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His background and career.
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Jamaican In Unique Position.
from Jamaica Times April 26 1913
ONLY NEGRO WHO IS
A GREEK PRIEST.
Jamaica Times Special.
The African Times and Orient Review, February and March,
contains an interesting biographical note on the Rev. Father Raphael of the Russo-Greek Church, and of the Order of the Cross
of Golgotha.
In the world the Father was known as Robert Morgan and what is very interesting to us is that he was born
in Jamaica. He is the only representative of the Negro Race who is a Priest in the Greek Church.
He was born in this Island
more than 40 years ago. Six months after his birth his father died. He received his early training from his mother and was
brought up among Church of England folk. In his teens he left Jamaica and was educated at a Grammar School in Sierra Leone
and then at the famous Church of England College at Fourah Bay. As a poor boy he had to work to help himself through and he
was also assisted by friends. He travelled a great deal visiting Africa, Syria, Asia Minor, the United States, England and
almost every country in Europe.
He spent some years in Liberia as a missionary and then went to tour in the Southern States
of the United States. Desiring to take Orders, he went to St. Aidens College, Birkenhead and to Kings College, London. He
was ordained and went to the United States where he worked under the American Episcopal Church.
Later on, changing his
views he entered the Greek Church and about six years ago was ordained a priest of Constantinople. He was detailed as a missionary
to his fellow co-religionists among the coloured people of the United States and has worked there ever since. His headquarters
are at Philadelphia where he wishes to build a chapel for this purpose. He recently visited Europe, to collect funds.
It
is interesting to note that he has some intention of extending his work to the West Indies.
The African Times and Orient Review was a periodical published in London by Duse Mohamed
Ali from 1912 to 1928 as a 'Pan-Oriental Pan-African journal'.
The article is essentially identical with the first reports
in the Daily Gleaner.
I later received information from the Archives of the Episcopal Church in the U.S.A.on the career of
Robert Josias Morgan in the church there.
He was ordained deacon by Bishop Coleman in the Diocese of Delaware on June
20 1895; they have no record of his ordination to the priesthood of that church.
In 1898 he was transferred to the
Missionary Jurisdiction of Ashville (now in the Diocese of Western North Carolina). In 1899 he was serving as assistant minister
at St. Stephen's Chapel, Morganton and St. Cyprian's Church, Lincolnton.
Between 1900 and 1905 he seems to have moved
between Philadelphia, Richmond, Virginia and Nashville, Tennessee. There is no further information on him in the Episcopal
records, although he was still listed, until 1908, when he was suspended from his ministry for abandonment of the same.
The
only other institution I have so far been able to check on is St. Aidan's Theological College, whose records contain no reference
to him in the relevant period before he was ordained in the U.S.A.
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. . . a remarkable career
Site authored by Joy Lumsden, MA (Cantab), PhD (UWI).
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