Free Republic

The first openly gay Episcopal bishop announced he will have no official role in a meeting this summer of world Anglican leaders, saying restrictions that organizers wanted to place on his involvement had caused him "considerable pain." New Hampshire Bishop V. Gene Robinson had been told last year that he could not fully participate in the once-a-decade gathering in England, called the Lambeth Conference, as the world Anglican Communion sat on the brink of schism over his 2003 election. Still, Episcopal leaders had been negotiating with the Anglican Communion Office to allow him to join the event in some capacity....

ROCHESTER — Less than a year ago, Episcopal Bishop V. Gene Robinson was the wedge that split the Church of the Redeemer. Yesterday, he presided over its final service, accepting gifts and praising parishioners for their faith and service to the church. Though it had been open for 100 years, the church had been hampered for years by financial difficulties. The difficulties worsened when the majority of parishioners decided to leave the church rather than accept the leadership of Robinson, who is openly gay.

DURHAM, N.H. (AP) — Sunday's consecration of the first openly gay Episcopal bishop will be a watershed moment for American religion that will crystallize severe divisions over homosexuality among Episcopalians and their fellow Anglicans worldwide. With the elevation of the Rev. V. Gene Robinson, the Episcopal Church will become the first major Christian denomination anywhere to choose a bishop living openly with a same-sex partner. Reverberations from that decision will last for years, and some consequences will shake out immediately. The split will even be evident in the venerable consecration ritual, when the congregation is asked if there is "any...

GAY BISHOP-ELECT DRAWS CHARLES INTO CHURCH ROW By Jonathan Petre, Religious Affairs Correspondent (Filed: 01/11/2003) On the eve of his consecration as Anglicanism's first openly homosexual bishop - an event which threatens to tear the worldwide Church apart - Bishop-elect Gene Robinson has drawn the Prince of Wales into the controversy. He said he did not relish the argument over his election and that it was his desire that the Anglican Communion would hold together. Gene Robinson will be consecrated as the Bishop of New Hampshire tomorrow But he told The Telegraph that the Church had to modernise its views...