See Massachusetts Name John Burgess Predecessor Anson Phelps Stokes In office 1970—1975 Role Bishop Ordination 1935 | Successor John Bowen Coburn Died August 24, 2003 Consecration 1970 Education University of Michigan | |
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Church Episcopal Church (United States) Previous post Episcopal Diocese of Massachusetts | ||
Alma mater University of Michigan | ||
John Melville Burgess (March 11, 1909 – August 24, 2003) was the twelfth bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Massachusetts in Boston, Massachusetts from 1970 to 1975 and the first African American to head an Episcopal diocese.
Burgess was the son of Theodore Thomas (a dining car waiter on the Pere Marquette Railway) and Ethel Inez Beverly (a kindergarten teacher) Burgess. He attended Central High School in Grand Rapids, Michigan. He received a B.A. in 1930 and an M.A. in 1931 from the University of Michigan. Burgess then earned a Master of Divinity degree from the Episcopal Theological School in Cambridge, Massachusetts in 1934, of which he was one of the first black graduates.
After beginning his ministry in his home parish of St. Philip's Episcopal; a Colored Episcopal Mission in Grand Rapids and then Cincinnati, Ohio, Burgess became the Episcopal chaplain at Howard University in Washington, D.C. in 1946. In 1951, he became the first African American to serve as canon at Washington National Cathedral. In 1956, Burgess moved to the Episcopal Diocese of Massachusetts as an archdeacon of Boston's parishes and missions and superintendent of what became named the Episcopal City Mission. He was the first black archdeacon in New England.
In 1962, Burgess was installed as a suffragan bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Massachusetts, becoming the first African American to serve the Episcopal Church as spiritual leader in a predominantly white diocese. When Burgess was consecrated as diocesan bishop in 1970, he became the first African American to head an Episcopal diocese.
Burgess was known for his efforts to revitalize urban ministry, confront racism in public schools, support prison reform, build bridges between black and white communities, and improve the efficiency of the diocese. He was an important ecumenical leader in maintaining peace during the Boston school desegregation crisis.
Following his retirement in 1975, Burgess taught pastoral theology at the Yale Divinity School. He was awarded honorary degrees from the University of Michigan, Boston College, Assumption College, the University of Massachusetts, Trinity College, Northeastern University, and St. Augustine's College.