Oldest African Methodist Episcopal church in America.
Founded in 1794 by Richard Allen after walking out of St. George’s Methodist in protest of segregated worship, Mother Bethel is the oldest African Methodist Episcopal Church in the nation and “mother” church of the denomination. It has provided faith and moral leadership for abolitionists and civil rights leaders, as well as assisted escapees from bondage and dispatched missionaries to the South during Reconstruction.
Discover Philadelphia’s hidden history and how faith has guided liberty toward justice with our curated ecosystem of trails that explore the city’s must-see sites!