THE Anglican community moved closer to appointing its first openly gay bishop last night when the dioceses of the American Episcopal Church voted to endorse Canon Gene Robinson as the Bishop of New Hampshire.
Both lay members of the Church and the clergy voted 2-1 in favour of Canon Robinson. The final tally of lay members was 66 in favour, 32 against with 13 divided. The clergy were 65 in favour, 31 against with 12 divided.
The election of Canon Robinson must now be confirmed by the House of Bishops, which will vote today.
Canon Robinson’s opponents must decide whether to make good their threat to break relations with the Episcopal Church and split the Anglican Communion worldwide.
The debate divided between those, overwhelmingly from southern states, who invoked the Bible and their concern for church unity, and those who sought inclusion of minorities.
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A delegate from West Virginia reminded the convention of the words of Dr Rowan Williams, the Archbishop of Canterbury, when considering the appointment of Dr Jeffrey John as Bishop of Reading: that there were dangers in consecrating a bishop whose legitimacy would be questioned by many communicants.
However, a delegate from San Joaquin said: “Homosexuality is not a sin, rather it is a gift from God consistent with the word of God. It is no more against the scriptures than women in church and the 1776 rebellion, which was against the authority of government, country and scripture.”
After the result, standing alongside his partner Mark Andrew, Bishop-elect Robinson expressed relief that the vote had gone his way. “I feel very peaceful on the inside and am feeling very humbled by what has happened,” he said. “This Episcopal Church is wide open and everyone is welcome here.
“I believe God is doing a new thing in the world. I believe something is happening in the Church. It involves some pain for a lot of us, but not being included in the Church for so long has also caused a lot of pain.”
Asked what will happen to him next, if the House of Bishops, as is likely, confirms his appointment today, he said: “In a few days you are going to be so bored with me because I’ll be back in New Hampshire doing what I have always done.” He doubted whether his election would cause schism in the Church. “If we can just hold on to one another, we will fight this out. We have a Church with a broad range of opinions on all range of matters.”
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Dean George Werner, President of the House of Deputies, accepted that “for many it is going to be a time of hope and for many a time of great despair. But I hope that our brothers and sisters in the Anglican world see that we are trying to discern God’s will and aren’t just being arrogant Americans.”
However, the American Anglican Council, which represents conservative bishops and parishes, said that it was “deeply grieved” by the results. “It is a tragic decision that leads the Episcopal Church to the brink of shattering the Anglican Communion,” it said.