Stephen Robert Sizer (born 27 July 1953[1]) is a priest in the Church of England. He is banned from serving as a priest until 2030. From 1997 to 2017, he was vicar of Christ Church, Virginia Water, in Surrey.
Sizer is known for his opposition to Christian Zionism, which is the basis of his 2004 PhD thesis[2] and the focus of his published works.[3][4] In October 2012, the Board of Deputies of British Jews lodged a complaint against Sizer with the Church of England under the Clergy Discipline Measure alleging that he had made anti-Semitic statements and published links to anti-Semitic web sites.[5] Although he did not admit culpability, at a conciliation meeting in October 2013 Sizer agreed to have his online web usage monitored.[6]
In 2015, the Board of Deputies lodged a further complaint against Sizer, this time for posting a link accusing Jews and Israel of responsibility for the 9/11 attacks in the United States.[7][8] He was censured by the Bishop of Guildford, who imposed a complete ban on Sizer's use of all social media for at least six months.[9]
In 2022, a Church of England tribunal found that his conduct had been "unbecoming to the office and work of a clerk in Holy Orders, in that he provoked and offended the Jewish community" and, by posting a link in 2015 to an article that was "virulently antisemitic in its content", he had "engaged in antisemitic activity". In January 2023 Sizer was prohibited from licensed ministry in the Church of England until 2030.[10]
In 2004, Sizer adapted his PhD thesis into a book, Christian Zionism – Road Map to Armageddon?[15] He claims that Christian Zionism has led millions of Christians astray.[16]
Sizer says that Christian Zionism has no biblical foundation or historical precedent.[17] He writes that his motivation lies in the conviction that ignoring or stereotyping Palestinian Christians is a contradiction of faith and immoral before God.[18] He suggests that "it is irresponsible to believe that God will bless Christians materially if they support the largely secular State of Israel".[19]
Some reviews of Christian Zionism – Road Map to Armageddon? have been highly critical.[21][22][23] A Christian opponent of Sizer, Bible teacher David Pawson, wrote a book Defending Christian Zionism - in response to Stephen Sizer and John Stott.[24] Pawson has said of Sizer: "I am grateful to Stephen Sizer for drawing attention to the legitimate criticisms of dispensational Zionism. He has rendered a service to the cause of Zionism which was needed."[25] Pawson debated with Sizer on Premier Christian Radio.
Other Christian authors who have criticised Sizer include Barry Horner[26] and Paul Wilkinson,[27] leaders of Christian missions to the Jewish people such as Mike Moore,[28][29] General Secretary of Christian Witness to Israel and Tony Higton.[30] Later, having met Sizer, Tony Higton largely retracted his view and wrote:
Sizer is right to criticize the serious failings of some Christian Zionism. I agree with him in rejecting the following errors which are held by many Christian Zionists: Lack of godly compassion for the Palestinians, and of concern for their human rights and about their legitimate aspirations. A negative attitude toward Palestinians, and Arabs in general, to the point of racism. Uncritical support for Israel (a secular, sinful state like any other), justifying all its actions against the Palestinians.[31]
British journalist Melanie Phillips has criticised Sizer and has condemned him in her writings.[32] The historian Geoffrey Alderman has also criticized Sizer, accusing him of masking his "religious prejudices" in "academic guise."[33][34] Jewish converts to Christianity such as Aaron Abramson[35] and Jacob Prasch[36] have disagreed with Sizer's views.
Allegations of antisemitism and misconduct (2012)
Sizer was accused in 2012 of linking from his Facebook profile to an article on an anti-Jewish American site espousing Holocaust denial called The Ugly Truth, which features cartoons celebrating Holocaust deniers and states that Israel is responsible for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Sizer deleted the link in January 2012 after The Jewish Chronicle pointed out the link to him,[37] reputedly two months after he had first been informed of the problem.[38]
After complaints about his link to The Ugly Truth, Sizer's diocesan bishop, Christopher Hill, defended him.[37][39] Hill believed posting the link could have been an accident, and insisted that Sizer "repudiates anti-Semitism and Holocaust denial" and was just drawing attention to an article about potential military action by Israel against Iran.[37] After referring to Sizer's Facebook post, Nick Howard asserted in an article for the Standpoint issue of January–February 2012 that, given Sizer's statements on Press TV and elsewhere, the link made on his Facebook page is not an isolated, or "uncharacteristic", incident.[39]
Several prominent people wrote to the Bishop of Guildford, Christopher Hill, in Sizer's defence. Amongst them was Rabbi Professor Dan Cohn-Sherbok, emeritus professor of Judaism at Aberystwyth University, who wrote, "I have been disturbed to read about the allegations made against Stephen Sizer. These are, I believe, completely without foundation: there is simply no evidence that he is an antisemite. It would be a mistake… to construe Stephen Sizer's political criticisms as evidence of antipathy against Jews."[40] The then-backbench Labour Member of Parliament Jeremy Corbyn wrote to Andrew Hill, Sizer's bishop, around April 2012. In his letter, Corbyn described Sizer's link as being "a technical oversight" and that those criticising Sizer were politically motivated and were "intent on discrediting the excellent work that Stephen does in highlighting the injustices of the Palestinian Israeli situation".[40] They were, wrote Corbyn, "part of a wider pattern of demonising those who dare to stand up and speak out against Zionism".[40]
