Fr Samuel Davis, a Black priest of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America, has a passion for reaching the African diaspora.
Born to Colombian and Panamanian immigrants in Brooklyn, New York, Davis was raised in a Pentecostal environment, where he was inculcated in the traditions of the Black Church. He was a devoted Charismatic Protestant until his exposure to Coptic Orthodoxy—the ancient Egyptian Church—with his wife, Julitssa.
“It was during the liturgy of the Eucharist that I saw the Book of Revelation chapters 1-6, the books of Ezekiel, Isaiah, the Book of Daniel, Malachi, all explode in front of me,” Davis told Eric Styles and Nate Tinner-Williams in the latest episode of the Black Catholic Messenger show podcast.
“I saw all of Scripture come alive in front of me and I knew I was home. I couldn't stop crying in that moment.”
Though he eventually joined the Coptic Church, Davis became disappointed at the lack of outreach to Black Americans. Taking the initiative, Davis helped start the St. Simon of Cyrene Orthodox Mission as a Black and Hispanic homeless ministry in New Brunswick, New Jersey. It later became an evangelistic outpost in view of a worship community, though this did not immediately come to fruition.
Following some resistance to the ministry from Coptic leaders, Davis and the community of St. Simon’s was received into the Orthodox Church in America—a Chalcedonian church in the Russian tradition—in 2016, with about 20 adults and children. Services began the next year and Davis was ordained an OCA priest in 2018. He transferred to the Greek Orthodox Church in 2023.
“I always had this awareness in my heart that I was called to ministry,” Davis said. “The vocation of the priesthood, it's a privilege to serve. It's an honor to serve Christ in his Church.”
Davis now serves as an assistant priest at St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church and National Shrine, part of the World Trade Center complex in Manhattan, New York City. From there, he operates the Greek Church’s Apostolic Mission to the African Diaspora in the Americas, West Indies, and Caribbean, which seeks to address the effects of injustice and racism by way of preaching, podcasting, evangelism, and otherwise sharing Orthodox teachings.
“In order for us to be children, sons and daughters, of African descent, and to truly find the healing to answer these concerns, it can only be found in the apostolic Church,” said Davis.
“You can only find it in sacramental worship. It's not solved by emotionalism or by cultural issues or the social interests of our day. It's through the life of the sacraments.”
To hear more from Fr Samuel Davis about his testimony and mission, listen to the latest episode of the Black Catholic Messenger show on your favorite podcast platform.
Nate Tinner-Williams is co-founder and editor of Black Catholic Messenger.
