Married bishop, 69, who had affair with assistant refused to move out of his vicarage... even when church bosses bought him a £465k home to live in for life

Dr Michael Reid has been ordered out of the vicarage he refused to leave after he was sacked as bishop for an extra-marital affair with a member of his congregation

A bishop who refused to leave his vicarage after he was sacked for an extra-marital affair with a member of his congregation has been ordered out by a High Court judge.
Dr Michael Reid, 69, spent 30 years as senior pastor at the Trinity Church, in Pilgrims Hatch, Essex, before the affair with Sheila Graziano came to light in 2008.
The scandal rocked the church and its congregation and led to the sacking of the bishop, who had been married to his preacher wife, Ruth, for more than 30 years at the time.
But, despite signing an agreement promising to leave the adjoining vicarage, when it actually came to moving time, the former Met Police officer refused to get out.
Even when the church paid out £465,000 to buy him a new home to live in rent-free for life, Dr Reid refused to go, branding it a 'hovel', unfit for an invalid and right next door to a travellers’ camp.
But now, after taking the case to the High Court, the church has won an order forcing Dr Reid to give up the vicarage, known as Testimony House, and hand it over for the use of the church’s new senior pastor.
'It’s a farce, there is no justice,' complained Dr Reid as he left the court following the hearing.
The church’s barrister, Paul Adams, told the court it had been trying to get Dr Reid out of Testimony House since 2009.
He had been dismissed a year earlier after news of the affair hit the headlines and he had lost an employment tribunal claim over it.
'Some four years later, he hasn’t moved out and is now running a new ministry from Testimony House,' said the lawyer. 'Dr Reid has long been dismissed from his employment and Trinity is trying to get back the immediately surrounding land, which is supposed to be used for the occupation by the senior pastor.'
Mr Adams said the doctor had signed a consent order last year, promising to move out and into the new house which the church was going to buy for his use.

Dr Reid's affair with Sheila Graziano (left) came to light in 2008. He is pictured right with Ruth, his wife of 37 years

But Dr Reid said he had no intention of moving out, because Testimony House was 'his', the court heard.
It led to the church launching a claim for 'specific performance', a court order forcing the priest to do what he had promised.
Dr Reid contested the application, arguing that the consent order had been obtained by 'undue influence'. The church and those working for it had put undue pressure on him at a time when he was ill from having had a heart attack and his wife had recently died, he said.

Ruling in favour of the church, Judge Peter Leaver QC described Trinity as a church based on 'traditional Christian ethics and strong family values'.
'The arguments advanced on behalf of the defendant, Dr Reid, are without merit, the defence he seeks to put forward is nothing more than a sham,' said the judge.
'It’s a great shame that a man who has given a great deal to the church over a lengthy period should now seek to resile from an agreement he entered into, freely and with full consent.
'In the circumstances, therefore, I propose to grant summary judgment.'

The former policeman was sacked from his position as bishop after the affair came to light in 2008

The judge said Dr Reid would have to apply directly to the Court of Appeal if he wanted to challenge the decision or to have it delayed.
Dr Reid was made a bishop in Nigeria in 1995 and came under the media spotlight for his leading part in protests against the BBC’s decision to screen the controversial musical Jerry Springer - The Opera.
He founded the church as the Peniel Pentecostal Church and was head pastor from 1978. He now runs What God Can Do Ministries.

Dr Reid came under the spotlight for his leading part in protests against the BBC's decision to screen the musical Jerry Springer - The Opera (pictured)

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