Bishop Elizabeth Eaton of Cleveland has been elected presiding bishop of the 4 million-member Evangelical Lutheran Church in America.
On the fifth ballot she defeated 12-year incumbent Bishop Mark Hanson 600-287.
Both are considered centrists in a denomination that lost 500,000 members after a 2009 decision to permit partnered gay clergy.
She is the first female presiding bishop in the nation’s largest Lutheran denomination.
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