He has brought a number of high-profile and controversial civil suits in English courts over matters of Anglican faith and practice, including the ordination of women to the priesthood, the legality of the marriage of Charles, Prince of Wales to Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall and has challenged the retirement age of 70 within the Church of England.
As a result, he is no longer allowed to bring action within the Courts of England and Wales without obtaining the prior permission of a judge.
[4] In 2011, with others, Williamson challenged a major grant by the Confraternity of the Blessed Sacrament to the Personal Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham.
[5] On 26 January 2015, Williamson interrupted the consecration service for the Church of England's first woman to become a bishop, Libby Lane, at York Minster.
[6] Williamson's initial application to challenge the Church of England's compulsory retirement age of 70 was dismissed by the Employment Tribunal on 8 January 2020 because he had not obtained the prior permission of the High Court under the terms of the vexatious litigant order.