Tag: Raphael Morgan
-
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…
-
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…
-
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…
-
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…
-
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…
-
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…
-
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…
-
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…
-
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 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…