The African Methodist Episcopal Church, usually called the AME Church or AME, is a predominantly African American Methodist denomination. It adheres to Wesleyan-Arminian theology and has a connexional polity. The African Methodist Episcopal Church is the first independent Protestant denomination to be founded by

Black people Black is a racialized classification of people, usually a political and skin color-based category for specific populations with a mid to dark brown complexion. Not all people considered "black" have dark skin; in certain countries, often in s ...

; though it welcomes and has members of all ethnicities. It was founded by Richard Allen (1760–1831)—who was later elected and ordained the AME's first bishop in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania—in 1816 when he called together five African American congregations of the previously established Methodist Episcopal Church (which had been founded either in December 1784 at the famous " Christmas Conference" or at its first General Conference at Lovely Lane Chapel meeting house in old Baltimore Town) by Blacks hoping to escape the

discrimination Discrimination is the act of making unjustified distinctions between people based on the groups, classes, or other categories to which they belong or are perceived to belong. People may be discriminated on the basis of race, gender, age, relig ...

that was commonplace in society. It was among the first denominations in the United States to be founded for this reason (rather than for theological distinctions), and has persistently advocated for the civil and human rights of African Americans through social improvement, religious autonomy, and political engagement while always being open to people of all racial backgrounds. Allen, an previously ordained deacon in the Methodist Episcopal Church, was elected by the gathered ministers and ordained as its first bishop in 1816 by the first General Conference of the five churches—extending from the three in the Philadelphia area in Pennsylvania to ones in Delaware and

Baltimore Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic, and the 30th most populous city in the United States with a population of 585,708 in 2020. Baltimore was d ...

, Maryland. The denomination then expanded west and through the South, particularly after the American Civil War (1861–1865). By 1906, the AME had a membership of about 500,000 (half a million), more than the combined total of the two other predominantly Black American denominations—the

Colored Methodist Episcopal Church in America The Christian Methodist Episcopal (C.M.E.) Church is a historically black denomination within the broader context of Wesleyan Methodism founded and organized by John Wesley in England in 1744 and established in America as the Methodist Episcopal ...

and the

African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church African or Africans may refer to: * Anything from or pertaining to the continent of Africa: ** People who are native to Africa, descendants of natives of Africa, or individuals who trace their ancestry to indigenous inhabitants of Africa *** Ethn ...

, making it the largest major African-American denomination of the Methodist traditions. The AME Church currently has 20 districts, each with its own bishop: 13 are based in the United States, mostly in the South, while seven are based in Africa. The global membership of the AME is around 2.5 million members, and it remains one of the largest Methodist denominations in the world.

Church name

;African: The AME Church was created and organized by people of African descent (most descended from enslaved Africans taken to the Americas) as a response to being officially discriminated against by white congregants in the Methodist church. The church was not founded in Africa, nor is it exclusively for people of African descent. It is open and welcoming to people of all ethnic groups, origins, nationalities, and colors, although its congregations are predominantly made up of Black Americans. ;Methodist: The church's roots are in the

Methodist church Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a group of historically related Christian denomination, denominations of Protestantism, Protestant Christianity whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John W ...

. Members of St. George's Methodist Church left the congregation when faced with racial discrimination, but continued with the Methodist doctrine and the order of worship. ;Episcopal: The AME Church operates under an episcopal form of church government. The denomination leaders are bishops of the church.

Motto

"God Our Father, Christ Our Redeemer, the Holy Spirit Our Comforter, Humankind Our Family" Derived from Bishop

Daniel Alexander Payne Daniel Alexander Payne (February 24, 1811 – November 2, 1893) was an American bishop, educator, college administrator and author. A major shaper of the African Methodist Episcopal Church (A.M.E.), Payne stressed education and preparation of m ...

's original motto "God our Father, Christ our Redeemer, Man our Brother", which served as the AME Church motto until the 2008 General Conference, when the current motto was officially adopted.

History

Obamas at church on Inauguration Day 2013

Origins

The AME Church worked out of the Free African Society (FAS), which Richard Allen, Absalom Jones, and other free blacks established in Philadelphia in 1787. They left St. George's Methodist Episcopal Church because of discrimination. Although Allen and Jones were both accepted as preachers, they were limited to black congregations. In addition, the blacks were made to sit in a separate gallery built in the church when their portion of the congregation increased. These former members of St. George's made plans to transform their mutual aid society into an African congregation. Although the group was originally non-denominational, eventually members wanted to affiliate with existing denominations. Allen led a small group who resolved to remain Methodist. They formed the Bethel African Methodist Episcopal Church in 1793. In general, they adopted the doctrines and form of government of the Methodist Episcopal Church. In 1794 Bethel AME was dedicated with Allen as pastor. To establish Bethel's independence, Allen successfully sued in the Pennsylvania courts in 1807 and 1815 for the right of his congregation to exist as an institution independent of white Methodist congregations. Because black Methodists in other middle Atlantic communities also encountered racism and desired religious autonomy, Allen called them to meet in Philadelphia in 1816 to form a new Wesleyan denomination. Sixteen representatives, from Bethel African Church in Philadelphia and African churches in Baltimore, MD, Wilmington, DE, Attleboro, PA, and Salem, NJ, met to form a church organization or connection under the title of the "African Methodist Episcopal Church" (AME Church).

