Amid intense controversy the ordination has taken place in New Hampshire of the first openly gay Episcopalian bishop.
Conservative members of the worldwide Anglican Communion staged a walkout at the ceremony at which Canon Gene Robinson was formally appointed as Bishop of New Hampshire.
The election of Canon Robinson, a divorced father-of-two who has lived with his male partner for 15 years, threatens to create a permanent schism within the US Church.
His supporters believe the event is a historic step towards a more honest and inclusive church.
But conservatives are dismayed and some of them plan to raise formal objections during the service.
The Irish Anglican Bishop Michael Mayes of Limerick and Killaloe attended the consecration.
The Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams, leader of the world's 77-million-strong Anglican communion, has predicted that divisions in the Anglican Church over the consecration will eventually heal.
