The unusual step was announced by Archbishop Samuel Prakash, metropolitan of the Anglican Church of India, who became acting primate of the Traditional Anglican Communion, reported on the VirtueOnline website, which identifies itself as the "voice of global orthodox Anglicanism."

"Hepworth is no longer permitted to serve as bishop ordinary of Australia," said Bishop Michael Gill, secretary of the College of Bishops.

Bishop Gill told VirtueOnline that Australian traditionalist Anglicans were "exceedingly unhappy with all the negative publicity surrounding Hepworth" and wanted their voices heard and some action taken by the College of Bishops.

He said that Hepworth indicated that he offered to resign before a recent meeting of the College of Bishops in Johannesburg.

"We accepted his resignation," Bishop Gill said.

Archbishop Hepworth had sought to enter the Roman Catholic Church through the Anglican ordinariate but had been rebuffed after he alleged that he had been raped as a young cleric by three priests, including a current serving priest of the Adelaide Archdiocese, four decades ago.

Adelaide Archbishop Philip Wilson appointed Michael Abbott, queen's counsel, to investigate the Anglican prelate's claims in November. Abbott found the allegations to be unsubstantiated.

The investigation began after Archbishop Hepworth told The Australian newspaper in mid-September that he left the Catholic priesthood decades ago after being sexually abused as a seminarian and young priest in the 1960s and 1970s. The Archdiocese of Melbourne compensated him for his complaint against two priests, now deceased, but he talked to the press after he said his allegation against the one surviving priest was not investigated by the Adelaide Archdiocese.