Growth

It began with eight clergy and five churches, and by 1846 had grown to 176 clergy, 296 churches, and 17,375 members. Safe Villages like the Village of Lima were setup with nearby AME churches and in sometimes involved in the underground railroad. The 20,000 members in 1856 were located primarily in the North.James T. Campbell, ''Songs of Zion: The African Methodist Episcopal Church in the United States and South Africa'' (1995)A. Nevell Owens, ''Formation of the African Methodist Episcopal Church in the Nineteenth Century: Rhetoric of Identification'' (2014) AME national membership (including probationers and preachers) jumped from 70,000 in 1866 to 207,000 in 1876.''The Annual Cyclopedia: 1866'',(1867) p. 492; ''The Annual Cyclopedia: 1876'' (1877) p. 532 Vesey

The church also expanded internationally during this period. The

British Overseas Territory The British Overseas Territories (BOTs), also known as the United Kingdom Overseas Territories (UKOTs), are fourteen dependent territory, territories with a constitutional and historical link with the United Kingdom. They are the last remna ...

of Bermuda, 640 miles from Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, was settled in 1609 by the Virginia Company and retained close links with Virginia and the Carolinas (with

Charleston Charleston most commonly refers to: * Charleston, South Carolina * Charleston, West Virginia, the state capital * Charleston (dance) Charleston may also refer to: Places Australia * Charleston, South Australia Canada * Charleston, Newfoundlan ...

settled from Bermuda in 1670 under William Sayle) for the next two centuries, with Bermudians playing both sides during the American War of Independence, being the point from which the blockade of southern Atlantic ports was maintained and the

Chesapeake Campaign The War of 1812 (18 June 1812 – 17 February 1815) was fought by the United States of America and its indigenous allies against the United Kingdom and its allies in British North America, with limited participation by Spain in Florida. It bega ...

was launched during the American War of 1812, and being the primary port through which European-manufactured weapons and supplies were smuggled into the

Confederacy Confederacy or confederate may refer to: States or communities * Confederate state or confederation, a union of sovereign groups or communities * Confederate States of America, a confederation of secessionist American states that existed between ...

during the American Civil War. Other Bermudians, such as First Sergeant

Robert John Simmons First Sergeant Robert John Simmons was a Bermudian who served in the 54th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry Regiment during the American Civil War. He died in August 1863, as a result of wounds received in an attack on Fort Wagner, near Charlesto ...

of the

54th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry Regiment The 54th Massachusetts Infantry Regiment was an infantry regiment that saw extensive service in the Union Army during the American Civil War. The unit was the second African-American regiment, following the 1st Kansas Colored Volunteer Infantry R ...

, fought to end slavery in the United States. Among the numerous residents of the American South with ties to Bermuda was Denmark Vesey, who had immigrated to South Carolina from Bermuda as a slave before purchasing his freedom. Vesey was a founder of Mother Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church before his execution after conviction in a show trial resulting from white hysteria over an alleged conspiracy for a slave revolt in 1822. The majority of the population of Bermuda during the first century of settlement was European, with free and enslaved blacks primarily from the Spanish West Indies and Native Americans, primarily from New England (anyone not entirely of European ancestry was counted as ''coloured''). As any child of a coloured and a white parent was counted as coloured, the ratio of the white to coloured population shifted during the course of the 18th Century (4,850 whites and 3,514 coloured in 1721; but 4,755 whites and 5,425 coloured in 1811). The Church of England is the

established church A state religion (also called religious state or official religion) is a religion or creed officially endorsed by a sovereign state. A state with an official religion (also known as confessional state), while not secular, is not necessarily a t ...

, and was the only church originally permitted to operate in Bermuda. Presbyterians were permitted to have a separate church and to conduct their own services during the 18th Century. The Wesleyan Methodists sought to include enslaved blacks and a law was passed by the

Parliament of Bermuda The Parliament of Bermuda is the bicameral legislature in the British Overseas Territory of Bermuda. The two houses are: * The House of Assembly which has 36 members, elected for a five-year term in single seat constituencies. * The Senate which ...

in 1800 barring any but Church of England and Presbyterian ministers from preaching. The Methodist Reverend John Stephenson was incarcerated in December, 1800, for six months for preaching to slaves. The law and attitudes changed during the course of the following century, but any church organised by blacks and organising blacks would not be welcomed by the white dominated Government. Stephenson was followed in 1808 by the Reverend

Joshua Marsden Joshua () or Yehoshua ( ''Yəhōšuaʿ'', Tiberian Hebrew, Tiberian: ''Yŏhōšuaʿ,'' Literal translation, lit. 'Yahweh is salvation') ''Yēšūaʿ''; syr, ܝܫܘܥ ܒܪ ܢܘܢ ''Yəšūʿ bar Nōn''; el, Ἰησοῦς, ar , يُوشَع� ...

. There were 136 members of the Society when Marsden left Bermuda in 1812. ''Susette Harriet Lloyd'' travelled to Bermuda in company with the Church of England's Archdeacon of Bermuda Aubrey Spencer. Her visit lasted two years, and her ‘’Sketches of Bermuda’’ (a collection of letters she had written enroute to, and during her stay in, Bermuda, and dedicated to Archdeacon Spencer) was published in 1835, immediately following the 1834 abolition of slavery in Bermuda and the remainder of the British Empire (Bermuda elected to end slavery immediately, becoming the first colony to do so, though all other British colonies except for

Antigua Antigua ( ), also known as Waladli or Wadadli by the native population, is an island in the Lesser Antilles. It is one of the Leeward Islands in the Caribbean region and the main island of the country of Antigua and Barbuda. Antigua and Bar ...

availed themselves of an allowance made by the Imperial government enabling them to phase slavery out gradually). Lloyd's book gives a rare contemporary account of Bermudian society immediately prior to the abolition of slavery. Among her many observations of the people of Bermuda, Lloyd noted of the coloured population: Lloyd's negative comments on the ''dissenters'' was in reference to the Wesleyan Methodists. The degree of education of coloured Bermudians would be noted by later visitors, also. Christiana Rounds wrote in

Harper's Magazine ''Harper's Magazine'' is a monthly magazine of literature, politics, culture, finance, and the arts. Launched in New York City in June 1850, it is the oldest continuously published monthly magazine in the U.S. (''Scientific American'' is older, b ...

