Black Popes

MSNBC said there has never been a Black Pope. That's not true according to the dynamic research done by Dr. Leroy Vaughn, MD, MBA, Historian, Humanitarian and Honorary Nigerian Chief, reported in his book BLACK PEOPLE AND THEIR PLACE IN WORLD HISTORY!

Black St. Peter in the Vatican

Black Roman Africans made significant contributions to the growth of Christianity and the development of the Roman Catholic faith. The three greatest scholars and founding theologians of Christianity were all Roman Africans including Tetulian, Cyperian, and St. Augustine. However, the greatest contribution was probably made by the three Black popes who were Pope Victor I, Pope Miltiades, and Pope Galasius I.

Pope Victor I was the 14^th pope and served from 189 A.D. - 199 A.D. In 189 A.D., the date of Easter was a matter of great controversy. In Asia, Easter was celebrated on the 14^th day after the full moon, which meant that some Christians were celebrating lent while others were celebrating resurrection. Pope Victor I declared that Easter would only be celebrated on Sunday and that he would excommunicate all of the Christians of Asia if they failed to abide by his ruling. Easter has been on Sunday ever since. Under the influence of the Black theologian Tetulian, the Black Pope Victor I also declared that Latin would replace Greek as the official language of the Roman church. Both Victor and Tetulian only wrote in Latin thereafter. Pope Victor at the same time that Black Romans controlled the world religiously with Victor and Tetulian, the Black Romans gained control of the world politically and militarily in 193 A.D., when the Black Roman African Septimius Severus became the Roman Emperor. He remembered his roots by making large donations to the urban poor and employing them in extensive building campaigns. The month of September was named after Septimius Severus who was seceded as emperor of the Roman Empire by his Black son Caracalla from 211 A.D. until 217 A.D.

The second Black pope was Pope Miltiades who served from 311 A.D. until 314 A.D. as our 32^nd pope. All Christians were persecuted when Miltiades took office until he obtained an edict of toleration signed by Emperor Galerius, which put an end to the great persecutions and allowed the Christians to come out of their catacombs. Pope Miltiades also convinced Emperor Maxentius to return all church buildings and possessions, which had been confiscated during the persecutions. It was also during the reign of Pope Miltiades that the Emperor Constantine was converted to Christianity after he saw the cross in a vision.

Constantine's army marched into Rome in 312 A.D. and overthrew the tyrant Maxentius. He subsequently made Christianity the official religion of the Roman Empire. Miltiades was made a saint with his feast celebrated on December 10th. The Black Roman theologian St. Augustine called Pope Miltiades "an excellent pontiff, a true son of peace, and father of Christians."

The third Black pope was Galasius I, our 49^th pope, who took office 492 A.D. (exactly 1,000 years before America was so-called "discovered"). He is described by his contemporaries as "famous all over the world for his learning and holiness." Galasius I was devoted to uplifting the poor and weak and commanded his bishops to donate 25% of their revenue to charity, stressing that "nothing is more becoming to the priestly office than the protection of the poor and the weak."

Pope Galasius I is also credited with ending the pagan ritual of Lupercalia in which young men would dress in skins and strike any woman they met with a whip, which was supposed to confer fertility and to chase away bad luck. He replaced Lupercalia with the "feast of the purification of the blessed virgin" now called "Candlemas". Galasius I is most famous for his firm letter to Emperor Anastasius about the need for independence of church and state. He told the emperor that the world is governed by two great powers: that of the popes and that of kings; but the authority of the popes is so much greater because on judgment day, popes will have to render an account to God for the soul of kings. As were the other two African popes, Galasius I was also made a saint and his feast day is held on November 21st.

Contrary to the belief of those who call Christianity a White man's religion, Christianity was founded with the genius of three Black theologians, and further developed and propelled by devoted contributions from three Black Roman African popes.

Paperback available at Amazon

.pdf file available at Lulu

BLACK POPES BIBLIOGRAPHY

Brusher, J. (1959) Popes Through the Ages. Princeton.
Holtzclaw, R. (1980) The Saints Go Marching In. Keeble Press Inc.
Khamit-Kush, I. (1983) What They Never Told You in History Class. Bronx, NY: Luxorr Publications.
Loomis, L. R. (1916) Book of the Popes, New York.
Ottley, R. (1952) No Green Pastures, London: John Murray
Scobie, E. (1994) Global Afrikan Presence. New York: A & B Books Publishers.
Van Sertima, I. (ed.) (1993) African Presence in Early Europe. New Brunswick, NJ: Transaction Publishers.