"Given the controversies surrounding the larger church, some may conclude my action is a reaction to the challenging situation," Collum wrote in a letter mailed Wednesday. "I would assure you that it is not."

Collum did not respond to requests for additional comment.

His resignation letter did not say what he plans to do after his last day in the office on Nov. 30, followed by two weeks' vacation.

"The situation is clear as mud, but the dean's decision to resign leaves me with grave concerns about the future of the Diocese of Albany within the framework of the national church," said Don Csaposs, a member for more than 15 years at All Saints.

Collum's announcement came in the wake of Love's July 18 pastoral letter in response to this summer's 78th General Convention of the Episcopal Church that affirmed marriage equality. Love cited a Book of Common Prayer definition of marriage as a "solemn and public covenant between a man and a woman." Love was among just seven out of more than 100 bishops nationwide who publicly opposed same-sex marriage.

Love returned from a sabbatical in Africa for a Sunday Mass on Aug. 30 at All Saints and delivered a forceful homily against same-sex marriage, which caused a few congregants to leave the cathedral as he spoke, according to people in attendance. He flew out of Albany the next day.

"People are struggling with this, and as a church we're trying to find our way through the issue without hurting people," Collum told the Times Union in August.

"The resignation came as a complete surprise to me and others I spoke with," said Louis Bannister, who is openly gay, and who left the cathedral where he had been a member for three years due to Love's opposition to gay marriage. He is among about 10 former All Saints members who have been driving since August to St. Peter's Episcopal Church in Bennington, Vt., where the church is welcoming to gay people.

"There's a fundamental gap between the Diocese of Albany and the Episcopal Church," Bannister said. "We're being held hostage by the conscience of Bishop Love."

"A lot of people find it hard to believe Dean Collum's resignation had nothing to do with the controversy, including myself," said Alice Malavasic, assistant professor of history at Hudson Valley Community College. She left All Saints after more than 20 years and now attends the Bennington church.

Malavasic and Bannister wished Collum well, but the resignation deepens a rift that has embroiled the Albany Episcopal Diocese for several years. In 2007, Bishop David Bena, a retired assistant bishop in the diocese, joined a controversial anti-gay splinter group known as the Convocation of Anglicans in North America. That same year, retired Albany Bishop Daniel Herzog left the Episcopal Church and joined the Roman Catholic Church in protest over gay Episcopal clergy. He returned to the Episcopal Church in 2010.

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