John M. Burgess, 94; First Black Episcopal Bishop in the U.S.

The Rt. Rev. John Melville Burgess, 94, retired bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Massachusetts and the first African American to preside as bishop over an Episcopal diocese in the United States, died Sunday in Vineyard Haven, Mass. The cause of death was not announced.

As bishop, Burgess was known for his inclusive agenda, working to bring racial minorities and the disadvantaged into the church.

Born in Grand Rapids, Mich., Burgess earned his bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the University of Michigan and graduated from the Episcopal Theological School in Cambridge, Mass., in 1934. He was ordained the next year.

Burgess served as Episcopal chaplain of Howard University in Washington, D.C., from 1946 to 1956 and as a canon at Washington National Cathedral from 1951 to 1956.

He began his ministry in Massachusetts as archdeacon of Boston’s missions and parishes and superintendent of the Boston City Mission from 1956 to 1962. In 1961, he was elected an assisting bishop of the state diocese and in June 1969 its 12th bishop. He retired in 1975.