Upstate — On Saturday, May 14, St. Benedict Liberty Catholic Church Archdiocese celebrated its spring conclave in a conference room at the Best Western Piedmont Inn and Suites in Piedmont.

This was the archdiocese’s first ever conclave, and it was a grand success.

Eleven people from all over the United States attended. The Rev. Mother Sherrod Hitch from Washington, the Rev. Father Jim Russell from Texas, the Rev. Father Tobias Baughman from Georgia, and the Rev. Mother Janet Stansell from Pickens were all consecrated as new bishops. The Archdiocese of the Primitive Catholic Church’s Archbishop Rod Rickard, from New York, along with Bishop Samuel Jin, also from New York, assisted Arch Patriarch John Stansell during the consecration service.

Russell, the Grand Master of the United Templar Sanctum, knighted three new knights and three new dames into the order. St. Benedict Liberty Catholic Church Archdiocese will be holding its fall conclave in Calhoun, Ga., on Sept. 10-11.

Arch Patriarch J.W. Stansell lays hands on Bishop Samuel Jin as Archbishop J. Daniel Stansell looks on.

For more information about St. Benedict Liberty Catholic Church Archdiocese, or its upcoming fall conclave, contact Arch Patriarch John Stansell by phone at (864) 507-0041 or by email at bishopjohnstansell@gmail.com, or Patriarch Tobias Baughman by phone at (706) 463-8066 or by email at fb3studio@gmail.com. More information can also be found on the archdiocese’s website at www.libertycatholicchurch.org.

Pictured, front row, from left are Archbishop Rod Rickard from New York, Arch Patriarch J.W. Stansell and Bishop Janet Stansell from Pickens. Back row are Bishop Sherrod Hitch from Seattle, Wash., Archbishop J. Daniel Stansell of Pickens, Patriarch Tobias Baughman from Calhoun, Ga., Archbishop Jim Russell from Cleburne, Texas, and Bishop Samuel Jin, originally from South Korea, now living in New York.