George Alexander McGuire facts for kids
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George Alexander McGuire (born March 28, 1866 – died November 10, 1934) was an important religious leader. He is best known for his role in Marcus Garvey's Universal Negro Improvement Association (UNIA). In 1920, McGuire became the Chaplain-General of the UNIA. He wrote important guides about Black religious practices and history, using his deep knowledge of religion and African heritage. Both McGuire and Garvey came from Caribbean islands to the United States. They shared a dream of uniting people of African descent worldwide.
McGuire also made other big contributions to religion. He was a minister in the Moravian Church before he moved to the U.S. in 1894. He then joined the Episcopal Church and became a priest in 1897. McGuire cared deeply about creating organizations that supported people of African descent. In 1921, he started the African Orthodox Church (AOC). He became its first bishop that same year and led it until he passed away in 1934. During his time, new churches were opened in many cities across the U.S., Canada, the Caribbean, and East Africa.
McGuire wanted the AOC to be a spiritual home for Black people who followed Episcopal beliefs but wanted their own independent church. It was based on traditional Christian teachings and apostolic succession (a line of authority from the first apostles). Orthodoxy appealed to people of African descent because it had not been involved in colonialism or slavery.
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Early Life and Education
George McGuire was born into an Afro-Caribbean family on March 28, 1866, in Swetes, Antigua. He went to local schools and then studied to become a teacher at the Antigua branch of Mico College. He also studied at the Moravian Miskey Seminary in the Danish West Indies. From 1888 to 1894, McGuire served as a pastor for a Moravian Church in the Danish West Indies.
Joining the Episcopal Church
In 1894, McGuire moved to the United States. He first joined the African Methodist Episcopal Church, which was the first independent Black church in the country. On January 2, 1895, McGuire officially joined the Episcopal Church. Two years later, he became an ordained priest.
McGuire led small, mostly Black Episcopal churches in places like Cincinnati, Ohio; Richmond, Virginia; and Philadelphia. From 1902 to 1905, he was the leader of St. Thomas' Episcopal Church in Philadelphia. This was the first Black church in the Episcopal Church. It was started in 1794 by Absalom Jones, who also helped create the Free African Society.
From 1905 to 1909, McGuire served as an Archdeacon for "Colored Work" in the Episcopal Diocese of Arkansas. He was the highest-ranking African American in the church at that time. He helped increase the number of missions (small churches) in the state from one to nine. However, he faced challenges from the local Episcopal bishop. The bishop believed Black people should be separated from white people in their own church groups. After the Reconstruction era, states like Arkansas had laws that separated people by race in many public places.
Eventually, McGuire left Arkansas and moved to Cambridge, Massachusetts. There, he started St. Bartholomew's Church for West Indian people living in the Boston area. While in Cambridge, McGuire also studied medicine and became a doctor in 1910. When his small church was not officially recognized by the Episcopal diocese, McGuire resigned in 1911. As he traveled across the U.S., he felt more and more that Black people did not have enough chances to grow in the Episcopal Church, so he decided to leave it.
Return to Antigua
In 1913, McGuire went back to the West Indies, settling in Antigua. He went to care for his sick mother. While there, he volunteered as a minister in the Church of England at St. Paul's parish. He served as the Rector (main minister) of the church from 1913 to 1916. He also became well-known for practicing medicine on the island. When sugar cane workers went on strike, British officials wanted religious leaders to oppose the strikes. But McGuire refused. Instead, he urged officials to make sure workers were paid fair wages.
Working with UNIA
McGuire returned to the United States in 1918. Soon after, he joined the UNIA. Marcus Garvey, who founded UNIA, made McGuire the first Chaplain-General of the organization. This happened at their first big meeting in New York in August 1920. In this role, McGuire wrote two important documents for UNIA: "Universal Negro Ritual" and "Universal Negro Catechism." These writings combined religious teachings with Black history, showing his interest in both.
This was a time when many Black people felt disappointed and frustrated with their situation. There were unfair laws and widespread discrimination, not just in the American South but also in Northern cities. Some Black leaders at this time believed that Black people should develop their own separate communities and institutions. Mainstream churches, like the Episcopal Church, wanted to bring faith to Black people. However, they did not want to support "political and social equality" for them.
Founding the African Orthodox Church
On September 2, 1921, McGuire founded the African Orthodox Church (AOC) in New York City. At first, it was called the Independent Episcopal Church. A few years later, in 1924, the church officially became the African Orthodox Church (AOC).
McGuire believed that Black people who supported the Protestant Episcopal church deserved to have their own independent church. The AOC was based on traditional Christian beliefs and was open to everyone. However, it was fully led and controlled by Black leaders. McGuire told his followers: "You must forget the white gods. Erase the white gods from your hearts. We must go back to the native church, to our own true God."
McGuire may have been drawn to the Eastern Orthodox Church because it was not linked to racism or colonialism. It had not been involved in widespread missionary work that often came with colonization. It was not seen as racist. The African Orthodox Church aimed to be a church for all Black people, connected to a branch of Christianity not known for racism.