The Board of Deputies of British Jews formally complained to the Church of England in late October 2012 over Sizer's actions since early 2010, under the terms of the Clergy Discipline Measure 2003. The complaint listed 10 incidents which the Board stated were antisemitic.[38] These included statements made by Sizer, or material he had passed to his contacts. In addition to The Ugly Truth, they stated that he had linked to the Veterans Today website, and the Window into Palestine website which features an image of a Nazi flag with a swastika superimposed on the Star of David.[41][42] The complaint stated in part: "we will not remain quiet in the face of actions and remarks capable of being seen as antisemitic even where they are disguised as anti-Zionist attacks on Israel".[43][44]
A meeting took place with the Board of Deputies in October 2013. Jonathan Arkush, then vice-president of the Board of Deputies, told the BBC: "The thing that we did was to criticise him for publishing materials that were anti-semitic and anti-Jewish. Israel doesn't come into it". Sizer himself described the meeting as "very healthy" and accepted the comments from the Board of Deputies but did not regret what he had said.[45]
Later allegations of antisemitism and misconduct (2014–22)
In September 2014, by the invitation of Hamed Ghashghavi the secretary for international affairs of the "Second New Horizon Conference" Sizer attended the event in Tehran where 9/11 conspiracy theories such as "Zionist Fingerprints on the 9/11 Cover-up" and "9/11 and the Holocaust as pro-Zionist 'Public myths'" were under discussion. Sizer himself spoke in the Israel lobby in England session.[46][47] Sizer said he was present at the conference as an "ambassador for reconciliation". According to him, the conference was anti-Zionist rather than antisemitic, and he disagreed with many of the speeches which were delivered.[46]
Dave Rich of the Community Security Trust, a charity which monitors anti-semitism in Britain, queried whether Sizer was still honouring the conciliation agreement he had made with the Jewish community. A spokesman for the British Board of Deputies said that attending "such a hate-filled event is irreconcilable with his position as a minister in the Church of England".[47]
A few months later, on 20 January 2015 at 9.17 pm, Sizer posted a link on his Facebook page to a 9/11 conspiracy theory article entitled "9-11/Israel did it" on the WikiSpooks website. He asked in his posting: "Is this anti-Semitic? If so, no doubt I’ll be asked to remove it. It raises so many questions". Sizer, later apologizing,[48] clarified that he "never believed Israel or any other country was complicit in the terrorist atrocity of 9/11, and my sharing of this material was ill-considered and misguided."[49] Sizer removed the post at the request of the Board of Deputies, who said it was "unquestionably anti-Semitic".[49] In correspondence with Jewish News online, he asked that evidence be provided to refute the conspiracy theory.[50] After he removed the posting, Sizer continued to insist that it was "encouraging debate".[51]
On 29 January 2015, the Church of England said in a statement that the comments made by Sizer were unacceptable and that the Diocese of Guildford would launch an investigation.[52] On 30 January 2015, Sizer issued a statement of apology[53] and announced that the diocese had suspended him from all social media and blogs.[54] The Board of Deputies also published a statement condemning Sizer's behaviour.[55]
On 9 February, it emerged that Sizer had been banned from social media by the new Bishop of Guildford, Andrew Watson, for at least six months for the Facebook post alleging Israeli responsibility for the 9/11 atrocities.[56] He was also banned from commenting on issues relating to the Middle East, and from attending conferences on the subject.[57] In his letter to the bishop, Sizer accepted that he would have to resign his ministry if he were to break the undertaking he had made.[58]
The Church Times reported the bishop as saying that disciplinary action against Sizer had been considered, but an alternative approach was taken in order to resolve the matter quickly.[59] The Board of Deputies praised the church for taking swift action, and hoped that good relations could be restored.[60]
In October 2016, Sizer attended a meeting organised by Palestine Return Centre at the House of Lords chaired by Baroness Jenny Tonge, which gained negative media attention for comments made during the session. He wrote about the event online, thus breaking the agreement he had made. In a statement, Andrew Watson, Bishop of Guildford, said any further such incident would lead to "his tenure of office ending with immediate effect".[61][62]
Sizer left his Christ Church post at Easter 2017. Just before his retirement, he again broke the terms of the agreement he had made by posting about the Middle East on Facebook.[63]
2022 tribunal
