Sweden Gets Lesbian Bishop

The Church of Sweden on Sunday consecrated its first openly gay bishop.

Eva Brunne, 55, became bishop of Stockholm, Sweden's capital, in a ceremony in nearby Uppsala, reported Agence France-Presse and the website The Local. Brunne is in a civil partnership with a woman, and they have a 3-year-old child.

Consecrated with her was another woman, Tuulikki Koivunen Bylund, who will be bishop of Harnosand in northern Sweden. This was the first time the church had consecrated two female bishops at the same time.

The Church of Sweden, which is Lutheran and was once the state church, supported the nation's marriage equality law, which took effect May 1, and beginning November 1 opened church weddings to same-sex couples. The state had previously recognized, and the church blessed, marriage-like partnerships. About three quarters of Swedes are members of the denomination.