(re-published in an advertising pamphlet by A.L Mellen, the Proprietor of the Hamilton Hotel in 1876): The foundation stone of a Wesleyan Methodist Chapel was laid in St. George's Town on the 8 June 1840, the local Society (by then numbering 37 class leaders, 489 Members, and 20 other communicants) having previously occupied a small, increasingly decrepit building that had been damaged beyond use in a storm in 1839. The inscription on the foundation stone included: The AME First District website records that in the autumn of 1869, ''three farsighted Christian men—Benjamin Burchall of St. George’s, William B. Jennings of Devonshire and Charles Roach Ratteray of Somerset—set in motion the wheels that brought African Methodism to'' Bermuda. By the latter Nineteenth Century, the law in Bermuda specified that any denomination permitted to operate in the United Kingdom should also be permitted in the colony (although only the Church of England, the Presbyterian Church, and the Wesleyan Methodists were permitted to conduct baptisms, weddings and funerals until after the First World War). As the Imperial Government had ruled that the AME Church could operate in the United Kingdom, the first AME church in Bermuda was erected in 1885 in Hamilton Parish, on the shore of Harrington Sound, and titled St. John African Methodist Episcopal Church (the congregation had begun previously as part of the British Methodist Episcopal Church of Canada). Although the Church of England (since 1978, titled the Anglican Church of Bermuda) remains the largest denomination in Bermuda (15.8%), the AME quickly flourished (accounting for 8.6% of the population today), overtaking the Wesleyan Methodists (2.7% today). The rise of the Wesleyan-Holiness movement in Methodism influenced the African Methodist Episcopal Church, with Jarena Lee and Amanda Smith preaching the doctrine of

entire sanctification Christian perfection is the name given to theological concepts within some sects of Christianity that purport to describe a process of achieving spiritual maturity or perfection. The ultimate goal of this process is union with God characterized by ...

throughout pulpits of the connexion.

Education

AME put a high premium on education. In the 19th century, the AME Church of Ohio collaborated with the Methodist Episcopal Church, a predominantly white denomination, in sponsoring the second independent historically black college (HBCU), Wilberforce University in Ohio. By 1880, AME operated over 2,000 schools, chiefly in the South, with 155,000 students. For school houses they used church buildings; the ministers and their wives were the teachers; the congregations raised the money to keep schools operating at a time the segregated public schools were starved of funds.

Bishop Turner

After the Civil War Bishop

Henry McNeal Turner Henry McNeal Turner (February 1, 1834 – May 8, 1915) was an American minister, politician, and the 12th elected and consecrated bishop of the African Methodist Episcopal Church (AME). After the American Civil War, he worked to establish new A.M ...

(1834–1915) was a major leader of the AME and played a role in Republican Party politics. In 1863 during the Civil War, Turner was appointed as the first black chaplain in the

United States Colored Troops The United States Colored Troops (USCT) were regiments in the United States Army composed primarily of African-American (colored) soldiers, although members of other minority groups also served within the units. They were first recruited during ...

. Afterward, he was appointed to the

Freedmen's Bureau The Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands, usually referred to as simply the Freedmen's Bureau, was an agency of early Reconstruction, assisting freedmen in the South. It was established on March 3, 1865, and operated briefly as a ...

in Georgia. He settled in Macon, Georgia, and was elected to the state legislature in 1868 during Reconstruction. He planted many AME churches in Georgia after the war.Stephen Ward Angell, ''Henry McNeal Turner and African-American Religion in the South'', (1992) In 1880 he was elected as the first southern bishop of the AME Church after a fierce battle within the denomination. Angered by the Democrats' regaining power and instituting

Jim Crow The Jim Crow laws were state and local laws enforcing racial segregation in the Southern United States. Other areas of the United States were affected by formal and informal policies of segregation as well, but many states outside the Sout ...

laws in the late nineteenth century South, Turner was the leader of black nationalism and proposed emigration of blacks to Africa.

Race

The African Methodist Episcopal Church has a unique history as it is the first major religious denomination in the western world that developed because of race rather than theological differences. It was the first African-American denomination organized and incorporated in the United States. The church was born in protest against racial discrimination and slavery. This was in keeping with the Methodist Church's philosophy, whose founder

John Wesley John Wesley (; 2 March 1791) was an English people, English cleric, Christian theology, theologian, and Evangelism, evangelist who was a leader of a Christian revival, revival movement within the Church of England known as Methodism. The soci ...

had once called the slave-trade "that execrable sum of all villainies." In the 19th century, the AME Church of Ohio collaborated with the Methodist Episcopal Church, a predominantly white denomination, in sponsoring the second independent historically black college (HBCU), Wilberforce University in Ohio. Among Wilberforce University's early founders was Salmon P. Chase, then-governor of Ohio and the future Secretary of Treasury under President Abraham Lincoln. Other members of the FAS wanted to affiliate with the Episcopal Church and followed Absalom Jones in doing that. In 1792, they founded the

African Episcopal Church of St. Thomas The African Episcopal Church of St. Thomas (AECST) was founded in 1792 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, as the first black Episcopal Church in the United States. Its congregation developed from the Free African Society, a non-denominational group f ...

, the first Episcopal church in the United States with a founding black congregation. In 1804, Jones was ordained as the first black priest in the Episcopal Church. While the AME is doctrinally Methodist, clergy, scholars, and lay persons have written works that demonstrate the distinctive racial theology and '' praxis'' that have come to define this Wesleyan body. In an address to the 1893 World's Parliament of Religions, Bishop

Benjamin W. Arnett Benjamin William Arnett (March 6, 1838 – October 7, 1906) was an American educator, minister, bishop and member of the Ohio House of Representatives. Early life He was born a free black man March 6, 1838 in Brownsville, Pennsylvania, whe ...

reminded the audience of blacks' influence in the formation of Christianity. Bishop Benjamin T. Tanner wrote in 1895 in ''The Color of Solomon – What?'' that biblical scholars wrongly portrayed the son of David as a white man. In the post- civil rights era, theologians

James Cone James is a common English language surname and given name: *James (name), the typically masculine first name James * James (surname), various people with the last name James James or James City may also refer to: People * King James (disambiguat ...

, Cecil W. Cone, and Jacqueline Grant, who came from the AME tradition, criticized Euro-centric Christianity and African-American churches for their shortcomings in resolving the plight of those oppressed by racism, sexism, and economic disadvantage.

