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African Orthodox Church

Its General History

The African Orthodox Church

Motto:

“In Tenebris Lumen”

The

African Orthodox Church

is aprimarily African-American Church inthe Anglican tradition, founded in theUnited States in 1919. It hasapproximately 15 parishes and 5,000members.

Faith and Order Summarised

The AOC holds to the historic three-foldministry of bishops, priests, and deacons,and lays strong emphasis on apostolicsuccession. The church celebrates theseven sacraments of the Roman CatholicChurch. Its worship is liturgical, blendingelements of Eastern and Western rites.The Nicene, Apostles', and Athanasiancreeds are affirmed.

Archbishop Joseph René Vilatte

Brief History

The African Orthodox Church (AOC) was founded in the belief that black Episcopaliansshould have a denomination of their own. Episcopal rector George Alexander McGuire was

Arthur C. Thompson's

The History of the African Orthodox Church

(1956), Byron Rushing's

A Note on theOrigin of the African Orthodox Church

(JNH, Jan. 1972), and Gavin White's

Patriarch McGuire and the Episcopal Church.

Mead, Frank S.,

Handbook of Denominations in the United States

, 10th edition, Nashville: AbingdonPress, 1995, pp. 128-129.

3consecrated a bishop on September 28th, 1921, in Chicago, Illinois, by Archbishop JosephRene Vilatte, assisted by Bishop Carl A. Nybladh who had been consecrated by Vilatte. Thisplaced Bishop McGuire in apostolic succession, which was something he had greatly desired.

The new denomination was originally called the Independent Episcopal Church, but at its firstConclave, or House of Bishops, meeting on September 10, 1924, the denomination wasformally organized as the African Orthodox Church. Bishop McGuire was unanimouslyelected Archbishop and enthroned with the title of "Archbishop Alexander".McGuire served for several years as Chaplain of the Universal Negro ImprovementAssociation and African Communities League (UNIA), founded and led by Marcus Garvey.When Garvey decided in 1924 to relocate UNIA headquarters to the West Indies, McGuireleft the UNIA and began to devote himself to the development and extension of his church.Soon Endick Theological Seminary was founded, as well as an order of deaconesses, and the

Negro Churchman

magazine began publication, with McGuire as its editor.The African Orthodox church originally attracted mostly Anglican West Indian immigrants. Itspread to the South in 1925 when McGuire started a parish in West Palm Beach, Florida. Twoyears later he consecrated an African as Metropolitan William Daniel Alexander of SouthAfrica and central and southern Africa. At this time McGuire was elected as Patriarch withthe title of Alexander I. The church then spread to Uganda where it grew to about 10,000. Itsgreatest strength, however, was in New York City where on Nov 8, 1931, McGuire dedicatedHoly Cross Pro-Cathedral, a remodeled house purchased by McGuire from funds obtained bymortgaging his own home.McGuire died on November 10 1934. He was survived by his wife, Ada Robert McGuire, anative of Antigua, and a daughter. At the time of his death the church had about 30,000members, about fifty clergy, and thirty churches located in the United States, Africa, Cuba,Antigua and Venezuela.

The Apostolic Succession of the First Bishop of the African Orthodox Church

Believing that Blacks should have a Church of their own, a PECUSA priest (the Rev'd Dr.George Alexander McGuire, an immigrant from the West Indies), withdrew from that jurisdiction to establish independent Black congregations in the United States. This newmovement was first called the

Independent Episcopal Church,

but a few years later (on 2September 1921) in The Church of the Good Shepherd in New York City the name waschanged to

"The African Orthodox Church."

This meeting became the first

General Synod

of the new jurisdiction, which also elected Fr. McGuire as its first Bishop.Negotiations were immediately initiated with The Russian Orthodox Church in America inorder to obtain valid Apostolic Orders for the newly elected Bishop. With the un-canonicalactions of other national Orthodox groups in the United States, taking advantage of theconfusion and disorganization caused by the Communist Revolution in Russia, the Russians

Mead, Frank S.,

Handbook of Denominations in the United States

, 10th edition, Nashville: AbingdonPress, 1995, pp. 128-129.

African Orthodox

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The crying need for an authentic and reliable history of THE AFRICAN ORTHODOX CHURCH, has been apparent for a long time. It is to be regretted th... (More)