguments given by Deborah Stambaugh, a church attorney representing McClain, according to the Episcopal News Service (ENS).
McClain was found guilty last year by a church hearing panel of conduct unbecoming a clergyman.
“Very unfair and very misleading information had been put out about him,” Stambaugh was quoted as saying. “Father Dan’s dignity has not been respected. He has been made into a leper and a social pariah by what is nothing short of cyberbullying at the hands of the church.”
McClain’s wife filed for divorce in April 2022, and he began a romantic relationship with a woman he later married while the divorce with his first spouse was still being finalized.
“His wife abandoned him,” Stambaugh said of McClain. “He sought out healthy companionship that helped stabilize him through a turbulent time after being abandoned.”
Steven Ellcessor, the lawyer for the Episcopal Diocese of Southern Ohio, told the Court of Review that most of the issues raised in defense of McClain were “irrelevant to this review proceeding” and “make it about something other than what it is.”
Regarding the claim that McClain should have had a chance to address the Title IV hearing panel, Ellcessor said the facts of the adultery were not disputed, according to ENS.
“This is not a case, like many, where priests have engaged in adulterous affairs, realized their errors, confessed to their bishop, expressed repentance and accepted the consequences of their actions,” Ellcessor told the Court of Review. “This priest never reported his conduct to his bishop, continued his conduct openly for well over a year and remained unrepentant.”
In February 2024, McClain was placed on administrative leave over accusations that he had engaged in a host of allegedly unethical practices. Apart from the adultery allegation, an investigation found evidence that he violated church protocols on COVID-19, allowed pet cats in the sanctuary and made questionable decisions about church finances.
McClain had Title IV proceedings leveled against him for the alleged actions. McClain, who currently works as a schoolteacher, has denied any wrongdoing.
Last November, a hearing panel issued an order concluding that McClain “engaged in Conduct Unbecoming a Member of the Clergy.”
“This Conduct Unbecoming a Member of the Clergy consisted in a persistent pattern of conduct which included engaging in an adulterous relationship during marriage, failing to model a life of fidelity expected of a member of the clergy, and making decisions and taking actions which were not in line with the relationship between rector and the congregation entrusted to their pastoral care,” the order stated.
“The Hearing Panel recommends to the Bishop Diocesan of Southern Ohio that the Respondent be deposed from ministry.”