Beliefs

The AME motto, "God Our Father, Christ Our Redeemer, Holy Spirit Our Comforter, Humankind Our Family", reflects the basic beliefs of the African Methodist Episcopal Church. The basic foundations of the beliefs of the church can be summarized in the Apostles' Creed, and The Twenty Five Articles of Religion, held in common with other Methodist Episcopal congregations. The church also observes the official bylaws of the AME Church. The "Doctrine and Discipline of the African Methodist Episcopal Church" is revised at every General Conference and published every four years. The AME church also follows the rule that a minister of the denomination must retire at age 75, with bishops, more specifically, being required to retire upon the General Conference nearest their 75th birthday.

Church mission

The Mission of the African Methodist Episcopal Church is to minister to the social, spiritual, physical development of all people. At every level of the Connection and in every local church, the African Methodist Episcopal Church shall engage in carrying out the spirit of the original Free African Society, out of which the AME Church evolved: that is, to seek out and save the lost, and serve the needy. It is also the duty of the Church to continue to encourage all members to become involved in all aspects of church training. The ultimate purposes are: (1) make available God's biblical principles, (2) spread Christ's liberating gospel, and (3) provide continuing programs which will enhance the entire social development of all people. In order to meet the needs at every level of the Connection and in every local church, the AME Church shall implement strategies to train all members in: (1) Christian discipleship, (2) Christian leadership, (3) current teaching methods and materials, (4) the history and significance of the AME Church, (5) God's biblical principles, and (6) social development to which all should be applied to daily living. # preaching the gospel, # feeding the hungry, # clothing the naked, # housing the homeless, # cheering the fallen, # providing jobs for the jobless, # administering to the needs of those in prisons, hospitals, nursing homes, asylums and mental institutions, senior citizens' homes; caring for the sick, the shut-in, the mentally and socially disturbed, # encouraging thrift and economic advancement., and # bringing people back into church.

Colleges, seminaries and universities

The African Methodist Episcopal Church has been one of the forerunners of education within the African-American community. Former colleges & universities of the AME Church: * Western University (Kansas) * Campbell College, Jackson, Mississippi – now part of Jackson State University Senior colleges within the United States: * Allen University (Columbia, SC
Website
* Edward Waters College (Jacksonville, FL
Website
*

Morris Brown College Morris Brown College (MBC) is a private Methodist historically black liberal arts college in Atlanta, Georgia. Founded January 5, 1881, Morris Brown is the first educational institution in Georgia to be owned and operated entirely by African Ame ...

(Atlanta, GA
Website
* Paul Quinn College (Dallas, TX
Website
* Wilberforce University (Wilberforce, OH
Website
Junior colleges within the United States: * Shorter College (North Little Rock, AR)
Website
Theological seminaries within the United States: * Dickerson-Green Theological Seminar
Website
*

Jackson Theological Seminary Jackson may refer to: People and fictional characters * Jackson (name), including a list of people and fictional characters with the surname or given name Places Australia * Jackson, Queensland, a town in the Maranoa Region * Jackson North, Qu ...

br>Website
* Payne Theological Seminarybr>Website
*

Turner Theological Seminary The Interdenominational Theological Center (ITC) is a consortium of five predominantly African-American denominational Christian seminaries in Atlanta, Georgia, operating together as a professional graduate school of theology. It is the largest f ...

br>Website
Foreign colleges and universities: * African Methodist Episcopal University, Liberia * RR Wright Theological Seminary, South Africa

Structure

The General Conference

The General Conference is the supreme body of the African Methodist Episcopal Church. It is composed of the bishops, as ''

ex officio An ''ex officio'' member is a member of a body (notably a board, committee, council) who is part of it by virtue of holding another office. The term '' ex officio'' is Latin, meaning literally 'from the office', and the sense intended is 'by right ...

'' presidents, according to the rank of election, and an equal number of ministerial and lay delegates, elected by each of the Annual Conferences and the lay Electoral Colleges of the Annual Conferences. Other ''ex officio'' members are: the General Officers, College Presidents, Deans of Theological Seminaries; Chaplains in the Regular Armed Forces of the U.S.A. The General Conference meets every four years, but may have extra sessions in certain emergencies. At the General Conference of the AME Church, notable and renowned speakers have been invited to address the clergy and laity of the congregation. Such as in 2008, the church invited the
Senator

Barack H. Obama Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, Obama was the first Af ...

, and in 2012, the church invited the
First Lady of the United States

Michelle Obama Michelle LaVaughn Robinson Obama (born January 17, 1964) is an American attorney and author who served as first lady of the United States from 2009 to 2017. She was the first African-American woman to serve in this position. She is married t ...

Council of Bishops

The Council of Bishops is the Executive Branch of the Connectional Church. It has the general oversight of the Church during the interim between General Conferences. The Council of Bishops shall meet annually at such time and place as the majority of the Council shall determine and also at such other times as may be deemed necessary in the discharging its responsibility as the Executive Branch of the African Methodist Episcopal Church. The Council of Bishops shall hold at least two public sessions at each annual meeting. At the first, complaints and petitions against a bishop shall be heard, at the second, the decisions of the Council shall be made public. All decisions shall be in writing.

Board of Incorporators

The Board of Incorporators, also known as the General Board of Trustees, has the supervision, in trust, of all connectional property of the Church and is vested with authority to act in behalf of the Connectional Church wherever necessary.

The General Board

The General Board is in many respects the administrative body and comprises various departmental Commissions made up of the respective Treasurer/CFO, the Secretary/CIO of the AME Church, the Treasurer/CFO and the members of the various Commissions and one bishop as presiding officer with the other bishops associating.

Judicial Council

The Judicial Council is the highest judicatory body of the African Methodist Episcopal Church. It is an appellate court, elected by the General Conference and is amenable to it.

