Church of England vicar, 52, faces the sack for breaking Covid rules after hugging a mourner, singing a hymn with no mask on and putting out Bibles

Jul 18, 2021 by

by Mark Hookham, Mail on Sunday:

A Church of England vicar faces the sack for hugging a mourner at a funeral and singing an Easter hymn without wearing a facemask, The Mail on Sunday can reveal.

The Reverend Charlie Boyle, his wife and four children could be thrown out of the vicarage where they have lived for eight years after Church officials accused him of breaching Covid guidelines.

In an explosive interview with this newspaper, Mr Boyle, 52, accused Church authorities of ‘bullying’ and ‘intimidating’ him, and pursuing a string of petty complaints to force him out of his job at All Saints Church in Poole, Dorset.

The revelation, believed to be the first example of a vicar facing the sack for allegedly breaching Covid guidelines, will send shockwaves through the Church of England. It comes three months after police were lambasted for shutting down a Good Friday service at a Catholic church in London on the grounds it broke lockdown rules.

The MoS can reveal that the Archdeacon of Dorset, the Venerable Antony MacRow-Wood, has launched an investigation into claims against Mr Boyle. They are understood to include:

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