A provocative pro-Palestinian vicar is to be allowed to say 'goodbye' to his parish before he leaves his post after breaching an agreement that restricted his use of social media.
Rev Stephen Sizer has courted controversy a number of times for sharing contentious articles including one linking Jews with the 9/11 attacks in the USA.
The Bishop of Guildford announced on Friday Sizer has been blocked from 'all preaching, teaching and leading of services with immediate effect' after he ignored an order limiting what he could share online.
But he will be allowed to lead his church's ministry over the Easter weekend before he finally retires on Easter Sunday.
The Jewish Board of Deputies branded the decision 'very disappointing' and pointed out the rebel priest has flouted the terms of his ban a number of times.
Jonathan Arkush, Board of Deputies president, said: 'Stephen Sizer has repeatedly transgressed the terms of the agreement he made with the Church of England on 14 February 2015. He was issued with a final warning on 2 November 2016 following yet another breach.
'So it is very disappointing that the Church has allowed him to remain in his ministry, albeit with restrictions, until Easter, when he will again be permitted to preach.
'The Jewish community will feel let down that the church has failed to dismiss a minister who has repeatedly posted slurs.'
It comes after Sizer was warned a number of times about sharing Holocaust denial and Zionist conspiracy articles.
In 2015 he was banned from writing, preaching, teaching, emailing, tweeting, posting on Facebook or commenting in any way in relation to the current situation in the Middle East after he posted a link on his Facebook page to an article entitled The '9-11/Israel did it'.
His latest breach was met with a firm rebuttal but the Andrew Watson, the Bishop of Guildford, who said in a statement: 'Dr Sizer admits that material shared on his Facebook page in the past two weeks has breached our agreement, and so I have required him to cease all preaching, teaching and leading of services with immediate effect. He will also desist from all use of social media until his retirement takes effect.'
But he added: 'To allow the parish of Virginia Water to say a proper goodbye, I have conceded that Dr Sizer leads ministry over the Easter weekend.'