AME Connectional Health Commission

The Connectional Health Commission serves, among other tasks, to help the denomination understand health as an integral part of the faith of the Christian Church, to seek to make our denomination a healing faith community, and to promote the health concerns of its members. One of the initiatives of the commission is the establishment of an interactive website that will allow not only health directors, but the AMEC membership at-large to access health information, complete reports, request assistance. This website serves as a resource for members of the AMEC, and will be the same for anyone who accesses the website. Additionally, as this will be an interactive site, it will allow health directors to enter a password protected chat room to discuss immediate needs and coordinate efforts for relief regionally, nationally and globally. It is through this website that efforts to distribute information about resources and public health updates, and requests for services may be coordinated nationally. This will allow those who access the website to use one central location for all resource information needs.

Overview

The World Council of Churches estimates the membership of the AME Church at around 2,510,000; 3,817 pastors, 21 bishops and 7,000 congregations. The AME Church is a member of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the USA (NCC), World Methodist Council, Churches Uniting in Christ, and the World Council of Churches. The AME Church is not related to either the Union American Methodist Episcopal Church (which was founded in Delaware by Peter Spencer in 1813), or the

(which was founded in

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

by James Varick). However, all three are within full communion with each other since May 2012.

Districts

The AME Church is divided into 20 districts, spanning North America and Bermuda, the Caribbean, sub-Saharan Africa and parts of South America: * First District – Bermuda, Delaware, New England, New Jersey, New York, Western New York, and Philadelphia * Second District – Baltimore, Washington, D.C., Virginia, North Carolina and Western North Carolina * Third District – Ohio, Pittsburgh, North Ohio, South Ohio and West Virginia * Fourth District – Indiana, Chicago, Illinois, Michigan, Canada and a mission extension in India * Fifth District – California, Southern California, Desert Mountain, Midwest, Missouri, and Pacific Northwest * Sixth District – Georgia, Southwest Georgia, Atlanta-North, Macon, South Georgia and Augusta * Seventh District – Palmetto, South Carolina, Columbia, Piedmont, Northeast South Carolina and Central South Carolina * Eighth District – South Mississippi, North Mississippi, Central North Louisiana, and Louisiana * Ninth District – Alabama River Region, Southeast Alabama, Northeast Alabama, Southwest Alabama, Northwest Alabama * Tenth District – Texas, Southwest Texas, North Texas and Northwest Texas * Eleventh District – Florida, Central, South, West Coast, East, Bahamas * Twelfth District – Oklahoma, Arkansas, East Arkansas, and West Arkansas * Thirteenth District – Tennessee, East Tennessee, West Tennessee, Kentucky and West Kentucky * Fourteenth District – Liberia, Central Liberia, Sierra Leone, Ghana, Nigeria, Côte d'Ivoire and Togo-Benin * Fifteenth District – Angola, Cape, Boland, Eastern Cape, Kalahari, Namibia, and Queenstown * Sixteenth District – Guyana/Suriname, Virgin Islands, European, Dominican Republic, Haiti, Jamaica, Windward Islands and Brazil * Seventeenth District – Southeast Zambia, Southwest Zambia, Northeast Zambia, Northwest Zambia, Zambezi, Congo Brazzaville, Katanga, Kananga, Kinshasa, Mbuji-mayi, Rwanda, Burundi and Tshikapa * Eighteenth District – Botswana, Lesotho, Mozambique, and Eswatini * Nineteenth District – Orangia, Natal, M.M. Mokone Memorial Conference, East, West * Twentieth District – Malawi North, Malawi South, Malawi Central, Northeast Zimbabwe, Southwest Zimbabwe, Central Zimbabwe

Bishops (past and present)

The Four Horsemen: important bishops

Image:Richard Allen.JPG, Richard Allen, founder and first bishop (1816–1841) Image:William Paul Quinn.jpg,

William Paul Quinn William Paul Quinn (10 April 1788–21 February 1873) was born in India and immigrated to the United States, where he became the fourth bishop of the African Methodist Episcopal Church, the first independent black denomination in the United State ...

, fourth bishop (1849–1873) Image:Daniel Alexander Payne.jpg, Daniel Payne, sixth bishop (1811–1893) Image:Henry McNeil Turner.jpg,

, twelfth bishop (1834–1915)

Current bishops and assignments

* 1st Episcopal District – Bishop

Julius Harrison McAllister The gens Julia (''gēns Iūlia'', ) was one of the most prominent patrician families in ancient Rome. Members of the gens attained the highest dignities of the state in the earliest times of the Republic. The first of the family to obtain the c ...

* 2nd Episcopal District – Bishop

James Levert Davis James Levert Davis is the 123rd elected and consecrated bishop in the African Methodist Episcopal (AME) Church. He was elected to the office of bishop at the 47th General Conference of the AME Church in 2004. He served as the presiding prelate of ...

* 3rd Episcopal District – Bishop Erreneous Earl McCloud, Jr. * 4th Episcopal District – Bishop

John Franklin White John Franklin White (27 October 1873 – 22 June 1961) was a Conservative member of the House of Commons of Canada. He was born in London, Ontario and became an industrialist. White was a manufacturer of iron and steel, managing the London R ...

* 5th Episcopal District – Bishop Clement W. Fugh * 6th Episcopal District – Bishop

Reginald T. Jackson Reginald is a masculine given name in the English language. Etymology and history The meaning of Reginald is “King". The name is derived from the Latin ''Reginaldus'', which has been influenced by the Latin word ''regina'', meaning "queen". Th ...

* 7th Episcopal District – Bishop Samuel Lawrence Green Sr. * 8th Episcopal District – Bishop

Stafford J. N. Wicker Stafford () is a market town and the county town of Staffordshire, in the West Midlands region of England. It lies about north of Wolverhampton, south of Stoke-on-Trent and northwest of Birmingham. The town had a population of 70,145 in the ...

* 9th Episcopal District – Bishop

Harry Lee Seawright Harry may refer to: TV shows * ''Harry'' (American TV series), a 1987 American comedy series starring Alan Arkin * ''Harry'' (British TV series), a 1993 BBC drama that ran for two seasons * ''Harry'' (talk show), a 2016 American daytime talk show ...

