Los Angeles Bishop J. Jon Bruno said he, too, was overjoyed, and called the election of the two women "historic." He said the consenting votes by U.S. bishops and diocesan standing committees demonstrated "that the Episcopal Church, by canon, creates no barrier for ministry on the basis of gender and sexual orientation, among other factors."

That decision by the church has led dozens of congregations to split off, some affiliating with more conservative Anglican churches overseas. The Episcopal Church remains part of the worldwide Communion but that body's spiritual leader, Rowan Williams, the archbishop of Canterbury, issued a warning to the U.S. church in December, saying that Glasspool's election "raised very serious questions not just for the Episcopal Church and its place in the Anglican Communion, but for the Communion as a whole."

David C. Anderson, president of the breakaway American Anglican Council, said the bishop's election was a sign that the Episcopal Church "will not abide by traditional Christian and Anglican Communion teaching on marriage and sexuality."

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Filed under: * Anglican - Episcopal • Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams • Episcopal Church (TEC) • TEC Bishops • TEC Conflicts • TEC Conflicts: Los Angeles • Sexuality Debate (in Anglican Communion) • Same-sex blessings

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