G. E. Patterson | Presiding bishop, 67

G. E. Patterson, 67, the presiding bishop of the Church of God in Christ and a minister for almost 50 years, has died.

Bishop Patterson died Tuesday of heart failure at Methodist University Hospital in Memphis, according to the church, a predominantly black Protestant denomination based in Memphis that claims six million members worldwide.

He was hospitalized in January for an undisclosed illness and told his followers in 2005 that he had prostate cancer.

He was born in Humboldt, Tenn., and was ordained as a church elder in 1957 in Detroit.

He attended Lemoyne-Owen College in Memphis, Detroit Bible Institute and held an honorary doctorate from Oral Roberts University. He was the editor and publisher of the Bountiful Blessings Magazine, with a distribution list of more than 100,000 individuals. - AP