The Reverend Pat Robertson said yesterday that his son, Gordon, has succeeded him as chief executive of the Christian Broadcasting Network, the most recent shift to a younger generation of leaders within major conservative Christian groups.

Rev. Robertson, 77, announced the transition on “The 700 Club,” the Virginia-based network’s flagship show, with Gordon, 49, on air with him.

“I thought that some of this day-to-day operation was important to pass down the line, especially to somebody a little more adept at figuring out the new technologies coming at such a bewildering speed to all of us,” Rev. Robertson said. The network’s board of directors voted over the weekend to name Gordon Robertson the CEO immediately.

Pat Robertson will still be chairman of CBN and will continue to appear with his son on “The 700 Club.” He will also remain president of Regent University, which he founded.

Gordon Robertson said in a phone interview with the Associated Press that his father had knee replacement surgery last spring and over the summer developed an irregular heartbeat that required surgery. But he is “in remarkably good health now.”

“I call him the Iron Horse,” Gordon Robertson said. “He doesn’t have any quit in him.”

Gordon Robertson is among several sons of major Christian leaders who have recently been charged with carrying on their father’s work.