A panel has been appointed by the Most Rev. Edmond L. Browning, Presiding Bishop, to respond to the complaint filed against the Rt. Rev. Frank Vest, Bishop of Southern Virginia, by Christ Church, Danville, Va. The panel, made up of Bishops Russell Jacobus, Fond du Lac; John Buchanan, West Missouri; Christopher Epting, Iowa; Larry Maze, Arkansas; and James Coleman, West Tennessee, has appointed Bishop Buchanan its convener.

According to canon law, the panel must respond in writing by Sept. 16 to charges that Bishop Vest has refused to accept or formally reject the Rev. Peter Toon's letters dimissory from the Diocese of Quincy [TLC, June 30]. Canon law specifies that a bishop must do so within three months. Christ Church called Fr. Toon to be rector last November. The complaint states that Bishop Vest has not provided the "credible information of wrongdoing" required for rejection, but has instead asked Fr. Toon for permission to interview previous bishops under whom Fr. Toon served.

In the meantime, Fr. Toon continues to function as an unlicensed priest in the diocese "at Bishop Vest's good pleasure," permission which could be revoked at any moment, according to Fr. Toon. On Aug. 11, he said, the bishop confirmed 11 teenagers at Christ Church. He invited Fr. Toon to participate in the service, and both attended a reception and visited a homebound family.