Conservatives in the diocese led by the Episcopal Church's first openly gay bishop have left to form a breakaway parish.
About 40 parishioners of the new Anglican Church of the Resurrection are using facilities of the Durham Evangelical Church, spokesman Richard Ellwood said.
New Hampshire Bishop V. Gene Robinson, who has been open about his yearslong relationship with his partner, was elected last year as leader of the statewide diocese. But his consecration has led to a rift in the Episcopal Church and worldwide Anglicanism.
The new parish does not consider itself part of Robinson's diocese. It has joined the national Network of Anglican Communion Dioceses and Parishes, formed by conservatives who remain within the Episcopal Church but oppose Robinson's election.
Two other New Hampshire parishes have taken steps to affiliate with the conservative network but have not quit the diocese.
Ellwood said the issue is "far greater than" Robinson, calling his election an example of the way the "Episcopal Church has split away from Scripture."
Elsewhere:
_Concerned Episcopalians of Rhode Island was formed by parishioners in that state who oppose Robinson's election. The group, which expects to become a chapter of the conservative network, drew representatives from more than two dozen of the state's 64 parishes to a meeting last weekend.
_In New Jersey, St. Anthony of Padua Church in Hackensack applied to the Newark Diocese to be led by Wisconsin's retired Bishop William Wantland, a network supporter, instead of resident Bishop John Croneberger, who backed Robinson. The Episcopal Church is allowing such special arrangements but decisions are up to each diocese.
_In Virginia, the Episcopal issue spilled into another denomination. The Baptist General Association of Virginia withheld $350,000 from Averett University in Danville over a professor's pro-Robinson article. The Baptists have now agreed to fund a new independent clergy training program, but not Averett's religion department.