Episcopal Bishop Gene Robinson was united in a civil union ceremony with longtime partner Mark Andrew yesterday afternoon at St. Paul's Church in Concord. Attorney Ronna Wise, a justice of the peace, performed the private ceremony before about 120 friends and family.

The day marked the five-year anniversary of the New Hampshire election that, once ratified, made Robinson the first openly gay bishop in the Anglican church.

Robinson had made public his intent to get a civil union but had purposely kept the date and the details quiet. He did so, said spokesman Mike Barwell, out of respect for next month's worldwide Anglican church conference in England. Although there were undercover police officers at the ceremony, Barwell said, there were no problems or protesters.

Robinson has been excluded from the Lambeth Conference because of the divide his sexuality has caused in the church. But he will make the trip to England and host his own events. Barwell said Robinson didn't want to inflame the controversy by making his civil union a public event.

Robinson and Andrew, a state employee, live in Weare and have been together 20 years. Barwell said the pair decided to have a civil union now for a couple of reasons.

Civil unions became available in New Hampshire just this year. More critically, Robinson has been getting death threats as he prepares to leave next month for England. Should anything happen to Robinson, he wanted Andrew and his two daughters from a previous marriage to have legal protections available under the law, Barwell said.

Those protections include rights to benefits and to be involved in medical decisions.

Robinson and Andrew celebrated their civil union first and a religious service of thanksgiving after, Barwell said. The Rev. Canon Timothy Rich, who works with Robinson at the diocese, presided at the Eucharist. The Rev. Susan Russell, president of Integrity, a nonprofit that advocates for gay inclusion in the Episcopal Church, preached.

Both Robinson's and Andrew's family members attended.

The couple's vows were no different than those exchanged at a wedding ceremony. They promised love, commitment, honesty and support to one another and exchanged rings. They followed the church events with a private reception at the Shaker Table restaurant at Canterbury Shaker Village.

Robinson was previously married for 13 years to Isabella Martin, a woman he met while interning as the chaplain at the University of Vermont. Robinson has said he struggled to overcome his homosexuality through therapy and thought he was "cured" when he married Martin.

They had two daughters but split up when the girls were 8 and 4. Together, they revisited the church where they had married, returned their rings and undid their wedding vows. But they promised anew to honor one another. Martin remains close with Robinson and Andrew.

Barwell posted a brief announcement about the civil union on the diocesan website (nhepiscopal.org) yesterday evening.