The Bishop of Southwark, the Rt Rev Tom Butler (pic'd here), could be formally disciplined for his allegedly drunken behaviour before Christmas.The bishop lost his briefcase, but gained a black eye.
Senior Church authorities are investigating the incident after the Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams, was advised by a legal officer that the bishop had a case to answer.
The bishop could receive a rebuke or worse for "unbecoming" conduct on the evening in December during which he lost his mobile phone and briefcase but gained a black eye.
Such a judgment would almost certainly lead to calls for the resignation of the bishop, who is well known for his contributions on BBC Radio 4's Thought for the Day.
Bishop Butler said that he could not remember what happened between the time he left a reception at the Irish embassy in Belgravia and arrived home in south London with head injuries.
Witnesses said that a man who looked like the bishop climbed into the back of an unlocked Mercedes on Crucifix Lane, near London Bridge, in Southwark that night.
The man was alleged to have been throwing toys around and to have said: "I'm the Bishop of Southwark. It's what I do.'' The car's owner and a friend who witnessed the incident, dragged him out of the vehicle and, in the fracas, the man accidentally fell to the pavement.
Bishop Butler initially explained his injuries by suggesting that he had been mugged, although the police soon dropped that line of inquiry.
He said in a subsequent radio interview that he was worried about his memory loss and was having medical tests to see if he may have suffered a minor stroke.
But he described the account of his behaviour in the back of the car as "very strange" and said it would have been entirely "out of character" if he had been drunk. A formal complaint was made about the bishop to Lambeth Palace by an unnamed individual living in his diocese.
Under the Clergy Discipline Measure, which came into effect in January, Dr Williams, asked a judge to rule on whether the complaint should go ahead.
The judge advised that the bishop did have a case to answer, but that the person who made the initial complaint was not deemed to have a "proper interest" and was technically unable to pursue it.
Lambeth Palace confirmed last night that the matter "is still being dealt with", though details about the process remain unclear.
According to a code of practice that accompanies the legislation, the bishop may face an interview or be asked to provide a statement to explain his behaviour.
Separate guidance about the penalties that can be meted out for various offences deals with "misconduct in private life" that includes drunkenness.
"Drunkenness without any aggravating feature should normally be met with a rebuke or a conditional deferment or discharge," it says. If the authorities decide that the complaint has no substance, however, it can be dismissed.
The most serious penalty is defrocking or " prohibition for life", but that is reserved for the most grave cases.
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