Southern Ohio priest appeals Title IV ruling seeking his removal from priesthood for affair

[Episcopal News Service] A priest in the Diocese of Southern Ohio is fighting an attempt to remove him from the priesthood over an extramarital affair he had while serving as a parish priest.

The hearing panel in the Title IV disciplinary case against the Rev. Daniel McClain ruled in November 2025 that McClain was guilty of “conduct unbecoming a member of the clergy” and recommended to Southern Ohio Bishop Kristin Uffelman White a punishment of deposition, or removal from ordained ministry. McClain appealed that ruling to the churchwide Court of Review, which met online June 23 for oral arguments.

McClain, who did not address the Court of Review, was represented by Deborah Stambaugh, a church attorney based in the Diocese of Pennsylvania. Her central argument on appeal was that the hearing panel had not given McClain an opportunity to defend himself at a hearing, choosing instead to base its ruling on existing evidence and written arguments.

“Very unfair and very misleading information had been put out about him,” Stambaugh said. “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 had served as rector of St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Oakwood, a Dayton suburb, until he was placed on administrative leave in February 2024 to face disciplinary proceedings under the church’s Title IV canons. That process was overseen by retired Eastern Oregon Bishop Nedi Rivera, who serves as an assisting bishop in Southern Ohio.

At the time, the diocese was led by Bishop George Smith, then serving as bishop provisional. McClain “will not be permitted to function as an Episcopal priest in any setting until this matter is resolved,” Smith said in a February 2024 message to the congregation. (White was consecrated as Southern Ohio’s bishop diocesan later that month.)

An initial investigation produced evidence and interviews that detailed a wide range of allegations against McClain while he was at St. Paul’s, including changes to worship practices, failed compliance with COVID-19 protocols, presence of pet cats in church buildings, inappropriate influence on warden and vestry selection, an unauthorized exorcism of the church building and questionable actions involving church finances. McClain denied any wrongdoing.

Documentation is posted on the diocesan website here.

Some St. Paul’s members also objected to McClain in 2020 hiring his then-wife to the congregation’s staff. About 18 months later, in April 2022, she filed for divorce.

While the divorce was being finalized, McClain began a romantic relationship with another woman, whom he eventually married. That is the sole allegation specified by the Title IV hearing panel in its ruling against McClain.

The panel found him guilty of “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.”

During the Court of Review session, Stambaugh took issue with the way McClain’s relationships have been depicted and the severity of his recommended punishment. “His wife abandoned him,” Stambaugh said. “He sought out healthy companionship that helped stabilize him through a turbulent time after being abandoned.” McClain now works as a schoolteacher.

Steven Ellcessor, the lawyer for the Diocese of Southern Ohio, however, argued to the Court of Review that most of the issues raised by Stambaugh were “irrelevant to this review proceeding” and “make it about something other than what it is.”

On the central claim that McClain should have been given a chance to address the Title IV hearing panel at a hearing, Ellcessor said the underlying facts of McClain’s adultery were not in dispute, so the hearing panel’s procedural decisions did not prejudice McClain’s case.

“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 said. “This priest never reported his conduct to his bishop, continued his conduct openly for well over a year and remained unrepentant.”

The 18-member Court of Review is not tasked with determining McClain’s guilt, but rather whether the Diocese of Southern Ohio’s disciplinary hearing panel properly followed church canons. It now will deliberate on the case before issuing its ruling at a later date.

Most clergy disciplinary cases are settled at the diocesan level, though respondents are allowed to appeal final rulings to the church’s Court of Review. It was first tasked to receive clergy appeals in 2018 under canonical changes approved by the 79th General Convention.

– David Paulsen is a senior reporter and editor for Episcopal News Service based in Wisconsin. He can be reached at dpaulsen@episcopalchurch.org.