* 10th Episcopal District – Bishop

Adam Jefferson Richardson, Jr., Senior Bishop Adam; el, Ἀδάμ, Adám; la, Adam is the name given in Genesis 1-5 to the first human. Beyond its use as the name of the first man, ''adam'' is also used in the Bible as a pronoun, individually as "a human" and in a collective sense as " ...

* 11th Episcopal District – Bishop

Frank Madison Reid, III Frank or Franks may refer to: People * Frank (given name) * Frank (surname) * Franks (surname) * Franks, a medieval Germanic people * Frank, a term in the Muslim world for all western Europeans, particularly during the Crusades - see Farang Cur ...

* 12th Episcopal District – Bishop

Michael Leon Mitchell Michael may refer to: People * Michael (given name), a given name * Michael (surname), including a list of people with the surname Michael Given name "Michael" * Michael (archangel), ''first'' of God's archangels in the Jewish, Christian and ...

* 13th Episcopal District – Bishop

E. Anne Henning Byfield E is the fifth letter of the Latin alphabet. E or e may also refer to: Commerce and transportation * €, the symbol for the euro, the European Union's standard currency unit * ℮, the estimated sign, an EU symbol indicating that the weigh ...

* 14th Episcopal District – Bishop

Paul J. M. Kawimbe Paul may refer to: *Paul (given name), a given name (includes a list of people with that name) *Paul (surname), a list of people People Christianity *Paul the Apostle (AD c.5–c.64/65), also known as Saul of Tarsus or Saint Paul, early Chris ...

* 15th Episcopal District – Bishop

Silvester Scott Beaman Saint Sylvester's Day, also known as Silvester or the Feast of Saint Sylvester, is the day of the feast of Pope Sylvester I, a saint who served as Pope from 314 to 335. Medieval legend made him responsible for the conversion of emperor Constanti ...

* 16th Episcopal District – Bishop

Marvin C. Zanders, II Marvin may refer to: __NOTOC__ Geography ;In the United States * Marvyn, Alabama, also spelled Marvin, an unincorporated community * Marvin, Missouri, an unincorporated community * Marvin, North Carolina, a village * Marvin, South Dakota, a town * R ...

* 17th Episcopal District – Bishop

David Rwhynica Daniels, Jr. David (; , "beloved one") (traditional spelling), , ''Dāwūd''; grc-koi, Δαυΐδ, Dauíd; la, Davidus, David; gez , ዳዊት, ''Dawit''; xcl, Դաւիթ, ''Dawitʿ''; cu, Давíдъ, ''Davidŭ''; possibly meaning "beloved one". w ...

* 18th Episcopal District – Bishop

Francine A. Brookins :''This is a disambiguation page for the common name Francine.'' Francine is a female given name. The name is of French origin. The name Francine was most popular in France itself during the 1940s (Besnard & Desplanques 2003), and was well used in ...

* 19th Episcopal District – Bishop

Ronnie Elijah Brailsford Ronnie may refer to: *Ronnie (name), a unisex pet name and given name * "Ronnie" (Four Seasons song), a song by Bob Gaudio and Bob Crewe *"Ronnie," a song from the Metallica album '' Load'' *Ronnie Brunswijkstadion, an association football stadium ...

* 20th Episcopal District – Bishop

Frederick A. Wright Frederick may refer to: People * Frederick (given name), the name Nobility Anhalt-Harzgerode *Frederick, Prince of Anhalt-Harzgerode (1613–1670) Austria * Frederick I, Duke of Austria (Babenberg), Duke of Austria from 1195 to 1198 * Frederic ...

* The Office of Ecumenical Affairs – Bishop

Jeffery Nathaniel Leath Jeffery may refer to: * Jeffery (name), including a list of people with the name * Jeffery (automobile), an early American automobile manufacturer * Thomas B. Jeffery Company * Jeffery Boulevard, a major north–south street on the South Side of Ch ...

Retired bishops

* John Hurst Adams* * ''Richard Allen Hildebrand*'' * Frederick Hilborn Talbot* * ''Hamil Hartford Brookins*'' * ''Vinton Randolph Anderson*'' * Frederick Calhoun James * Frank Curtis Cummings * Philip Robert Cousin, Sr * Henry Allen Belin, Jr. * ''Richard Allen Chappelle, Sr*'' * Vernon Randolph Byrd, Sr. * * Robert Vaughn Webster * Zedekiah Lazett Grady* *

Carolyn Tyler Guidry Carolyn Tyler-Guidry, a bishop of the African Methodist Episcopal Church was the first woman appointed to be a presiding elder in the Fifth Episcopal District of the AME Church and the second woman to become a bishop in the denomination. Biograph ...

* Cornal Garnett Henning, Sr.* * ''Sarah Frances Davis*'' * John Richard Bryant * William P. Deveaux * T. Larry Kirkland * ''

Benjamin F. Lee Benjamin Franklin Lee (September 18, 1841 – March 12, 1926) was a religious leader and educator in the United States. He was the president of Wilberforce University from 1876 to 1884. He was editor of the ''Christian Recorder'' from 1884 to 189 ...

'' * Richard Franklin Norris, Sr. * Preston Warren Williams, II * McKinley Young* * ''Deceased''

General officers

* Marcus T. Henderson Sr., Treasurer/Chief Financial Officer * John Green, Secretary-Treasurer, Global Witness and Missions * James F. Miller, Executive Director, Department of Retirement Services * Marcellus Norris, Executive Director of Church Growth and Development * Jeffery B. Cooper, General Secretary/CIO * Teresa Fry Brown, Executive Director, Research and Scholarship and Editor of '' The A.M.E. Church Review'' * Roderick D. Belin, President/Publisher, AMEC Sunday School Union * John Thomas III, Editor of '' The Christian Recorder'', the official newspaper of the African Methodist Episcopal Church * Garland F. Pierce, Executive Director of Christian Education

Notable clergy and educators

* Sarah Allen (1764–1849), Richard Allen's wife, who founded the Daughters of the Conference. * Hiram Rhodes Revels, first African American to serve in the United States Senate, representing Mississippi from 1870 to 1871. * Bishop Vinton Randolph Anderson (1927–2014), first African American to be elected President of the World Council of Churches, headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland (served 1991–98); author of ''My Soul Shouts'' and subject of an edited work (Gayraud Wilmore & Louis Charles Harvey, editors), ''A Model of A Servant Bishop''; first native Bermudian elected a bishop in any church/denomination. *

John M. Brown John Mifflin Brown (September 8, 1817 – March 16, 1893) was a bishop in the African Methodist Episcopal (AME) Church. He was a leader in the underground railroad. He helped open a number of churches and schools, including the Payne Institute ...

