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Episcopal Nominees Backed Gay Bishop
By RICHARD N. OSTLING
AP Religion Writer
© 2006 The Associated Press
NEW YORK — The Episcopal Church named four nominees to be its new leader Wednesday, three of whom approved the consecration of the denomination's first openly gay bishop.
The group includes Bishop J. Neil Alexander of Atlanta; Bishop Edwin F. Gulick Jr. of Louisville, Ky; and Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori of Las Vegas, all of whom approved V. Gene Robinson's consecration as bishop in New Hampshire in 2003.
Schori is the first woman nominated to be the church's presiding bishop.
The only nominee to vote against Robinson was Bishop Henry N. Parsley Jr. of Birmingham, Ala.
The new presiding bishop, who succeeds the retiring Frank Griswold, will be elected June 19 during the church's General Convention for a term extending to 2015.
Robinson's consecration later that year provoked ongoing protest from the denomination's conservative wing and among Anglicans internationally.
The Episcopal Church is the U.S. branch of the international Anglican Communion and its presiding bishop is part of its body of 38 "primates." Anglican leaders and churches overseas, particularly in Africa, broke ties with the American church over Robinson's elevation and denounced Griswold for leading Robinson's consecration ceremony.
Additional nominees can be proposed until April 1, but it's expected the nation's bishops will choose among names proposed by the official nominating committee. The winner of the bishops' balloting must then be confirmed by clergy and lay delegates.
The nominating committee, elected at the 2003 convention, consisted of nine bishops, nine priests and nine lay parishioners, with two youth appointees. It was co-chaired by Bishop Peter James Lee of Richmond, Va., and New York City laywoman Diane Pollard.
The panel finalized its slate at a Jan. 20-22 meeting in Delray Beach, Fla.
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