A gay priest and a lesbian could become bishops in the Episcopalian diocese of Los Angeles, the Anglican branch in the United States, which recently authorized homosexuality among its clergy, according to local media.

Reverends John L. Kirkley of San Francisco and Mary D. Glasspool of Baltimore will compete with other four Episcopalian clergy in order to occupy in December the vacancies left by two veteran bishops.

The candidacies arrived barely a month after the leaders of this US church agreed to lift the ban which impeded homosexuals from climbing the ecclesiastical hierarchy.

Another lesbian priest, Bonnie Perry, was picked as candidate from the Episcopalian diocese of the state of Minnesota.

The bishops will be chosen by the vote of the leaders of each diocese in the elections to be held on October 31 in Minnesota and between December 4 and 5 in Los Angeles.

The Episcopalian Church has more that 2 million followers in the US.