Gilbert E. Patterson | |
|---|---|
| Church | Temple of Deliverance Church of God in Christ |
| In office | 1975 - 2007 (Pastor)
1988 – 2007 (Bishop) 2000 – 2007 (Presiding Bishop) |
| Predecessor | Bishop Chandler D. Owens |
| Successor | Charles Edward Blake, Sr. |
| Personal details | |
| Born | September 22, 1939 Humboldt, Tennessee, U.S. |
| Died | March 20, 2007 (aged 67) Memphis, Tennessee, U.S. |
| Spouse | Louise Dowdy Patterson (January 27, 1938 - November 20, 2022) |
| Occupation | Presiding Bishop, Church of God in Christ, Pastor, Televangelist, Singer |
Gilbert Earl Patterson (September 22, 1939[1] – March 20, 2007[2]) was an American Holiness Pentecostal leader and pastor who served as the founding pastor of the Temple of Deliverance COGIC Cathedral of Bountiful Blessings, one of the largest COGIC Churches in the Eastern United States, from 1975 to 2007. He also served as the Presiding Bishop the Church of God in Christ (COGIC), Incorporated, a 6 million-member Holiness Pentecostal denomination, that has now grown to become one of the largest predominantly African American Pentecostal denominations in the United States, from 2000 to 2007.[3][4] Bishop Patterson was the second youngest person to ever be elected Presiding Bishop of COGIC at the age of 60 in 2000, second to his predeceased uncle Bishop J. O. Patterson, Sr., who was 56 when he was elected Presiding Bishop in 1968.[5][6] Patterson was famously known across many Christian denominations for being an educated Pentecostal-Charismatic preacher and theologian, and known for his eloquent and musically charismatic preaching style, which was often featured on his church's television broadcasts through BET and the Word Network.[7][8]
On March 28, 2007, the United States Senate passed a resolution celebrating the life of Patterson. The sponsors were Senators Barack Obama, Carl Levin, John Kerry, Lamar Alexander and Bob Corker.[9]
The controversy led to the emergence of three-step Holiness Pentecostal denominations (the Church of God, Cleveland, TN; the Pentecostal Holiness Church and the Church of God in Christ) and two-step, Finished Work denominations (the Assemblies of God and the Pentecostal Assemblies of Canada).
Those who resisted Durham's teaching and remained in the 'three-stage' camp were Seymour, Crawford and Parham, and Bishops Charles H. Mason, A.J. Tomlinson and J.H. King, respectively leaders of the Church of God in Christ, the Church of God (Cleveland) and the Pentecostal Holiness Church. Tomlinson and King each issued tirades against the 'finished work' doctrine in their periodicals, but by 1914 some 60 percent of all North American Pentecostals had embraced Durham's position. ... The 'Finished Work' controversy was only the first of many subsequent divisions in North American Pentecostalism. Not only did Pentecostal churches split over the question of sanctification as a distinct experience, but a more fundamental and acrimonious split erupted in 1916 over the doctrine of the Trinity. ... The 'New Issue' was a schism in the ranks of the 'Finished Work' Pentecostals that began as a teaching that the correct formula for baptism is 'in the name of Jesus' and developed into a dispute about the Trinity. It confirmed for Holiness Pentecostals that they should have no further fellowship with the 'Finished Work' Pentecostals, who were in 'heresy'.