- Born:
- May 29, 1947, Lexington, Kentucky (age 79)
- Title / Office:
- bishop (2004-2013)
V. Gene Robinson
-
Who is V. Gene Robinson?
V. Gene Robinson (born May 29, 1947) served as the ninth Episcopal bishop of New Hampshire from 2004 to 2013. He is notable for being the first openly gay bishop in the Anglican Communion.
Before his election as bishop, Robinson was an active clergyman, promoting wellness programs for clergy and working in AIDS education, civil rights, and tolerance. His election as bishop in 2003 sparked controversy within the Anglican Communion. Robinson published a memoir, In the Eye of the Storm: Swept to the Center by God, in 2008, and he retired in 2013, citing the strain caused by the controversy surrounding his election.
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What religious role did V. Gene Robinson have?
V. Gene Robinson was the ninth Episcopal bishop of New Hampshire (2004–13) and the first openly gay bishop in the Anglican Communion.
Even before his election as bishop, Robinson had been an active clergyman, promoting clergy wellness and gaining particular recognition for his work counseling clergy and reconciling parishes in conflict. He also promoted education about AIDS, civil rights, and tolerance, especially for gays and lesbians. Robinson was influential in the 2009 decisions by the Episcopal Church General Convention to affirm the right of gays and lesbians to be ordained and to explore liturgical options for performing same-sex marriages.
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Why was V. Gene Robinson's election as bishop significant?
V. Gene Robinson's 2003 election as the first openly gay bishop in the Anglican Communion was a significant and controversial event. It sparked heated debate within the Episcopal Church (TEC) and the broader Anglican Communion, which represents traditional Anglicanism globally.
Robinson's election led to conflict, particularly with the "Global South" churches in Africa, Asia, and South America, which opposed the acceptance of homosexual relationships. This event, along with the blessing of same-sex unions, caused a divide, leading to the establishment of alternative institutions emphasizing conservative Anglicanism and sanctions against the ECUSA.
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What challenges did V. Gene Robinson face after his election?
V. Gene Robinson, the first openly gay bishop in the Anglican Communion, faced significant challenges after his election as the Episcopal bishop of New Hampshire in 2003.
His election sparked heated controversy within the Episcopal Church and the broader Anglican Communion. This controversy and the resulting strain on both him and the diocese led to his decision to retire in 2013. Although excluded from official meetings, he attended the 2008 Lambeth Conference of Anglican Communion bishops as an observer. Despite the opposition, Robinson played an influential role in the 2009 decisions by the Episcopal Church General Convention to affirm the ordination of gays and lesbians and to explore liturgical options for same-sex marriages.
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How did the Episcopal Church respond to V. Gene Robinson’s appointment?
V. Gene Robinson's appointment as bishop of New Hampshire in 2003 sparked controversy within the Episcopal Church (TEC) and the broader Anglican Communion. While some supported the decision, others, including conservative bishops within the Anglican Communion, opposed it.
The controversy led to strained relationships, and in 2004, leaders of the Anglican Communion churches agreed to a moratorium on ordaining individuals in same-sex relationships as bishops. Some traditionalists considered seceding from TEC, and some congregations left the church. In 2009, TEC affirmed the right of gays and lesbians to be ordained and explored liturgical options for same-sex marriages. These actions led to sanctions from the Anglican Communion.
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What impact has V. Gene Robinson had on the discussion about LGBTQ+ inclusion in religious communities?
V. Gene Robinson, the first openly gay bishop in the Anglican Communion, significantly impacted discussions about LGBTQ+ inclusion in religious communities. His consecration in 2003 sparked heated controversy within the Anglican Communion, leading to internal divisions and debates over the acceptance of same-sex relationships.
Robinson's advocacy extended to promoting education on civil rights, tolerance, and AIDS, particularly within the church. He played an influential role in the Episcopal Church's decisions in 2009 to affirm the ordination of gays and lesbians and explore liturgical options for same-sex marriages. However, his election also led to opposition, with some churches establishing alternative institutions that stressed a more conservative form of Anglicanism.
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V. Gene Robinson (born May 29, 1947, Lexington, Kentucky) was the ninth Episcopal bishop of New Hampshire (2004–13) and the first openly gay bishop in the Anglican Communion.
Robinson was born into poverty, the son of Kentucky tobacco sharecroppers. Because his parents had been expecting a girl, they decided to name the child Vicky Gene; as an adult, Robinson would use only the first initial of his first name. Because of severe complications during childbirth, he suffered temporary paralysis and almost died as a baby. Raised in the Disciples of Christ denomination, he joined the Episcopal Church (TEC) while attending the University of the South in Sewanee, Tennessee, from which he graduated in 1969. Robinson received a Master of Divinity degree from the General Theological Seminary of New York in 1973 and was ordained in the same year. In 1975 he moved to New Hampshire, where he and his wife, Isabella Martin, opened both a retreat center and a camp and horse farm for girls. In 1987 Robinson openly declared his homosexuality, and he and Martin amicably divorced. Robinson subsequently began a domestic partnership with Mark Andrew, a civil servant; the two were legally joined in a civil union in New Hampshire in 2008; in 2014 Robinson announced that they were divorcing.
Even before his election as bishop, Robinson had been an active clergyman in TEC, promoting clergy wellness (programs to encourage the physical and mental health of priests and their families) and gaining particular recognition for his work in counseling clergy and reconciling parishes in conflict. He also promoted education—both within and outside the church—about AIDS, civil rights, and tolerance, especially for gays and lesbians. Robinson served as Youth Ministries Coordinator for the seven Episcopal dioceses in the Episcopal Province of New England from 1978 to 1985 and acted as executive secretary for the province from 1983 to 2003. He was elected to the episcopacy on June 7, 2003, and consecrated bishop on November 2. He became bishop of New Hampshire the following March, amid opposition from conservative bishops in the Anglican Communion.
Robinson’s election to the episcopacy became the focus of heated controversy not only within TEC but also within the larger Anglican Communion—the body of national churches representing traditional Anglicanism worldwide. After being profiled in the documentary film For the Bible Tells Me So (2007), Robinson published a memoir containing his reflections on the controversy over his ordination, In the Eye of the Storm: Swept to the Center by God, in 2008. He was excluded from official meetings of the 2008 Lambeth Conference of Anglican Communion bishops, although he did attend as an observer. In 2009 he led the invocation at ceremonies preceding the inauguration of U.S. Pres. Barack Obama. Robinson was influential in the 2009 decisions by TEC General Convention to affirm the right of gays and lesbians to be ordained and to explore liturgical options for performing same-sex marriages.
In 2010, however, Robinson announced that he would retire in 2013, citing the controversy over his election as bishop and the resulting strain on both him and the diocese. In the book God Believes in Love: Straight Talk About Gay Marriage (2012), he drew upon theology, social science, and personal experience to make an argument for same-sex marriage.