The Tribune

THE reported stripping of I Ranfurly Brown as an archdeacon effective next month was the result of months of contention between the embattled church leader and Anglican Bishop Laish Boyd, The Tribune was told.

According to reports, the Archdeacon was recently informed by letter that he would no longer be an archdeacon of the Anglican church.

The Tribune attempted to contact both Archbishop Boyd and Fr Brown yesterday, but was not successful.

However, a source familiar with the matter said the move was the culmination of longstanding contention between the two, which seemed to climax following the funeral of businessman A Bismark Coakley.

“This goes back to last year at the funeral of Bismark Coakley,” the source explained.

“At the time Brown had given time limits on remarks, but those weren’t respected and the Prime Minister (Perry Christie) also did not come to the service on time.

“This angered Brown and he made his sentiments known in a church bulletin. He was not happy about it and felt that the prime minister was disrespectful.”

The source said Fr Brown refused to offer an apology to the prime minister for his criticism.

The decision has left parishioners up in arms, another source said, as many of them do not support the move to have Rev Brown stripped of the post.

It is not clear who will replace the former archdeacon.