LOS ANGELES , California ( CNN ) -- Los Angeles Episcopalians elected an openly lesbian bishop late Saturday , the denomination 's news service reported . The Rev . Mary Douglas Glasspool , 55 , will become the first openly gay bishop in the Episcopal Church since Gene Robinson took office in New Hampshire in 2004 , if she is formally approved . Conservative factions in the Anglican Communion -- a 77-million member denomination worldwide , with the Episcopal Church as its U.S. branch -- have opposed the ordination of gay bishops . The archbishop of Canterbury , the head of the Anglican Communion , issued a statement Saturday saying that Glasspool 's election `` raises very serious questions not just for the Episcopal Church and its place in the Anglican Communion , but for the Communion as a whole , '' according to the Episcopal Church 's Web site . Glasspool 's election is the first choice of an openly gay bishop since the church ended an agreement designed to keep the worldwide Anglican Communion from tearing itself apart . In the wake of the Robinson controversy , Episcopalians called a temporary halt to appointing any more openly gay bishops , to give the church time to hammer out a compromise . They voted this summer not to renew the ban . Glasspool , now based in Baltimore at the Diocese of Maryland , is the first openly gay candidate elected bishop since then . The Diocese of Minnesota considered an openly gay candidate for bishop in October , but chose another priest when votes were cast . Some Episcopal leaders reacted angrily to Glasspool 's election . The Rev . Canon Kendall Harmon , canon theologian from the Diocese of South Carolina , said the election `` represents an intransigent embrace of a pattern of life Christians throughout history and the world have rejected as against biblical teaching , '' according to the Episcopal Church site . Glasspool will assist Bishop Diocesan J. Jon Bruno in ministry to the Los Angeles region 's 70,000 parishioners , according to that diocese 's Web site . She will become one of two bishops suffragan -- the second-highest position in the clergy of the diocese -- if she is formally approved . The choice requires consent from a majority of the church 's other 108 dioceses . `` If by chance people are going to withhold consents because of Mary 's sexuality , it would be a violation of the canons of this church , '' Bruno said , according to the Episcopal Church site . Glasspool also becomes the second woman bishop in the 114-year history of the diocese -- elected only hours after the first , the Rev . Diane Jardine Bruce , 53 . She is the 17th woman elected as an Episcopal bishop nationwide , according to the diocese Web site . `` She 's not afraid of conflict and she is a reconciler , '' Bruno said , according to the Web site . Glasspool and her partner of 19 years are an example of loving service and ministry , he added . Her partner , Becki Sander , recently earned a doctorate in social work . Glasspool , who has been ordained a priest for 27 years , is the daughter of an Episcopal priest , the diocese said . She and Bruce were among six candidates nominated by a 24-member diocesan committee , according to the diocese . Bruce is now rector at St. Clement 's by-the-Sea Episcopal Church in Southern California . Describing herself when she was nominated , she wrote : `` At St. Clement 's by-the-Sea , I pastor in a mixed Latino/Anglo neighborhood . Next to million-dollar homes near the beach are buildings with two or three families sharing one small apartment . We offer three services every Sunday : two in English and one in Spanish . I minister to a group ranging from the very wealthy to the very poor . I am most proud of having helped start the Peaceful Warrior Tae Kwon Do Academy for at-risk youth in the neighborhood . ''
Rev . Mary Douglas Glasspool will be America 's second openly gay Episcopal bishop . Election must be formally approved by majority of other Episcopal bishops . Church has been torn over appointment of openly gay and lesbian clergy , bishops . Archbishop of Canterbury says Glasspool 's election ` ` raises very serious questions ''