Tag: African-American Orthodoxy
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Why Fr. Raphael Morgan Should Not Be Venerated or Canonized
On September 3, I published the documents from the divorce of Fr. Raphael Morgan and his wife Charlotte. The documents are tragic and disturbing. Charlotte accused Fr. Raphael of physical abuse, verbal abuse, and infidelity. The Morgans’ former landlady corroborated the abuse allegations in her testimony. Fr. Raphael himself was a no-show at the hearing,…
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When Do “Firsts” Really Matter? Thoughts on Orthodox History in the Americas
Working on the history of Orthodox Christianity in North America means toiling in a vineyard mostly unplanted. Unlike other significant denominations on this continent, scholars of American religions have paid very little attention to Orthodoxy. As a result, there’s a lot of work to be done, and thankfully, a growing number of people are finally…
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The Birth of Fr. Raphael Morgan
So I think I found something I’ve been looking for for many, many years — the birthdate of Fr. Raphael Morgan, the first black Orthodox priest in America. First, the backstory. Until now, the closest I’ve been able to get to nailing down a birthdate for Fr. Raphael is to say, “circa 1864 to 1871.”…
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Newly-discovered documents on Fr. Raphael Morgan
We’ve devoted a fair amount of attention here at OrthodoxHistory.org to Fr. Raphael Morgan, the first black Orthodox priest in America. Very briefly: Morgan was born in Jamaica, traveled widely, and eventually became an Episcopalian deacon in the United States. In 1907, after many years of study, he traveled to Constantinople and was received into…
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Fr. Antony Hill: the second black Orthodox priest in America
After a week’s worth of articles on the Archbishop Arseny criminal libel case, I thought I’d break things up a bit by looking at something completely different — the story of Fr. Antony Hill, the second black Orthodox priest in America. By now, a lot of people know that Fr. Raphael Morgan was the first…
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Fr. Raphael Morgan against Marcus Garvey
Marcus Garvey was a widely influential black nationalist from Jamaica. He promoted black pride and championed the “back to Africa” movement. In 1916, when he was just 29 years old and at the outset of his public career, he visited the United States and embarked on a 38-state speaking tour. Not all of the black Americans…
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The Sorcerer on the Golden Horn
The following is a translation from the French of the article “Un Conquete du Patriarcat Oecumenique,” from Échos d’Orient, Volume 11, 1908, concerning Fr. Raphael (Robert Josias) Morgan, the first black Orthodox priest in America. The article uses his middle name “Josias.” The translation was done using Google Translate with a little cleaning afterward. A…
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Robert Josias Morgan visits Russia, 1904
It’s been a while since we talked about Robert Josias Morgan, the black Episcopal deacon who became an Orthodox priest in 1907, taking the name “Fr. Raphael.” In the past, I’ve mentioned that, prior to his conversion to Orthodoxy, Morgan visited Russia in 1904. Upon his departure, he wrote a letter, which was reprinted in…
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“Indirect Conversion of Thousands Theory”
Over at Orthodox Wiki, they have an entry on Fr Raphael Morgan, the first black Orthodox priest in America, whom I discussed last week. In the Orthodox Wiki entry, you may find the following: “Indirect Conversion of Thousands” Theory During the 16th Annual Ancient Christianity and African-American Conference, Matthew Namee presented a 23-minute lecture on…
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The First Black Orthodox Priest in America
On today’s episode of the American Orthodox History podcast, we’re running a lecture I gave at the Brotherhood of St Moses the Black conference in Indianapolis at the end of May. The subject is Fr Raphael Morgan, the first black Orthodox priest in America. The text of the lecture is below. Also, later this year, St.…