From Hartford-
The first ballot hinted at the outcome, and on the second ballot Connecticut Episcopalians broke a centuries-old tradition Saturday, electing the Rev. Ian T. Douglas as the 15th bishop of the nation's oldest diocese. He becomes the first outsider to hold the post.
Douglas, a divinity professor at the Episcopal Divinity School in Cambridge, Mass., who is also associate priest in that community, downplayed the significance of his election, rejecting the notion it was a repudiation of current leaders in Connecticut.
Douglas will succeed Bishop Andrew D. Smith, who is retiring.
The Rt. Rev. Jim Curry, who will continue to hold the post of the diocesan bishop suffragan, was expected by many to prevail in Saturday's election.
"I'm still a little stunned," said the Rev. Jim Bradley of St. John's Church on the Waterbury Green, moments after the historic vote. "I really thought that Bishop Curry would win handily ... it certainly was a vote for change."
Douglas, reached by telephone in Massachusetts soon after the results of the second ballot were announced at Christ Church Cathedral, said Smith, Curry and other current leaders have brought the diocese "to a place of new energy, new commitment."
As for his place in history, "I would take it as a sign of newness," Douglas said.
Bradley said the church would have been well-served by any of the four candidates, a field that also included the Rev. Mark Delcuze, rector of St. Stephen's Church in Ridgefield, and the Rev. Beth Fain, rector of a Texas church.
More here-
http://www.rep-am.com/news/local/445006.txt
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