Diocese of Albany bishop candidates indicate they would allow same-sex weddings

Jul 20, 2023 by Jill

by David Paulsen, ENS:

Four Episcopal priests have been nominated for the next bishop of the Diocese of Albany. The candidates who make up this theologically diverse slate appear to have at least one thing in common: Whoever is elected on Sept. 9 is all but certain to become the first Albany bishop to allow same-sex couples to marry in the northern New York diocese.

The four candidates were asked specifically for their views on marriage equality in essay questions posed by the diocese. Their responses, posted online, range from the traditional theology for which the Diocese of Albany is known to one candidate’s open embrace of same-sex marriage.

Albany has been without a diocesan bishop since February 2021, when Bishop William Love resigned after losing a disciplinary case for his refusal to allow same-sex couples to marry in his diocese. He was the only diocesan bishop in The Episcopal Church who openly rejected General Convention’s 2018 compromise on the issue. After resigning, Love left The Episcopal Church to join the more conservative, breakaway Anglican Church in North America.

All four candidates to succeed Love called for healing in the diocese after past divisions. All four also indicated they would abide by General Convention’s mandate on marriage, though they vary somewhat in how they would carry out the diocese’s compliance.

“As bishop, I would authorize the use of the new liturgical rites [for same-sex couples] as approved by the General Convention,” the Rev. Neal Longe, one of two Diocese of Albany priests in the running for bishop, said in his essay responses. “This authorization would be made without need for waiver, special permission or the need for outside supplemental episcopal oversight.”

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