The US Episcopal Church has consecrated the Rev. Canon V. Gene Robinson as its first openly gay bishop.
The Most Rev. Frank Griswold, presiding bishop of the US Episcopal Church, consecrated Mr Robinson amid cheers and applause from the estimated 3,000 people who gathered under tight security for the ceremony in a college sports arena.
The move was condemned as "heresy" by conservative opponents who say it will tear apart the worldwide Anglican community.
Bishop Robinson, his voice trembling, told the congregation he felt deeply honoured but also urged compassion toward church members angered and upset by his consecration.
"Our God will be served if we are hospitable and loving and caring toward them," said the new bishop. "If they must leave, they will always be welcomed back into our fellowship."
Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams, spiritual leader of the worldwide Anglican faith, said divisions arising from the appointment were "a matter of deep regret".
The conservative American Anglican Council condemned the consecration of an openly homosexual bishop as "heresy, blasphemy and sin," and it vowed to create a new "mainstream" Anglican church in the United States.
"Today is a grievous day in the history of our Church. Heresy has been held up as holy. Blasphemy has been redefined as blessing," the American Anglican Council said in a statement. "Holy scripture has been abandoned and sin celebrated over sanctification."
"Our family is now split and the whole cloth of the Anglican Communion is torn. Realignment has begun," added the council, an alliance of bishops, clergy, and 600 Episcopal churches committed to "preserving Biblical orthodoxy".