The Relationship of the African Orthodox Church to the Orthodox Churches and its Importance for Appreciating the Brotherhood of St. Moses the Black

Abstract

Although one might not link Orthodox Christianity to Africans and African Americans, Orthodox Christianity has played a role in the religious lives of African Americans and Africans beyond the Oriental Orthodox Churches of Egypt and Ethiopia. This has been especially true in regard to Orthodox Christianity's intersection with the African Orthodox Church. An examination of the relationship of the Orthodox Church to the African Orthodox Church provides a useful context in which to understand the current American movement known as the Brotherhood of St. Moses the Black. Fr. Moses Berry started the brotherhood of St. Moses the Black and his concerns, as well as themes found amongst members of the brotherhood, correlate with earlier themes surrounding the African Orthodox Church. This suggests ways by which the Orthodox Churches may reach out to the African-American populations in America in the twenty-first century.