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add info from Gavin White source.
===Period in the Episcopal Church===
He returned to America, and on [[June 20]], 1895 was [[ordination|ordained]] as [[deacon]]<ref group="note">Fr. Raphael's name is given on a list of Black Episcopal ordinations as follows: ''"1895: Robert Josias Morgan, d. June 20, Coleman; deposed; went abroad and was made a priest in Greek Church."'' (Bragg, Rev. George F. (D.D.). ''Chapter XXXVI: Negro Ordinations from 1866 to the Present''. In: '''[http://www.archive.org/details/historyofafroame00brag History of the Afro-American group of the Episcopal church (1922)].''' Baltimore, Md.: Church Advocate Press, 1922. p.273.)</ref> by the Rt. Rev. [[w:Leighton Coleman|Leighton Coleman]],<ref>The ''New York Times''. ''[http://query.nytimes.com/mem/archive-free/pdf?_r=1&res=9D0DE1DF1639E333A25756C1A9649D946697D6CF Bishop Coleman of Delaware Dies].'' Sunday December 15, 1907. Page 13. (Obituary)</ref> Bishop of the [[w:Episcopal Diocese of Delaware|Episcopalian Diocese of Delaware]], and a well-known opponent of racism. Robert was appointed honorary curate in St Matthews' Church in Wilminton, Delaware, serving there from 1896 to 1897,<ref name=WHITE>White, Gavin. ''Patriarch McGuire and the Episcopal Church.'' In: Randall K. Burkett and Richard Newman (Eds.). '''Black Apostles: Afro-American Clergy Confront the Twentieth Century.''' G. K. Hall, 1978. pp.151-180.</ref> and procured a job as a teacher for a few public schools in Delaware.From 1897 he served at Charleston, West Virginia.<ref name="WHITE"/>
In 1898, the deacon Robert (Rev. R.J. Morgan) was transferred to the Missionary Jurisdiction of Ashville (now in the [[w:Episcopal Diocese of Western North Carolina|Diocese of Western North Carolina]]). By 1899 he was listed as being assistant minister at [http://www.diocesewnc.org/index.php?content=300.00&city=Morganton St. Stephen's Chapel] in Morganton , North Carolina, and [http://www.asecnc.org/StCyp.html St. Cyprian's Church] in Lincolnton, North Carolina.<ref>Lumsden, Joy, MA (Cantab), PhD (UWI). ''[http://www.joyousjam.com/fatherraphael/id1.html Father Raphael: His Background and Career].'' September 29, 2007.</ref><ref group="note">St. Cyprian's Episcopal Church was established in 1886. The church once stood on West Church in Lincolnton. The property consisted of a church, a parsonage, and a building used as a school. The church was torn down during the 1970's. The
church remained primarily black and was not integrated until 1979. (Jason L. Harpe. ''[http://books.google.ca/books?id=UJx5c2FRfosC&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_navlinks_s#v=onepage&q=&f=false Lincoln County Revisited].'' Illustrated. Arcadia Publishing, 2003. pg.18.)</ref>
At some point during this period he joined an off-shoot of the Episcopalian Church, known as the ''"American Catholic Church"'' (''ACC''), a sect founded by [[w:Joseph René Vilatte|Joseph René Vilatte]].<ref group="note">The ''"American Catholic Church"'' (ACC) included the jurisdictions and groups which had come out of [[w:Joseph René Vilatte|Joseph René Vilatte's]] Episcopal ministry or were under his oversight. Among them were French and English speaking constituencies, and Polish and Italian ordinariates. The ACC began on August 20, 1894, at a synod held in Cleveland, Ohio, where Polish-speaking parishes joined the jurisdiction of Bishop Vilatte, however the ACC was actually incorporated in July 1915.</ref> He is listed in the records of the Episcopal Church of the USA as late as 1908, when he was suspended from ministry on the allegations of abandoning his post.
===Legacy===
==See also==
* Namee, Matthew. ''[http://ancientfaith.com/specials/16th_ancient_christianity_african-american_conference/matthew_namee/ Fr. Raphael Morgan: America's First Black Orthodox Priest.]'' '''16th Annual Ancient Christianity & African-American Conference'''. June 03, 2009.
* Namee, Matthew. ''"[http://orthodoxhistory.org/?cat=58 Robert Josias Morgan visits Russia, 1904]."'' '''OrthodoxHistory.org''' (The Society for Orthodox Chrisitan History in the Americas). September 15, 2009.
* White, Gavin. ''Patriarch McGuire and the Episcopal Church.'' In: Randall K. Burkett and Richard Newman (Eds.). '''Black Apostles: Afro-American Clergy Confront the Twentieth Century.''' G. K. Hall, 1978. pp.151-180.
[[Category:Priests]]