Newark, N.J. ? Avoiding further controversy in the worldwide Anglican family, the Episcopal Diocese of Newark on Saturday chose a Massachusetts priest as their new bishop, rather than an openly gay candidate on the ballot.

The Rev. Mark Beckwith, 54, won on the third ballot, taking 253, or about 53 percent of the 477 ballots cast by clergy and lay representatives.

Canon Michael Barlowe, 51, an openly gay priest from California, only had one vote, cast by a lay person, in the final round. Even in the first round, he only had 40 votes, 16 from clergy and 24 from lay people.

The Rev. Elizabeth Kaeton, an openly gay priest at St. Paul’s Church in Chatham, felt Beckwith was the best choice to lead the diocese, but thought the global Anglican community’s pressure on the American church to avoid more gay bishops was an “elephant in the room.”