(1817–1893) bishop, leader in the underground railroad. He helped open a number of churches and schools, including the Payne Institute which became Allen University in Columbia, South Carolina and Paul Quinn College in Waco, Texas. He was also an early principal of Union Seminary which became Wilberforce University * Jamal Harrison Bryant (1971– ), founded Empowerment Temple (AME Church) in Baltimore in 2000 with a congregation of 43 people. Today more than 7,500 members attend weekly services at this large influential congregation. * Bishop Richard Harvey Cain, elected member of U.S. House of Representatives from South Carolina during Reconstruction era. * Bishop William D. Chappelle (1857–1925), was president of Allen University in Columbia, South Carolina from 1897 to 1899. * Daniel Coker (1780–1846), born "Issac Wright" in

, Maryland to mixed-race parents. Famous preacher and abolitionist. Ordained deacon in the new Methodist Episcopal Church by Bishop Francis Asbury in 1802 in Baltimore. Le
Bethel AME Church
in Baltimore. Participated in the organization of the national AME Church in Philadelphia in 1816. By 1820, sent as missionary to Sierra Leone, British colony in West Africa and considered founder of national Methodist Church there. * Dennis C. Dickerson, Director of the Research and Scholarship and Professor at Vanderbilt University (retired). * Bishop William Heard (1850–1937), AME minister and educator. Appointed by the U.S. government as "Minister Resident/Consul General" to Republic of

Liberia Liberia (), officially the Republic of Liberia, is a country on the West African coast. It is bordered by Sierra Leone to Liberia–Sierra Leone border, its northwest, Guinea to its north, Ivory Coast to its east, and the Atlantic Ocean ...

, (1895–1898). *

King Solomon Dupont King is the title given to a male monarch in a variety of contexts. The female equivalent is queen, which title is also given to the consort of a king. *In the context of prehistory, antiquity and contemporary indigenous peoples, the tit ...

, AME clergy member who in the 1950s was the first African-American to seek public office in northern Florida since the

Reconstruction era The Reconstruction era was a period in American history following the American Civil War (1861–1865) and lasting until approximately the Compromise of 1877. During Reconstruction, attempts were made to rebuild the country after the bloo ...

; in 1955, as Vice President of the Tallahassee Civic Association, he led a bus boycott, in which protesters lives were threatened, simultaneous to the Montgomery bus boycott led by Martin Luther King Jr. in Montgomery, Alabama. * Orishatukeh Faduma, (1855–1946), African American missionary and educator. *

Floyd H. Flake Floyd Harold Flake (born January 30, 1945) is an American businessman and former politician who is the senior pastor of the 23,000 member Greater Allen African Methodist Episcopal Cathedral in Jamaica, Queens, New York, and former president of ...

(1945– ), former U.S. Congressman from New York State (1986–1998); senior pastor of the Greater Allen AME Cathedral in Jamaica, New York; former President of Wilberforce University *

Sarah E. Gorham Sarah E. Gorham (1832–1894) was the first woman to be sent out as a missionary from the African Methodist Episcopal Church.Lindley, Susan Hill, Eleanor J. Stebner, eds. ''The Westminster Handbook to Women in American Religious History'', p. 91. ...

, first female missionary from AME church, dying in Liberia in 1894. * Bishop

(1937– ), second female AME bishop in church history. * Bishop Vashti Murphy McKenzie, first female AME bishop in church history, best-selling author. * Lyman S. Parks (1917–2009), Mayor of Grand Rapids, Michigan (1971–1976); Pastor of First Community AME Church in Grand Rapids. * Bishop Daniel Payne (1811–1893), historian, educator and AME minister. First African-American president of an African-American university, Wilberforce University, in the U.S. * Bishop Reverdy Cassius Ransom (1861–1959), one of the founders of

NAACP The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) is a civil rights organization in the United States, formed in 1909 as an interracial endeavor to advance justice for African Americans by a group including W. E.&nb ...

via ''The Niagara Movement''. * T. W. Stringer (1815–1897), a freeman from Canada and first pastor of

Bethel AME Church of Vicksburg Bethel African Methodist Episcopal Church is a historic African Methodist Episcopal (A.M.E.) church located at 805 Monroe Street in Vicksburg, Mississippi. The church's congregation was established in 1864, making it the first A.M.E. church in t ...

Vicksburg Vicksburg most commonly refers to: * Vicksburg, Mississippi, a city in western Mississippi, United States * The Vicksburg Campaign, an American Civil War campaign * The Siege of Vicksburg, an American Civil War battle Vicksburg is also the name of ...

, Mississippi founded in 1864 as Mississippi's first AME church. At Bethel AME in Vickbsurg, he established the T.W. Stringer Grand Lodge of Freemasonry, Mississippi's first Masonic Lodge. *

Frank M. Reid III Frank or Franks may refer to: People * Frank (given name) * Frank (surname) * Franks (surname) * Franks, a medieval Germanic people * Frank, a term in the Muslim world for all western Europeans, particularly during the Crusades - see Farang Curre ...

