First openly gay Episcopal bishop says he is divorcing his husband
Bishop Gene Robinson of New Hampshire at Trinity Church, Columbus, Ohio, The first openly gay Episcopal bishop, who became a symbol for gay rights far beyond the church while deeply dividing the world's Anglicans , plans to divorce his husband. Bishop V. Gene Robinson announced the end of his marriage to Mark Andrew in an email sent to the Diocese of New Hampshire , where he served for nine years before retiring in 2012. Robinson would not disclose details about the end of their 25-year relationship but wrote Sunday in the Daily Beast that he owed a debt to Andrew "for standing by me through the challenges of the last decade." "It is at least a small comfort to me, as a gay rights and marriage equality advocate, to know that like any marriage, gay and lesbian couples are subject to the same complications and hardships that afflict marriages between heterosexual couples," Robinson wrote. "All of us sincerely intend, when we take our wedding