Orlando, FL - January 9, 2008
The Most Reverend Loren T. Hines, Senior Archbishop of the ICCEC, announced that the Patriarch’s Council, in accordance with the Canons, has elected The Most Reverend Craig W. Bates as the new Patriarch of the International Communion of the Charismatic Episcopal Church.
Craig W. Bates, 58, is the Bishop of the Northeast Diocese and the Diocese of Canada and Senior Pastor of the Cathedral Church of the Intercessor in Malverne, New York. He is a graduate of Franconia College, Franconia, New Hampshire with a BA in Psychology. He has a Masters in Counseling Psychology from Anna Maria College in Paxton, Massachusetts and a Masters of Divinity from the General Theological Seminary in New York City. He was ordained a priest in 1980.
He served as Senior Pastor of the Church of the Good Shepherd, Fitchburg, Massachusetts from 1980 to 1985 and has served at the Church of the Intercessor since 1985. He was consecrated a bishop on November 14, 1997. Prior to ordained ministry, he worked in Drug and Alcohol Counseling as a Psychologist and Administrator both in treatment programs and for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. He is a member of the Board of Directors of Bridges of Greater New York and the Board of Directors of Concerts of Prayer of Greater New York. He is considered one of the key pastors in the New York City area. He and his wife, Cathy, have three grown children and three grandchildren
Whereas the whole concept of a Patriarchate for a communion as small as ours has always been a question for me, the election of a new Patriarch does put the CEC on a path for the future. My prayer and well wishes to Bishop Bates and his family. May his leadership bring much needed change and stablity to the CEC.
blessings
Seraph
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