Gene Robinson – America’s first openly gay Episcopal bishop – reveals how he came out to his ex-wife and daughters and the death threats and torment he endured after being labeled the ‘most dangerous man in the Church’

America’s first openly gay bishop has revealed how he came out to his ex-wife and daughters – including how he faced death threats and torment for years after the church openly accepted his sexuality.

Rev. Gene Robinson was consecrated as the 9th Bishop of New Hampshire in November 2003 – and during the ceremony he wore a bulletproof vest because he feared for his life, as he was the first gay bishop in the church.

At one point Robinson was seen as the most dangerous man in the Anglican Church, with hundreds of parishes leaving the church when he was accepted as bishop.

Now the twice-divorced bishop happily wears purple nail polish in front of his congregation and is seen as a bridge between the LGTB community and the Episcopal Church. He has reflected on how “God called me out.”

Robinson was married to his ex-wife Isabella Martin for fourteen years – and the couple have two daughters and granddaughters. They divorced 37 years ago when he came out as gay, and Robinson married Mark Andrew. But they also broke up in 2014.

Robinson, who now works at St. Thomas Episcopal Church in Washington, D.C., said CBS: ‘There have been a lot of us, let’s be clear. I am only the first to be openly homosexual.’

‘It pleases me endlessly. It’s imaginative. I like purple. As you can see, bishops wear a lot of purple. And I thought, ‘You know what? I am 76 years old. I can get my nails painted.”

“We forget how bad it was and how hard it was and how many people were against it and the pain it caused a lot of people.”

He revealed how on the day he was elected he received a postcard calling him a ‘whoring, lecherous pig’, and the hateful comments and death threats continued to pour in for years afterwards.

A big step was telling his daughters, who were four and eight at the time, that he was homosexual. He recalled, “I was sitting with the eight-year-old. I said, “You know what a lesbian is, right?” So the eight-year-old said, “Oh, oh, oh, yes” – very casually – “Oh yes, most men like women. And most women like men. But some men like men.

‘And some women like women. ‘I’ve learned that I’m one of those men who likes men. And your mother and I decided together that she deserves a chance to find someone who can love her in a special way. And I deserve the chance to find someone I can love my way.”

Robinson, who became a symbol for gay rights, married his partner Mark in 2008, but divorced in 2014. In total, they had a relationship of 25 years.

The bishop said at the time: “It is at least some small comfort to me, as an advocate for gay rights and marriage equality, to know that gays and lesbians, like any marriage, are subject to the same complications and hardships that plague marriages. between heterosexual couples.

“When we take our wedding vows, we all sincerely intend to live by the ideal of ’till death do us part.’

“But we can’t get through all of this until death does do us part.”

Speaking about his entire experience, Robinson shared CBS: “It’s a terrible thing to stand in the pulpit and encourage people to live authentic lives when you know you’re not being authentic.

‘That’s why I felt God calling me out.

“I didn’t want to be the ‘gay bishop,’ I wanted to be a good bishop. But I realized I had no control over that. The media was going to make me the gay bishop whether I liked it or not.

“So what I decided was, if I was going to be the gay bishop, I would be the best gay bishop I could ever be!”

Since Robinson’s groundbreaking courage in the early 2000s, there are now five openly gay bishops across the country.

Bishop Glasspool, one of the lesbian bishops in the US, when asked what people will say of Robinson fifty years from now, said: ‘That he was a prophet. That he was brave. And I think it costs a lot.”

Another gay member of the Church, Bishop Brown, added: “I think in fifty years’ time Bishop Robinson, given the history of our Church, will have a date on our calendar with his name on it, saying he will be included in the calendar of saints.’

Over the past two decades, Bishop Robinson has helped many in the LGBT community feel welcome in the Church.

He added, “I’ve lived my whole life with one foot in the church and one foot in the gay community, trying to explain one thing to the other, trying to get them back together.”

Robinson, now retired, has a chapel at St. Thomas Episcopal Church named in his honor.

The bishop added, “I feel like the least holy person ever. I know that I am not pure as the driven snow.

“But in my life, I’m happy with what I’ve done with what God has set before me.”