US: The Episcopal Church consecrated its first openly gay bishop yesterday in a ceremony which will reverberate throughout the 70 million-member Anglican faith.
The Rev Canon V. Gene Robinson (56), a New Hampshire priest, formally became a bishop at a ceremony last night marked by pomp, circumstance and even a formal chance for his opponents to object.
Canon Robinson has pleaded for unity and says he has no intention of backing down, but conservative members of the worldwide Anglican Communion are warning that his consecration could have dire effects on the 450-year-old Christian faith.
The Anglican Church in Tanzania, whose 3 million members outnumber the 2.3 million Episcopalians (Anglicans) in the United States, has warned the US church not to appoint an openly gay bishop, saying it would violate the word of God.
"If they proceed with the consecration of Rev Canon Gene Robinson, the homosexual, to the episcopate, they will be acting against the faith and order of the church and . . . separating themselves from the majority in the Anglican Church worldwide," the Tanzanian church said in a statement on Saturday.
Canon Robinson, a father of two who has lived with his male partner for 13 years, says the world church will not split over the issue and noted that many Anglicans disagree with the ordination of women. "We've not come apart over that and there's no reason for us to come apart over this," he said in an interview with CNN.
"Surely these people don't believe that if I were to step aside that all of this would die. There are many extraordinarily gifted gay and lesbian people in positions of leadership throughout our church. My stepping aside would not stop this one bit."
Protesters, including the Rev Fred Phelps, an outspoken homophobic Baptist minister from Kansas, gathered outside while other opponents held a separate service a few miles away.
The Rev Richard Kirker, general secretary of the Lesbian and Gay Christian Movement, attended the service as a guest of Canon Robinson.
As with many who know the canon, even some of his critics, the Rev Kirker has described him as a person of deep compassion and religious conviction. "What strikes me as I speak to people here is the admiration and love felt by all who know Gene Robinson," the Rev Kirker said. "Even those who are troubled by his sexuality are full of praise for him as a man of God, pastor and teacher."
Among those who intended to participate in the ceremony were Kathleen Lewis and her daughter, Jillian, who objected to Canon Robinson's appointment on the grounds it violated holy scripture.
"He's supposed to be leading us, but he's giving us false teachings because he's not following God," said Jillian, a 16-year-old high school student from Farmington, New Hampshire.
Jillian, her mother and others planned to leave the ceremony after formally stating their opposition. Eventually they want to ask the Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams, spiritual leader of the worldwide Anglican faith, for permission to separate from the Episcopal Church.
Dr Williams has said Canon Robinson should not have been elected a bishop because he is a practising homosexual. He spoke last month of a "huge crisis looming" as a result.