Charles Edward Blake Sr.


Charles Edward Blake, Sr.
Presiding Bishop Emeritus
ArchdioceseLos Angeles
DioceseChurch of God in Christ, Global
ElectedApril, 2007, November 2008, November 2012, November 2016
InstalledJanuary 21, 2008
Term endedMarch 20, 2021
PredecessorGilbert E. Patterson
SuccessorJohn Drew Sheard, Sr.
Previous post(s)First Assistant Presiding Bishop (2001–2007)
Orders
OrdinationAugust 1962
by Samuel M. Crouch
ConsecrationNovember 1985
by James Oglethorpe Patterson Sr.
Personal details
Born (1940-08-05) August 5, 1940
DenominationChurch of God in Christ
ResidenceLos Angeles, California
ParentsBishop J.A. Blake Sr., Mother Lula Blake
SpouseMae Lawrence Blake
Alma materInterdenominational Theological Center
Styles of
Charles Edward Blake, Sr.
Reference style
Spoken styleYour Grace
Religious styleBishop

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, from 2007 to 2021. On March 21, 2007, he became the Presiding Bishop of the Church of God in Christ.

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. He was reelected to a third term as Presiding Bishop on November 15, 2016. On October 23, 2020, 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. He officially retired on March 19, 2021.