Certainly there will be a greater emphasis on the spirituality and liturgical style that distinguishes Episcopalians who have drunk deeply at the well of post-Vatican II Catholicism. While Bishop Browning never has looked comfortable in a mitre, we can expect a commanding liturgical presence from the Bishop of Chicago.

He is a supremely gifted communicator, urbane and cultured, with a Harvard and Oxford education that opens many doors.

But in the things that matter to most Episcopalians, it does not appear that a sea change is imminent. On one of the key litmus tests of the 72nd General Convention in Philadelphia, the place of gays and lesbians in the life of the church, the expectation is that Bishop Griswold will continue Bishop Browning's policy of welcoming their full inclusion.

Loud cheers from those on the left, including the gay and lesbian group Integrity, greeted Bishop Griswold's 110-96 third-ballot victory over the Rt. Rev. Herbert Thompson, Bishop of Southern Ohio. "I will be captive to no group," Bishop Griswold vowed after his election. But that assurance brought little comfort to the bishops on the more conservative side of the house.

They pointed to his signature on the "Statement of Koinonia" drafted by Bishop John Spong three years ago, which called for the ordination of noncelibate homosexual persons and the blessing of same-sex unions. He also has been a strong advocate of the legislation that makes the ordination of women mandatory in every diocese [TLC, Aug. 3]. He is a leader in the Affirming Catholicism movement that has set out to revise traditional Anglo-Catholic attitudes.

According to its key managers, this convention sought to be moderate in all things, and this is the way they described the Presiding Bishop-elect as well. But they were also aware that the center continues to shift in a leftward direction, particularly on the human sexuality issues. Bishop Griswold declined to speculate on where the Episcopal Church will go with these issues during his tenure, but clearly he sees change in the air.

"We are in the midst of a great cultural shift in our society, and we don't know where it is going," he said. "The key is for this community to remain resilient."

"He will govern from the center but with a mind informed from the left," is how one person described him. So while many expect a fresh and energetic new style, the conservatives fear he will be a formidable opponent, employing the forms and vocabulary of traditional orthodoxy in the service of a new theology.

Bishop Griswold's comments at a press conference following his election suggested as much:

"I am mindful that of the 12 Jesus chose to be in his inner circle, there were two who were very different from each other. Matthew the tax collector accommodated himself to the Roman government. Simon the Zealot was dedicated to the end of Roman rule. Now if Jesus deliberately called this political diversity into his intimate community, the church must always be a community of diversity."

Thus has the torch of inclusivity and change been passed on.

Bishop Griswold has been active in ecumenical work, particularly in his role as co-chair of the Anglican-Roman Catholic Commission in the U.S.

He said his first ecumenical priority is to see the Lutheran-Episcopal Concordat brought to completion. He is more circumspect about relationships with the Roman Catholic Church, but he hopes for a "positive convergence."

He has considerable international experience, and he cautions the Episcopal Church to listen more to other branches of the Anglican Communion. "When Americans go abroad, churchmen included, they tend to be very arrogant, and this does not serve us well," he said.

Given the precarious state of the budget he will oversee, Bishop Griswold has been criticized for the stewardship record of the Diocese of Chicago. Its contributions to the national church have fallen steeply in recent years. But he called this a temporary state of affairs, as the parishes in the diocese adjust to a voluntary system of giving.

"This has changed the dynamic from them/us to we, and it is a very positive development. I am no longer seen as the tax collector," he said.

The next Presiding Bishop has a simple rule of life, based upon the offices of Morning and Evening Prayer, the daily Eucharist and regular retreats. "The sheer objectivity of showing up at the altar and knowing that Christ is going to show up as well has been very important to me," he said.

Bishop Griswold is the episcopal visitor at the Cambridge, Mass., monastery of the Society of St. John the Evangelist. He is an enthusiastic advocate of the Benedictine spiritual tradition.

Liturgical renewal was the hallmark of his parochial ministry from 1963 to 1985 in three Philadelphia-area congregations: Church of the Redeemer, Bryn Mawr, St. Andrew's, Yardley, and St. Martin-in-the-Fields, Chestnut Hill. He currently chairs the Standing Liturgical Commission.

Bishop Griswold, 59, met his wife Phoebe Wetzel while he was a curate in Bryn Mawr, and the two were married in 1965. Their two daughters already live in New York City. Hannah, 28, is employed by the New York Public Library. Eliza, 25, is studying poetry at Columbia while her husband pursues a law degree at New York University.

The Rev. Jeffrey Steenson is rector of St. Andrew's Church, Fort Worth, Texas, and TLC's correspondent for the Diocese of Fort Worth.