In May 2022, a Bishop's Disciplinary Tribunal for the Diocese of Winchester hearing was held at St Andrew's Church, Holborn, London with eleven accusations being made against Sizer for antisemitism and causing profound offence to Jews occurring from 2005 to 2017.[64] Ecclesiastical disciplinary tribunals have previously been held in private, but Sizer exercised his right for the hearing to be held in public with the media having access.[65] Sizer denied the claims of antisemitism and misconduct arguing his actions were against the state of Israel rather than Jews.[64][65] The tribunal's finding, published in December 2022, was that Sizer's conduct was "unbecoming or inappropriate to the office and work of a clerk in Holy Orders within section 8(1)(d) of the Clergy Discipline Measure 2003 in that he provoked and offended the Jewish community and/or engaged in anti-Semitic activity".[66][67] The tribunal wrote that "For the Tribunal to reach the conclusion that he was antisemitic, it would be contrary to all that the Respondent has said or written and what others have said on his behalf. It does conclude, however, that by posting the link to the Facebook page in January 2015, he was engaged in antisemitic activity."[66] Sizer accepted the tribunal's "conclusions and the criticisms of my conduct, and apologise unreservedly for the hurt and offence caused."[68] His barrister, Stephen Hofmeyr KC, later stated that “It is significant that not one word or statement from Dr Sizer has been shown to be antisemitic. There are none.”[48]
On 30 January 2023 the penalty judgment of the Bishop's Disciplinary Tribunal was published;[69] "The penalty of prohibition until December 2030 reflects the seriousness of the misconduct found by the Tribunal."[70] The Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, was quoted as saying "It is clear that the behaviour of Stephen Sizer has undermined Christian-Jewish relations, giving encouragement to conspiracy theories and tropes that have no place in public Christian ministry and the church. I renew my call for the highest possible standards among ordained ministers of the Church of England in combatting antisemitism of all kinds."[71]
The verdict was criticised by some, including Jeff Halper, Jewish Voice for Labour and the Jewish Network for Palestine. An authority on antisemitism, Antony Lerman tweeted: "This disgraceful miscarriage of justice against someone who has never uttered a word of hate against Jews will be a permanent stain on the Church of England and the Board of Deputies."[72][48]
Other public roles
This section needs to be updated. Please help update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information.(January 2023)
Sizer is the founder and director of the Peacemaker Trust, a registered charity since 2017.[73][74]
Sizer is a member of the executive of the Guildford Diocesan Evangelical Fellowship and a member of Guildford Diocesan Synod. He is a trustee and former chairman of the International Bible Society UK, publishers of the New International Version. He is a founding member of the Institute for the Study of Christian Zionism, a member of the Advisory Council of Evangelicals for Middle East Understanding, a trustee of the Amos Trust and on the UK Board of Reference for the Mar Elias Educational Institutions in I'billin, Israel. He is also on the editorial board of Living Stones Magazine.[citation needed]
^Macaulay, Ian; Parker, Rev Keith (Summer 2005). "Christian Zionism "A Road Map to Armageddon?"". Christians for Israel. Archived from the original on 1 December 2005. Retrieved 4 April 2009. We are therefore disappointed at the writer's failure to engage in enough questions in sufficient depth
^Pawson, David (2007). Defending Christian Zionism - a response to Stephen Sizer and John Stott. Bristol: Terra Nova Publications International Ltd. ISBN978-1-901949-62-9.
^
Higton, Tony. "A Response to Stephen Sizer's criticisms of CMJ and ITAC". Church's Ministry Among Jewish People. Archived from the original on 7 March 2006. Retrieved 7 April 2009. I have to conclude that Stephen's paper is ill-researched, rather unscholarly and very prejudiced. As such it should not really be taken too seriously.
^Tony Higton, A Critique of Christian Zionism, p. 18
^
Baty, Phil (6 August 2004). "Zionism thesis stirs up a storm". Times Higher Education Supplement. London. Retrieved 7 April 2009. Professor Alderman told The Times Higher: 'Middlesex has permitted its highest research degree to be awarded in respect of a work of propaganda.
^ abcDysch, Marcus (5 January 2012). "Bishop: anti-Zionist vicar 'no antisemite'". The Jewish Chronicle. Retrieved 31 March 2018. A Church of England vicar has been backed by his diocesan bishop after promoting a website which supports Holocaust denial and warns of a Zionist conspiracy controlling the world.
^ abcDysch, Marcus (19 April 2012). "Sizer: I am ready to meet the Board of Deputies any time". The Jewish Chronicle. Retrieved 20 August 2015. Reverend Stephen Sizer posted a link from a website which supports Holocaust denial and warns of a Zionist conspiracy controlling the world.
^For the complaint by the Board of Deputies of British Jews see "Archived copy"(PDF). Archived from the original(PDF) on 6 November 2013. Retrieved 11 July 2014.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
^"Vicar Stephen Sizer 'has no regrets' after Jewish complaint". BBC News. 24 October 2013. Retrieved 31 March 2018. But [Sizer] said his criticism of some Israeli policies towards Palestinians had 'caused offence to those who want to justify those actions'. 'I don't regret what I said,' he added.
