Bishop Paterson's resignation comes exactly three weeks after the Rev. Dr. Jules Gomes, formerly Canon Theologian of the diocese, gave an interview to Manx TV, in which Dr Gomes alleged that the bishop continued to bully and harass him, even after he had left the diocese and the Church of England.

In his interview, Dr. Gomes also said that the bishop was spending thousands of pounds in order to continue the Clergy Discipline Measure (CDM) against him. The diocese faces serious financial constraints and has been selling vicarages and church properties to sustain its high levels of spending.

Dr. Gomes alleged on Manx TV, that the bishop had filed the CDM against him to scuttle Dr. Gomes' own petition of doleance to Tynwald, the island's Parliament, from going ahead. Dr Gomes had petitioned Tynwald in July, 2015, calling for an investigation into allegations of racism, bullying and harassment.

The televised interview was the third most popular video on the website of Manx TV, and Bishop Paterson had contacted the producer, demanding that the interview with Dr. Gomes be taken off the Internet. The producer refused.

Sources on the Isle of Man, a Crown Dependency in the British Isles, told VOL that it was possible Bishop Paterson had resigned at the age of 67, much before the age of retirement at 70, to avoid the scandal of facing a Parliamentary Select Committee which could be appointed to investigate the allegations of bullying and harassment launched against him by at least two senior clergy on the island after the Tribunal against Dr. Gomes had arrived at its verdict.

Bishop Paterson's bullying was first reported in April 2013 in the local newspapers when he opposed the island's former Lieutenant Governor Sir Laurence New, then a Licensed Reader in the Church of England and churchwarden at St Matthew's on the Harbour Church.

In an open letter to members of the church, former General New said he could no longer honour his vow of obedience to Bishop Robert Paterson.

In 2015, some leading parishioners from St Mary's on the Harbour launched an online petition stating that 'severe damage' was being done 'by the flawed leadership of Bishop Robert Paterson, and, to a lesser extent, the Archdeacon of Man, Andie Brown,' which was 'evidenced principally but by no means entirely in their prolonged bullying and attempts to intimidate individual members of the clergy.'

Over 165 people, including leading citizens of the Isle of Man, signed the petition, which was then handed over to the then Lieutenant Governor, Sir Adam Wood.

Bishop Paterson faced two Clergy Discipline Measures for bullying and harassment, which were both dismissed by the Archbishop of York, John Sentamu, who refused to intervene despite numerous letters being written to him, even though the Diocese of Sodor and Man is in his province. Bishop Paterson had earlier served as Archbishop Sentamu's Chaplain before being made Bishop of Sodor and Man. "The Church in Sodor and Man asked for the best and with Robert they have got it," Sentamu had told the media when Paterson was appointed to the diocese.

In July 2015, the Rev. Cyril Rogers, wrote an email to all clergy in the diocese as 'the longest serving priest on the island,' making it clear how he felt. 'In all my years of ministry in three different dioceses. I have not known so unhappy a situation as I know now. At times I feel aspects of diocesan life are becoming dysfunctional. Hurt and anger, feelings of not being listened to, inability to work together as a team, allegations of bullying: all negative things which I regularly come across, often festering because people lack the courage to deal with the situation face to face and just complain behind people's backs. And sometime when people do try to resolve a situation face to face, they come away feeling they have failed to get the situation resolved,' Mr Rogers wrote.

More recently in May, 2016, Manx Radio reported Bishop Paterson threatening that the 'Church of England could remove the Island's diocese if its Bishop doesn't have a political vote' after concerns were raised regarding the bishop's political role in the Legislative Council of the island's Parliament.

Paterson gained theological notoriety as the bishop responsible for deleting the devil from the new baptismal service of the Church of England. During his tenure, the diocese acquired the nickname 'Diocese of Sodom and Gomorrah', after his cathedral held a service in memory of the Orlando victims and decorated the altar with the colours of the LGBTI rainbow flag.

Under his leadership, the diocese also experienced a split when Dr. Gomes and a significant group of his congregation walked away to start St. Augustine's Church outside the jurisdiction of the diocese.

With dwindling funds and membership and with at least three major incumbencies vacant in a very small diocese, sources say that the future of the diocese is uncertain and that it may become part of either Liverpool or Carlisle diocese.

END