CHARLESTON, S.C. (AP) – The election of the Very Rev. Mark Lawrence as bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of South Carolina could deepen the divide between traditionalists and liberals in the American denomination, depending on whether the denomination’s leadership approves his election.

“If his election were not to be approved, it would create a severe problem,” said Kendall Harmon, canon theologian for the diocese.

Lawrence, a California native, was elected Sept. 16 at a convention at Saint Philip’s Church in downtown Charleston. As the 14th bishop of South Carolina, Lawrence was chosen to replace retiring Bishop Edward L. Salmon Jr., a vocal opponent of ordination of gay clergy.

The diocese includes 73 parishes and missions in the lower and coastal areas of South Carolina.

Lawrence, rector of St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Bakersfield, Cal., was easily elected.

The other two nominees were the Rev. Steve Wood, rector of St. Andrews Church in Mount Pleasant and the Rev. Canon Ellis Brust, chief operating officer of the American Anglican Council in Atlanta.

Like Salmon, Lawrence is a traditionalist. Answering questions given to the diocese nominees, Lawrence said the Episcopal Church has frayed “by our misguided passion to be culturally sensitive and intellectually flexible.”

“In its desire to be perceived as relevant to one segment of our culture it has lost its commitment to the Gospel,” he continued. The church “has cast aside scriptural faithfulness. … Like an addictive or dysfunctional family, this pursuit of ‘cultural sensitivity’ has led to destructive patterns of behavior.”

His election must be approved by a majority of the nation’s bishops and standing committees within 120 days. If given consent, Lawrence will be consecrated in February.

Rarely are bishops rejected. The last one was in 1934, Harmon said.

But Lawrence’s consent may prove difficult. “Already there are indications it will be rough,” Harmon said, “because of the deep fracture in our church and the fact that South Carolina is clearly seen on one side.”

The Episcopal Diocese of South Carolina is among seven diocese nationwide that voted to reject the authority of the national church’s presiding bishop, Katharine Jefferts Schori. She was elected in June as the first female presiding bishop of the Episcopal Church, the U.S. arm of the Anglican Communion. The communion has about 70 million members worldwide; about 2.3 million Episcopalians live in the U.S.

Three years ago, Episcopalians stunned the communion by consecrating the first openly gay bishop – V. Gene Robinson of New Hampshire.

In their statement rejecting Jefferts Schori, leaders of the Diocese of South Carolina wrote, “the election of a new Presiding Bishop who supported [Robinson’s] consecration, and who has advocated and permitted same-sex blessings in her diocese is another painful complication.”

The other six diocese requesting alternative leadership include the Diocese of San Joaquin in eastern California, where Lawrence is a member.

Harmon called the request a “temporary stopgap measure.”

“We will find a way to sort this out as Anglicans, so we have a common future. But whenever you’re in a badly broken relationship, the first thing you need is space,” he said. “If they take away the space of a diocese of being able to choose its own leader, they send a signal that the Episcopal Church intends to move totally contrary to the Anglican Communion.”

Salmon, who was elected bishop in 1989 and consecrated in February 1990, will remain as the diocese’s acting bishop until sometime in 2007 “to assure a smooth transition,” Harmon said.