(1951– ), Pastor of the Bethel AME Church in Baltimore from 1988 to 2016. Reid started ''The Bethel Outreach of Love Broadcast''; Bethel was the first AME Church to have an international TV broadcast. Was selected as the 26th most influential person in Baltimore by local regional publication, '' Baltimore Magazine''. His congregation's members include the mayor and city comptroller of Baltimore. He consulted for the TV show '' Amen'', and guest starred several times on the popular HBO cable TV series '' The Wire''. As of 2016, he was elevated to episcopal service as th
138th bishop
of the AME Church. * Calvin H. Sydnor III, the 20th Editor of ''The Christian Recorder'', the official newspaper of the African Methodist Episcopal Church (www.the-Christian-recorder.org) * Bishop Benjamin Tucker Tanner (1835–1923), author of ''An Apology for African Methodism'' (1867), editor of the ''Christian Recorder'', AME publication, and founder of the ''AME Church Review''. As a bishop, presided over AME parishes, first, in Canada, Bermuda, and the West Indies, later, in New England, New York, New Jersey, and eastern Pennsylvania. * D. Ormonde Walker, 66th bishop of the AME Church and 10th president of Wilberforce University * Bishop

Alexander Walker Wayman Alexander is a male given name. The most prominent bearer of the name is Alexander the Great, the king of the Ancient Greek kingdom of Macedonia who created one of the largest empires in ancient history. Variants listed here are Aleksandar, Al ...

(1821–1895), born free in Caroline County, Maryland, joined AME Church in 1840, ordained minister three years later. Served as minister o
Bethel AME Church
in

(founded 1785), then located on East Saratoga near North

Charles Charles is a masculine given name predominantly found in English language, English and French language, French speaking countries. It is from the French form ''Charles'' of the Proto-Germanic, Proto-Germanic name (in runic alphabet) or ''*k ...

, St. Paul Street/Place (currently Preston Gardens), and North Calvert Streets, led "Negro/Colored" delegation in President Abraham Lincoln's funeral procession through Baltimore during stop during train trip back to Springfield, Illinois, April 1865. Lived on Hamilton Street alley behind First Unitarian Church off North Charles and West Franklin Streets.
Jamye Coleman Williams
(1918– ), educator, community leader. Former editor of the ''AME Church Review''; recipient of the

Presidential Award (1999). *

Rev Clive Pillay Rev or Rév may refer to: Abbreviations Rev. * Rev., an abbreviation for revolution, as in Revolutions per minute * Rev., an abbreviation for the religious style The Reverend * Rev., the abbreviation for Runtime Revolution, a development environ ...

(1953– ): community leader. Field Reporter The Christian Recorder, Former Founder ICY:

UDF – Inter Church Youth UDF may refer to: Astronomy * Ultra Deep Field, a view of the distant universe taken in 2004 by the Hubble space telescope ** UDF 423, a distant spiral galaxy ** UDF 2457, a red dwarf star Computing * Universal Disk Format, an operating-system ...

* Jarena Lee (1783–1864): First woman preacher in the AME church given the blessing to do so by founder, Richard Allen. Prominent AME leader in the Wesleyan-Holiness movement. The First African American woman in the United States to have an autobiography published. *

Juliann Jane Tillman Juliann Jane Tillman was an American preacher in the African Methodist Episcopal Church. She is known for her lithograph portrait printed in 1844 in Philadelphia, which is held in the Library of Congress, and is often referenced by historians disc ...

, woman preacher in the AME Church, was well known for her widely reproduced 1844 lithograph portrait.

Ecumenism

In May 2012, The African Methodist Episcopal Church entered into

full communion Full communion is a communion or relationship of full agreement among different Christian denominations that share certain essential principles of Christian theology. Views vary among denominations on exactly what constitutes full communion, but ...

with the racially integrated United Methodist Church, and the predominantly Black/African American members of the

African Union Methodist Protestant Church The African Union First Colored Methodist Protestant Church and Connection, usually called "the A.U.M.P. Church," is a Methodist denomination. It was chartered by Peter Spencer (1782–1843) in Wilmington, Delaware, in 1813 as the "Union Church of ...

Christian Methodist Episcopal Church The Christian Methodist Episcopal (C.M.E.) Church is a historically black denomination within the broader context of Wesleyan Methodism founded and organized by John Wesley in England in 1744 and established in America as the Methodist Episcopal ...

, and Union American Methodist Episcopal Church, in which these Churches agreed to "recognize each other's churches, share sacraments, and affirm their clergy and ministries", bringing a semblance of unity and reconciliation to those church bodies which follow in the footsteps of John and Charles Wesley.

Social issues

The AME Church is active regarding issues of social justice and has invested time in reforming the criminal justice system. The AME Church also opposes "elective abortion". On women's issues, the AME has supported gender equality and, in 2000, first elected a woman to become bishop. In 2004, the denomination voted to prohibit same-sex marriages in its churches, but did not establish a position on ordination. There are openly gay clergy ordained in the AME and "the AME Church’s Doctrine and Discipline has no explicit policy regarding gay clergy". In 2019, the Council of Bishops decided to allow a proposal to allow same-sex marriages in church to be considered at the General Conference in 2020. While debating marriage in 2021, the AME confirmed that, while the church does not allow same-sex marriages, "it does not bar LGBTQ individuals from serving as pastors or otherwise leading the denomination." The AME General Conference voted against a bill to allow same-sex marriages in church while also voting to approve a committee to explore and provide recommendations for changes to church doctrine and discipline and for pastoral care for LGBTQ people. During the 2016 General Conference, the AME Church invited Hillary Clinton to offer an address to the delegates and clergy. Additionally, the AME Church voted to take "a stand against climate change". AME Church works with non-partisan VoteRiders to spread state-specific information on voter ID requirements.

References

External links

*
Official website of "The Christian Recorder"

Women's Missionary Society of the AME church

AMEC Office of Employment Security

AME Church Storehouse

AME Church Department of Global Witness & Ministry

AME Digital Archives at Payne College

AMEC Department of Christian Education

The AMEC Lay Organization

AMECHealth.org The Official AME Health Commission
{{Authority control 1816 establishments in Pennsylvania Historically African-American Christian denominations History of Methodism in the United States Members of the National Council of Churches Members of the World Council of Churches Methodist denominations established in the 19th century Religious organizations established in 1816