San Fancisco ? The Episcopal Church breathed a sigh of relief Saturday after a heterosexual was elected bishop of a San Francisco Bay Area diocese, tamping down at least temporarily rising tensions over the role of gays in the church.

Alabama Bishop Mark Handley Andrus, 49, edged out six other finalists, including two gays and a lesbian, in a process some feared would widen a chasm between the U.S. Episcopal Church and the worldwide Anglican Communion to which it belongs.

His win answered the central question in a closely watched drama throughout the 77-million-member Anglican Communion: Whether Diocese of California Bishop William Swing, retiring in July, would be replaced by the church’s second openly gay Episcopal bishop. The first is V. Gene Robinson of New Hampshire.

But the battle over human sexuality is far from over.

Differing biblical interpretations and views on homosexuality are expected to be a focus of the denomination’s triennial national convention this year in Columbus, Ohio, in June.

On Saturday, after three rounds of balloting at stately Grace Cathedral atop Nob Hill, the three gay and lesbian nominees had garnered the least number of votes cast. Nonetheless, Andrus’ victory was hailed as a gain for inclusion of gays and lesbians in the church.

Election workers carry ballot boxes to be tallied following a round of voting by members of the Episcopal Diocese of California, with Grace Cathedral in the background, Saturday, May 6, 2006, in San Francisco. Three openly gay clerics were far behind Saturday as delegates gathered to elect the next leader of the Episcopal Diocese of California at a time when the global church is divided over the 2003 election of the first openly gay bishop. The consecration of V. Gene Robinson of New Hampshire was greeted by many Episcopalians as a triumph for gay acceptance but that choice sent reverberations throughout the global church, the Anglican Communion.

In a statement conveyed by telephone from Birmingham, Ala., Andrus drew applause from the delegates after he assured them that “[their] vote today remains a vote for inclusion and communion, of gay and lesbian people in their full lives as single or partnered people, of women, of all ethnic minorities, and all people.”

Two houses of electors – one of about 300 clergy, the other of about 400 parishioners – cast ballots. Andrus won 72 percent of the clergy’s vote and about 55 percent of the lay vote. His selection still needs to be confirmed at the June national convention.

In the weeks before the election, one openly gay candidate, the Rev. Bonnie Perry of Chicago, had been considered a front-runner for the post. But after the candidates toured the diocese last month, various church members said, opinions began to shift.

Andrus’ supporters said the election results underlined how the diocese’s 27,000 congregants were more interested in selecting the most qualified nominee than in challenging the authority of the denomination to make an ideological point.

Even with the election of Andrus, conservative church leaders were still angry that the seven finalists included partnered gays. Like Perry, the other openly gay candidates, the Rev. Canon Michael Barlowe of San Francisco and the Very Rev. Robert Taylor of Seattle, have same-sex partners.