Archbishop Craig Bates will minister at the Cathedral of Christ the King on Sunday morning, January 14 at 10:00 a.m. Bates is the global Patriarch of the Charismatic Episcopal Church, a communion started in 1992 with about 1,000 churches world-wide. Bates was born in Watertown, New York, where most of his family still lives. Archbishop Bates was raised in the Episcopal Church and was active in the Civil Rights movement and in the cause of ending the war in Vietnam. Bates earned a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology from Franconia College, Franconia, New Hampshire and a Master’s Degree in Psychology from Anna Maria College, in Paxton, Massachusetts.
He eventually took part in opening several therapeutic communities and drug rehabilitation families in Massachusetts. Later, he attended The General Theological Seminary of the Episcopal Church, graduating in 1980 with a Master of Divinity degree.
Bates was ordained a deacon in the Episcopal Church on June 14, 1980 and on December 13, 1980, he was ordained a Priest. He served as the Rector of Good Shepherd, until he accepted a call to be the Associate Rector of St. Thomas Episcopal Church in Malverne, New York on November 1, 1885. In 1990, the Rector of St Thomas Church retired and he was called to become the Rector of St. Thomas Church, and began serving in that position on November 1, 1990.
It was in 1992, he read an article in Ministry Today Magazine titled, “Pentecostal Fires on Ancient Altars.” The article was about evangelicals embracing the ancient faith. It focused on two men, Randolph Adler and Peter Gilquist. Bishop Adler was the founder of the Charismatic Episcopal Church and since Bates defined himself as a charismatic Episcopalian, he thought this might be home.
After spending a great deal time with Bishop Adler and other Bishops, he left the Episcopal Church and was received, along with his entire congregation into the Charismatic Episcopal Church on Super Bowl Sunday, 1995.
In 1996, the House of Bishops and the Patriarch’s Council, called him to be a Bishop and he was consecrated first Bishop of the Diocese of the Northeast on November 14, 1997.
After the retirement of Archbishop Adler, Bishop Bates was elected by the Patriarch’s Council to be the second Primate of the Charismatic Episcopal Church in North American and Patriarch of the International Communion of the Charismatic Episcopal Church. He was installed into those offices in July of 2008.
He eventually resigned as the Bishop Ordinary of the Diocese of the Northeast and became the titular Bishop of Malverne.
Recently, Patriarch Bates stepped down as the Senior Pastor of the Cathedral Church of the Intercessor but remains the Bishop of Malverne. Over the years he has been involved in a great deal of work within the Church and outside the Church and he continues to have a deep concern for those who struggle with addictions. He is, for example, on the Board of Directors of the Bridges of Greater New York. He also oversees and is the Bishop of the Society of St. Dismas, whose mission and purpose is “Bringing the Gospel to addicts, offenders, and their families.
He has also been involved over the years in the Prayer Concert Movement in New York and until recently a member of the Leadership group of Concerts of Prayer, the largest multi denominational and interracial prayer group in the United States. Archbishop Bates remains a strong pro-life advocate.
Christ the King is located in Sharpsburg at 4881 Highway 34 East near the Sam’s Club.
David Epps – 770-714-2560
