Lesbians | Married Lesbian Episcopal Priest Named Finalist For Bishop Of New York

NEW YORK -- The Rev. Tracey Lind, a married lesbian priest, is one of five finalist to become the next bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of New York.

Lind, who is dean of Trinity Cathedral in Cleveland, is 57 and married Emily Ingalls in 2010 in New Hampshire, according to the diocese.

Bishop Mark Sisk has planned to retire by August 2014, so a diocese panel has chosen the finalists who would succeed him. The election will be Oct. 29 at a convention at the Cathedral Church of St. John the Divine in Manhattan. The winner will be named coadjutor bishop and will assist Sisk until his retirement.

The Episcopal Church is among the first mainstream religions to embrace gays and lesbians into the ministry. In 2003, V. Gene Robinson was elected the ninth bishop of the Diocese of New Hampshire, becoming the first openly gay, non-celebate priest to be ordained as a bishop in a major Christian denomination in the U.S. Robinson's election triggered dissension within the church, and some congregations split from the Episcopal Church.

The other nominees to become bishop of New York are:

-- The Rev. Peter Eaton, dean of St. John's Cathedral in Denver

-- The Rev. Cathy Hagstrom George, priest-in-charge at St. Mary's in Dorchester, Mass.

-- The Rev. John T. W. Harmon, rector at Trinity Episcopal Church in Washington, D.C.

-- The Rev. Pierre Whalon, bishop-in-charge of the Convocation of Episcopal Churches in Europe, based in Paris.