Raphael Morgan Archives - Orthodox History

New source found on Fr. Raphael Morgan: The Orthodox Community of All Saints

An article in the Philadelphia Record published on Jan. 8, 1910, includes previously unknown details about the ministry of Fr. Raphael Morgan (whom we've published many articles on since 2009), the earliest known black Orthodox priest in the United States. The brief article notes that in 1910, Morgan was trying...

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...

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...

The Fr. Raphael Morgan Divorce Documents

Fr. Raphael Morgan was the first black Orthodox priest in American history. He was ordained in Constantinople in 1907 and lived in Philadelphia until his death in 1922. He's an incredibly fascinating historical figure who has captured the imaginations of many people who have learned about him. He's also not...

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...

Unsolved mysteries of American Orthodoxy

Yesterday, I published a brief article on Fr. Stephen Andreades, the first resident priest of the first Orthodox parish in the contiguous United States -- Holy Trinity in New Orleans. The entire early history of that parish is something of a mystery. We know who the early priests were --...

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...

The Historical Reality of Greek Orthodoxy in America

Last week, I was privileged to speak at the Greek Archdiocese Clergy-Laity Congress in Atlanta. I gave the same talk on two days, July 5 and 6. Below, we've published the text of my lecture. A couple of things, up front: first, I didn't include footnotes, because this was just...

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....

“The Stormy Petrel of the Cloth”

We've spent a lot of time on this website talking about Fr. Raphael Morgan, the first black Orthodox priest in America. Morgan was attached to the Greek church in Philadelphia. When he went to the Ecumenical Patriarchate to be ordained in 1907, he had two letters in his possession. One...

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