The accusation also generated an outcry from a number of clergys wives in the diocese.

On a leave of absence since allegations of inappropriate communication with a woman surfaced in August, Matthias, 64, would have celebrated his two-year anniversary as leader of the church in Chicago and the Midwest this week.

In a letter to parishioners Sunday, the bishop asked for forgiveness.

It is my hope that my stepping down will end the ordeal, allowing the diocese to move toward healing, he said.

I ask for everyones forgiveness for my failings, my mistakes and sins.

In a speech at Chicagos Holy Trinity Cathedral a week later, he blamed clergy for plotting his ouster in reaction to edicts he issued shortly after his arrival.

At his first meeting with Chicago priests in May, following a year of parish tours, he barred evening liturgies on Feast Days and baptismal liturgies on Sundays.

He also limited the role of women in worship and decreed that clergy should wear only collars or cassocks, never plain clothes, in public.

Several priests in the diocese who do not agree with my support of traditional Orthodox practices and my firm stand on moral issues have used this incident as an excuse to have me removed, the bishop told parishioners.

The loud voices of the clergy who did not want to be obedient to the hierarchy was heard.

Peter and Paul Church in Burr Ridge, said he hadnt detected any unusual tension between the bishop and other clergy in the diocese.

Born David Lawrence Moriak, Matthias came to Chicago two years ago after the death of his predecessor, Archbishop Job.

Originally ordained in the Carpatho Russian Orthodox Church, Matthias joined the Orthodox Church in America to become Chicagos bishop in April 2011.

The Orthodox Church in America, one of several branches of Orthodox Christianity in the U.S., claims about 100,000 adult members nationwide and 5,000 in the Midwest.

The Rev. Andrew Harrison, rector of St.

Luke the Evangelist Church in Palos Hills, said he heard grumbling, but he believed the bishop simply was trying to establish his authority.

Since St. Luke has allowed women to play a role in communion for 26 years, the congregation appealed for a dispensation from the restrictions.

They werent happy with it, but we were complying, Harrison said.

Though he declined to speak to the Tribune, he said in his speech at Holy Trinity that he went through a battery of psychological tests at an institute in Georgia that concluded he was not a sexual predator.

I do repent of using poor judgment, of using inappropriate words that I thought were being received as humorous, he said.

It was never my intention to cause a complaint of any harm or discomfort.

In fact, I was quite concerned for her health and well-being.

I am sorry that my kindness and generosity to this person was viewed with suspicion and ulterior motives.

Still, since a national church investigation did conclude sexual harassment had occurred, reinstating him would have been contrary to the churchs zero-tolerance policy, Harrison said.

Orthodox Church Of America