(RNS) The Episcopal Diocese of Minnesota averted controversy on Saturday (Oct. 31) by electing a heterosexual church leader rather than a lesbian Chicago priest as its next bishop.
The Rev. Brian Prior, of Spokane, Wash., was elected in the fifth round of voting, according to the diocese. The Rev. Bonnie Perry, who would have been the first openly partnered lesbian to serve as bishop in the Episcopal Church, withdrew after the third round.
Prior, 50, has been vice president of the House of Deputies, one of two legislative bodies in the Episcopal Church’s General Convention. When consecrated as bishop, Prior will join the other body, the House of Bishops.
Prior said, “I feel overwhelmed and blessed at this moment for the opportunity to come and serve in a place with such a rich history and with so many saints both past and present.”
The Episcopal Church voted to lift a de facto ban on gay bishops last summer, after the election of an openly gay man as bishop of New Hampshire led to widespread dissension in the Anglican Communion. The Episcopal Church is the U.S. branch of the communion and the only province with an openly gay bishop.