The first rule of the African Orthodox Church's constitution stated:
The name of this church... is and shall be THE AFRICAN ORTHODOX CHURCH. Its faith... is Orthodox, in line with the Orthodox Churches of the East... While it welcomes people of all races, IT AIMS ESPECIALLY TO REACH THE MILLIONS OF AFRICAN DESCENT IN BOTH HEMISPHERES, and declares itself to be always independent and controlled by Negroes. This is why it is called AFRICAN ORTHODOX.
Soon after the UNIA meeting in August 1924, McGuire and Marcus Garvey went their separate ways. McGuire focused on growing the AOC church. It mostly attracted Anglican immigrants from the West Indies who liked the traditional Anglican style. McGuire wanted the AOC to be the official church of UNIA, but Garvey did not want to give such a special role to any one church. McGuire then resigned from the UNIA. He made sure his new church had official "orthodox" status by arranging for his own apostolic succession. This means he was part of a line of bishops going back to the early Christian apostles.
Becoming a Bishop
McGuire talked with the Russian Orthodox Church in America to get valid Apostolic Orders. The Russians were careful about helping create another "independent" church. They wanted to control this Black church fully, which McGuire and his leaders did not accept. He had similar experiences with other Orthodox groups in the U.S. Finally, the African Orthodox Church negotiated with Archbishop Joseph René Vilatte of the "American Catholic Church."
Father McGuire was made a Bishop in the American Catholic Church on September 28, 1921, in Chicago, Illinois. Archbishop Joseph René Vilatte performed the ceremony.
The early issues of The Negro Churchman, the official magazine of the AOC, often printed articles to show that McGuire's consecration as bishop was valid. They even printed a chart showing his spiritual lineage from the See of Antioch to McGuire.
Meeting with the Ecumenical Patriarch
McGuire tried to get recognition from the Greek Orthodox Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople. In December 1921, McGuire met with Patriarch Meletios in New York City. The Patriarch was interested in the AOC's origins and beliefs. He accepted McGuire's line of authority as legitimate. McGuire claimed that the Patriarch accepted the AOC as an Orthodox Church. However, he would not fully unite with it until it showed it was stable and growing.
The AOC never gained full recognition from a major Eastern Orthodox Church. The AOC's services were a mix of Roman Catholic, Anglican, and Orthodox traditions. The main service was called the Mass. The church used an Anglican hymnal. The AOC was mostly High Anglican, and it was Orthodox mainly because its leader had the title of Patriarch and it used the original Nicene Creed.
Growth of the AOC
In 1924, the leaders of the AOC chose McGuire as the archbishop of the church. For the next ten years, McGuire helped the AOC become a successful international church. New churches were started in cities like Miami, Chicago, Harlem (New York), Boston, and Cambridge, Massachusetts. They also spread to Canada, Barbados, Cuba, South Africa, Uganda, and Kenya. The Negro Churchman, the AOC's official magazine, helped connect the churches far and wide. McGuire was its editor. The Endich Theological Seminary was also founded, along with an Order of Deaconesses.
In 1925, McGuire started an AOC church in West Palm Beach, Florida. Two years later, he made Daniel William Alexander, an African clergyman, the Metropolitan Archbishop for South Africa. At the same time, McGuire was chosen as the Patriarch of the church, with the title Alexander I. The church also spread to Uganda, where it grew to about 10,000 members.
On November 8, 1931, McGuire dedicated Holy Cross Pro-Cathedral in Harlem, New York. His church was strongest in New York City.
Death and Legacy
McGuire passed away on November 10, 1934. He is buried in Woodlawn Cemetery in the Bronx, New York City. His wife, Ada Robert McGuire, and one daughter survived him.
When he died in 1934, the African Orthodox Church had over 30,000 members, fifty clergy (ministers), and thirty churches. These churches were located on three continents: North America, South America, and Africa.
George Alexander McGuire was honored by the African Orthodox Church on July 31, 1983. He is considered a saint in that church.
Why McGuire's Work Was Important
The movement for church independence that McGuire started in 1921 can be seen in two main ways.
First, it showed a desire for Black cultural independence in the United States and Africa. It was an effort to bring widespread religious unity under Black leadership. The AOC's connection to apostolic succession aimed to give it respect within the Black community and the wider Christian world. McGuire did not see as much growth in his church as he hoped for. While it did grow in its first ten years, this was mostly due to his strong personality. After McGuire died, the AOC split and became weaker. In South Africa, there was growth, but not as much as expected. However, new AOC churches were started in Uganda and Kenya.
Second, the AOC was a part of the Pan-Africanism movement of that time. Pan-Africanism aimed to unite Black people from different parts of the world and Africa. Black people in the United States and South Africa faced discrimination and were treated as second-class citizens. These challenges pushed them to join together and claim their independence in an area where white leaders saw no threat. This effort for church independence and racial cooperation happened on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean.
See also
- African Orthodox Church
- Harlem Renaissance
- Raphael Morgan
- Eastern Orthodoxy in Uganda
