SAN FRANCISCO — The Episcopal Church sidestepped a potential crisis May 6 when a married father of two from Alabama was elected bishop of San Francisco over three openly gay contenders.
Mark Handley Andrus, 49, the suffragan (assistant) bishop of Birmingham, won a seven-person race to replace Bishop William Swing of the Diocese of California. The three gay candidates all trailed in the final voting after Andrus was elected on the third ballot.
Had any of the three gay candidates won, conservatives warned it would have likely led to permanent schism in the 2.3 million-member Episcopal Church and with sister churches in the worldwide Anglican Communion. The U.S. church has been deeply divided over the inclusion of gays and lesbians in front of and behind church pulpits since 2003, when an openly gay bishop, V. Gene Robinson, was elected in New Hampshire.
Andrus’ election will need to be ratified by the church’s General Convention meeting in Columbus, Ohio, in June.
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