The situation with anti-capitalist protesters camping in tents outside St Paul's Cathedral has become so volatile and complex that yesterday the situation claimed another clerical ‘victim,’ as the Rt Rev Graeme Knowles resigned from his position as Dean.
Upon announcing his resignation, Knowles, who has been Dean for the last four years, said: "The past fortnight has been a testing time for the chapter and for me personally.
"It has become increasingly clear to me that, as criticism of the cathedral has mounted in the press, media and in public opinion, my position as Dean of St Paul's was becoming untenable.
"In order to give the opportunity for a fresh approach to the complex and vital questions facing St Paul's, I have thought it best to stand down as Dean, to allow new leadership to be exercised.”
Knowles is the third priest to resign, with Canon Chancellor of St Paul's, Rev Dr Giles Fraser, and part-time chaplain Fraser Dyer handing in their notices earlier, although the last two did so in protest at how the Cathedral was handling the affair.
In his first comments on the protest since it began, the Archbishop of Canterbury admitted "urgent issues" had been raised.
Dr Rowan Williams stated: "The events of the last couple of weeks have shown very clearly how decisions made in good faith by good people under unusual pressure can have utterly unforeseen and unwelcome consequences, and the clergy of St Paul's deserve our understanding in these circumstances.
"Graeme Knowles has been a very distinguished Dean of St Paul's, who has done a great deal to strengthen the pastoral and intellectual life of the cathedral and its involvement in the life of London.
"The urgent larger issues raised by the protesters at St Paul's remain very much on the table and we need - as a church and as society as a whole - to work to make sure that they are properly addressed."