Gene Robinson - Ordination As Bishop

Ordination As Bishop

The election in New Hampshire, like all elections of bishops in the Episcopal Church, was done by a synodical election process, unlike many other parts of the Anglican Communion where bishops are appointed. This detail would be misunderstood when the international commentary following Robinson's election suggested he should voluntarily step down or be asked to do so. The Jeffrey John case in the Church of England is the best example to contrast the election of bishops with the appointment of bishops. Jeffrey John is an openly gay priest living in a long-standing celibate relationship (he self-identifies as celibate) and was appointed as a bishop. One person, the Bishop of Oxford, had the authority to make John the new Suffragan Bishop of Reading. The Archbishop of Canterbury, however, allegedly persuaded him to not proceed with the appointment. This precedent would be used by the wider Anglican Communion to pressure Robinson. Robinson said that "there was not a single bishop involved in the choosing of me to be Bishop of New Hampshire."

The Elections and Transitions Committee arranged for the Whittemore Center to be used for the consecration, a large hockey rink on the campus of the University of New Hampshire in Durham. The numbers expected were about 3,000 people, 300 press, a 200 strong choir, and 48 bishops. The security was strong: just as Barbara Harris had to wear a bullet-proof vest at her consecration, Robinson was showing his bullet-proof vest to Harris herself. Robinson's parents, sister, daughter and their families and his ex-wife Boo were all at the consecration. Robinson was consecrated on November 2, 2003 in the presence of Presiding Bishop Frank Griswold and six co-consecrating bishops: 48 bishops in all.

Robinson's election and consecration prompted a group of 19 bishops, led by Bishop Robert Duncan of the Diocese of Pittsburgh, to make a statement warning the church of a possible schism between the Episcopal Church and the Anglican Communion. The Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams, stated that " will inevitably have a significant impact on the Anglican Communion throughout the world and it is too early to say what the result of that will be." He added: "t is my hope that the church in America and the rest of the Anglican Communion will have the opportunity to consider this development before significant and irrevocable decisions are made in response." Retired South African Archbishop Desmond Tutu stated that he did not see what "all the fuss" was about, saying the election would not roil the Church of the Province of Southern Africa. Other senior bishops of the church, like Archbishop Peter Akinola of the Church of Nigeria and head of the Global South, have made Robinson a figurehead in their dispute with the Episcopal Church. Some disaffected Episcopalians have disaffiliated from the Episcopal Church and formed the Convocation of Anglicans in North America with the support of the Nigerian church.