Gene Robinson

Ten years ago this week, Rev. Gene Robinson officially became the first openly gay bishop in history. He was elected in June, 2003 and on 7 March, 2004  he was "invested" at a ceremony where the previous bishop (Rev. Douglas Theuner) formally handed the shepherd's crook to him.

  Just days before the investiture, Robinson spoke with John Walters on NHPR's The Front Porch about his election, and the controversy that followed in and around the Episcopal Church. They discuss the transition and what his plans are taking the church forward.

Nearly ten years ago Vicky Gene Robinson made international news by being the first openly gay person elected Bishop of an Episcopal Diocese. The action divided the church and Robinson made more headlines for being gay, than being Bishop.  Now as he prepares to step down after nearly a decade of service, he's out with a new book.  In God Believes in Love , Robinson tries to answer ten questions "frequently asked by those trying to understand if gay marriage is truly a just and righteous path for our states, our country and our world.  Today Bishop Gene Robinson joins us to talk ab

Bishop Gene Robinson predicts the United States Supreme Court will rule the Defense of Marriage Act is unconstitutional.

Appearing on NHPR’s The Exchange, Robinson also says the Supreme Court will reaffirm a lower court decision to overturn a California law banning same-sex marriages.

“I think they won’t make marriage equality the law of the land, but I think they will reaffirm this case for California, reinstating marriage there, and by so doing, they will signal the rest the country, this is coming to a theater near you.”

Episcopalians in New Hampshire have elected Reverend Robert Hirschfeld as their next Bishop. He will replace Gene Robinson, the first openly gay bishop in the history of the church.

Robert Hirschfeld – currently the rector of Grace Church in Amherst Massachusetts – was elected on the first ballot, which is a rarity in Episcopalian elections.

The chair of the Bishop Search and Nomination Committee, Kevin Nichols, says that reflects a consensus in the New Hampshire dioceses that Hirschfeld is the right man for the job.

Today members of the New Hampshire Episcopalian dioceses are gathering to elect a successor to Gene Robinson, the first openly gay Bishop in the history of the church. 

The election of Robinson in 2003 tore a rift in the global Anglican community. In 2010, Robinson announced that he would retire next January, saying years of death threats and controversy had taken their toll.

The vice-chair of New Hampshire’s bishop search committee, Margaret Porter, says that sexual orientation did not figure in to the selection of candidates.