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| African Methodist Episcopal Church | |
|---|---|
 God Our Father, Christ Our Redeemer, Holy Spirit Our Comforter, Humankind Our Family | |
| Classification | Protestant |
| Orientation | Methodist |
| Theology | Wesleyan-Arminian |
| Polity | Connexionalism |
| Associations | World Methodist Council Wesleyan Holiness Consortium National Council of Churches (1950) World Council of Churches (1948) Churches Uniting in Christ (formerly Consultation on Church Union of 1962) Conference of National Black Churches |
| Headquarters | Nashville, Tennessee |
| Founder | Richard Allen (1760–1831) |
| Origin | 1816 (grew out of the Free African Society which was established in 1787) and Mother Bethel A.M.E. Church, (organized 1794) Philadelphia, Pennsylvania |
| Separated from | Methodist Episcopal Church (organized 1784 in Baltimore to 1939) - (currently The United Methodist Church) |
| Congregations | 7,000[1] |
| Members | 2.5–3.5 million[1][2][3] |
| Official website | www |
| Part of a series on |
| Methodism |
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The African Methodist Episcopal Church, usually called the AME Church or AME, is a Methodist denomination based in the United States. It adheres to Wesleyan-Arminian theology and has a connexional polity.[4] It cooperates with other Methodist bodies through the World Methodist Council and Wesleyan Holiness Connection.[5]
Though historically a black church and the first independent Protestant denomination to be founded by Black people,[6] the African Methodist Episcopal Church welcomes and has members of all ethnicities.[7]
The AME Church was founded by Richard Allen (1760–1831) in 1816 when he called together five African American congregations of the previously established Methodist Episcopal Church with the hope of escaping the discrimination that was commonplace in society, including some churches.[7] It was among the first denominations in the United States to be founded for this reason (rather than for theological distinctions). Allen, a previously ordained deacon in the Methodist Episcopal Church, was elected by the gathered ministers and ordained as its first bishop in 1816 by the first General Conference of the five churches—extending from the three in the Philadelphia area in Pennsylvania to ones in Delaware and Baltimore, Maryland. The denomination then expanded west and through the South, particularly after the American Civil War (1861–1865). By 1906, the AME had a membership of about half a million, more than the combined predominantly black American denominations—the Colored Methodist Episcopal Church in America and the African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church, making it the largest major African-American denomination of the Methodist tradition.
The AME Church currently has 20 districts, each with its own bishop: 13 are based in the United States, mostly in the South, while seven are based in Africa. The global membership of the AME is around 2.5 million members, and it remains one of the largest Methodist denominations in the world.
- ^ a b Cite error: The named reference
World Council Churcheswas invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ Pratt, George. "Largest Religious groups in the United States of America". Adherents.com. Adherence.com. Archived from the original on 2018-08-20. Retrieved 2017-01-04.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link) - ^ Zavada, Jack (May 14, 2014). "African Methodist Episcopal – Brief Overview of the African Methodist Episcopal Church". christianity.about.com. Archived from the original on May 15, 2014. Retrieved May 14, 2014.
- ^ Anyabwile, Thabiti M. (14 November 2007). The Decline of African American Theology: From Biblical Faith to Cultural Captivity. InterVarsity Press. p. 195. ISBN 978-0-8308-2827-2.
- ^ Scott, David W. (11 August 2020). "UMC Ecumenical Partnerships: Multilateral Partnerships". UM Insight. Retrieved 8 July 2021.
- ^ "Richard Allen". PBS. Retrieved 2017-09-07.
- ^ a b Freelon, Kiratiana; Thomas III, John (19 October 2019). "At Home in Allen's Church: Stories of Multicultural AME Members". The Christian Recorder. Retrieved 17 June 2021.