5th Bishop
Willis Nazrey
Bishop Morris Brown was one of the founders of the African Methodist Episcopal Church, and its second presiding bishop. He founded Emanuel AME Church in his native Charleston, South Carolina.
- Birth Date: March 5, 1808
- Consecration Date: May 15, 1852 (served 23 years)
- Death Date: August 23, 1875
Willis Nazrey was born a slave March 5, 1808 in the Isle of Wright County in Virginia. Little is known about his early life.
He was converted and licensed to preach in 1837; ordained a Deacon in 1841; and ordained an Elder in 1843. In 1845, Nazrey served as the first pastor of Bethel AME Church in Morristown, NJ which was incorporated in 1843. After his election as Bishop, in 1852, he presided over the AME churches in Canada.
Reverend Benjamin Stewart of Chatham introduced a resolution that the Methodist churches in British North America (Canada) separate from the American association and form their own church. The new church was named the British Methodist Episcopal Church in appreciation of finding a safe haven from slavery in British North America . At a conference in Philadelphia in 1856 the resolution was adopted and the new church association was founded with Reverend Willis Nazrey of Virginia as its first Bishop. Bishop Nazrey was followed by Bishop Disney.
Information from: Laborers in the Vineyard of the Lord: the beginnings of the AME Church by Larry E. Rivers and Cyclopaedia of African Methodism by Alexander W. Wayman, 1882.
