Morris Brown | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Church | African Methodist Episcopal Church |
| Predecessor | Richard Allen |
| Successor | Daniel Payne |
| Personal details | |
| Born | January 8, 1770 |
| Died | May 9, 1849 (aged 79) Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, US |
| Denomination | African Methodist Episcopal Church |
| Occupation | 2nd bishop of African Methodist Episcopal Church and shoemaker |
Morris Brown (January 8, 1770 – May 9, 1849) was one of the founders of the African Methodist Episcopal Church, and its second presiding bishop. He founded Emanuel AME Church in his native Charleston, South Carolina. It was implicated in the slave uprising planned by Denmark Vesey, also of this church, and after that was suppressed, Brown was imprisoned for nearly a year. He was never convicted of a crime.
After his release, he took his family to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, where he worked closely with Bishop Richard Allen on expanding the church. After Allen's death, Brown was selected as the second bishop of the AME denomination. He planted new congregations and established conferences of AME churches in the American Midwest and Ontario, Canada. He also mentored rising AME leaders such as the Rev. Daniel Payne, and encouraged formal education for new preachers and pastors.[1]
- ^ Charles Spencer Smith, A History of the African Methodist Episcopal Church (Book Concern of the AME Church, Philadelphia, 1922) p. 14 et seq.