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Very Rev. '''Raphael Morgan''' (born '''Robert Josias Morgan''', 186x/187x - 19xx) was a Jamaican-American [[priest]] of the [[Ecumenical Patriarchate]], designated as ''"[[Missionary|Priest-Apostolic]]"'' (Greek: Ιεραποστολος) to America and the West Indies,<ref group="note">According to Fr. Raphael's biography in the ''Who's Who of the Colored Race'', 1915, after he was ordained to the priesthood:<br>
:"...at a special service he was duly commissioned Priest-Apostolic from the Ecumenical and Patriarchal Throne of Constantinople to America and the West Indies."<br>
(Mather, Frank Lincoln. ''[http://books.google.com/books?id=RFZ2AAAAMAAJ&source=gbs_navlinks_s Who's Who of the Colored Race: A General Biographical Dictionary of Men and Women of African Descent].'' University of Michigan. Gale Research Co., 1915. p.226.)</ref><ref>Robert A. Hill, Marcus Garvey, Universal Negro Improvement Association. ''Letter Denouncing Marcus Garvey.'' In: '''[http://books.google.ca/books?id=CKJrUKdSZwkC&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_navlinks_s The Marcus Garvey and Universal Negro Improvement Association Papers: 1826-August 1919].''' University of California Press, 1983. pg.197.</ref> later the founder and superior of the ''Order of the Cross of [[Golgotha]]'',<ref group="note" name="Order">The ''"Order of...",'' could be a number of things; it could be 1) an honorarium bestowed upon him for service done in the Church; or 2) an entitling which lets others know of his special mission in the Patriarchate/Diocese etc.; it could also 3) refer to a Society of monastics which transcends, because of rare circumstances, physical location; in addition, it is also possible that this was 4) a monastic brotherhood formed for Black Orthodox Christians, since Morgan was referred to as the ''“founder and superior”'' of that religious fraternity, although the formation of formal monastic orders is not traditionally practiced in the Orthodox tradition. The Orthodox Church does not have separate Orders (Franciscan, Carmelite etc.) each with an entirely independent rule/ethos of life. Despite being mentioned on many occasions in association with Morgan, no other material has ever been found on the ''Order of the Cross of Golgotha''.</ref> and thought to be the first Black Orthodox clergyman in America.
He spoke broken Greek, and therefore served mostly in English. Having recently been discovered, his life has garnered great interest, but much of his life still remains shrouded in mystery.
===Monastic Tonsure===
In 1911 Fr. Raphael sailed to Cyprus, presumably to be tonsured a [[hieromonk]]. Possibly somewhere around this time, he founded the ''Order of the Cross of [[Golgotha]]'' (O.C.G.).<ref group="note" name="Order"/> However, Fr. Oliver Herbel ([[Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese of North America|AOC]]) has suggested that in 1911 Fr. Raphael was [[Tonsure|tonsured]] in Athens.<ref>Fr. Oliver Herbel ([[Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese of North America|AOC]]). ''[http://www.ocanews.org/Herbeljurisdiction4.22.09.html Jurisdictional Disunity and the Russian Mission].'' '''Orthodox Christians for Accountability'''. [[April 22]], 2009.</ref> As is noted above however, the Archives of the Holy Synod of the [[Church of Greece]] contain no information about Fr. Raphael.
===Lecture Tour in Jamaica===
