Charles Edward Blake, Sr. | |
|---|---|
| Presiding Bishop Emeritus | |
| Archdiocese | Los Angeles |
| Diocese | Church of God in Christ, Global |
| Elected | April, 2007, November 2008, November 2012, November 2016 |
| Installed | January 21, 2008 |
| Term ended | March 20, 2021 |
| Predecessor | Gilbert E. Patterson |
| Successor | John Drew Sheard, Sr. |
| Previous post(s) | First Assistant Presiding Bishop (2001–2007) |
| Orders | |
| Ordination | August 1962 by Samuel M. Crouch |
| Consecration | November 1985 by James Oglethorpe Patterson Sr. |
| Personal details | |
| Born | August 5, 1940 Little Rock, Arkansas, U.S.[1] |
| Denomination | Church of God in Christ |
| Residence | Los Angeles, California |
| Parents | Bishop J.A. Blake Sr., Mother Lula Blake |
| Spouse | Mae Lawrence Blake |
| Alma mater | Interdenominational Theological Center |
| Styles of Charles Edward Blake, Sr. | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Reference style | |
| Spoken style | Your Grace |
| Religious style | Bishop |
Charles Edward Blake Sr. (born August 5, 1940) is an American minister and retired pastor who served as the Presiding Bishop and leader of the Church of God in Christ, 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 2007 to 2021.[2][3] On March 21, 2007, he became the Presiding Bishop of the Church of God in Christ, Inc., as a result of Presiding Bishop Gilbert E. Patterson's death. In a November 2007 special election, he was elected to complete the unexpired term of his predecessor as Presiding Bishop. In November 2008, Bishop Blake was re-elected to serve a four-year term as Presiding Bishop. In November 2012, Bishop Blake was re-elected again to serve a four-year term as the Presiding Bishop.[4] He was reelected to a third term as Presiding Bishop on November 15, 2016. On October 23, 2020, Bishop Blake announced that he would not seek a re-election as Presiding Bishop nor as a member of the General Board and that he would retire from the Office of Presiding Bishop and from the General Board in 2021.[5] He officially retired on March 19, 2021, and was succeeded by Bishop J. Drew Sheard, Sr. as Presiding Bishop on March 20, 2021.
Blake was the fifth Presiding Bishop (and seventh leader) of the historically African-American denomination from 2007 to 2021. From 1985 until 2009, he was the Jurisdictional Prelate of the First Ecclesiastical Jurisdiction of Southern California, overseeing more than 250 churches that compose the jurisdiction. He was succeeded by Bishop Joe L. Ealy.
Bishop Blake is married to Mae Lawrence Blake, a native of Michigan, and they have three children together, Charles Blake II (Jr.), Lawrence Blake, and Kimberly Blake, and they have eight grandchildren.[6]
- ^ "Biography of Bishop Charles E. Blake". August 1, 2007. Retrieved April 15, 2017.
- ^ Courey, David J. (February 26, 2015). What Has Wittenberg to Do with Azusa?: Luther's Theology of the Cross and Pentecostal Triumphalism. Bloomsbury Publishing. p. 227. ISBN 978-0-567-65631-5.
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).
- ^ Anderson, Allan (May 13, 2004). An Introduction to Pentecostalism: Global Charismatic Christianity. Cambridge University Press. p. 47. ISBN 978-0-521-53280-8.
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'.
- ^ Staff, AFRO (November 21, 2012). "COGIC Re-Elects Presiding Bishop Charles E. Blake Sr. as Leader - Afro". Retrieved April 15, 2017.
- ^ "PRESS RELEASE: Presiding Bishop Charles E. Blake, Sr. Will Not Seek Reelection". Church Of God In Christ. Retrieved December 30, 2020.
- ^ "Our Presiding Bishop". West Angeles Church. December 16, 2013. Retrieved August 7, 2017.