Mother Bethel AME Church
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Mother Bethel African Methodist Episcopal Church
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| Location | 419 S. 6th St., Philadelphia, Pennsylvania |
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| Coordinates | 39°56′35″N 75°9′9″W / 39.94306°N 75.15250°WCoordinates: 39°56′35″N 75°9′9″W / 39.94306°N 75.15250°W |
| Built | 1890 |
| Architect | Unknown |
| Architectural style | Romanesque |
| NRHP Reference # | 72001166 |
| Significant dates | |
| Added to NRHP | March 16, 1972 |
| Designated PHMC | March 19, 1991 |
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 Mother Bethel AME Church - Philadelphia, PA, Wanda Kaluza, 2:54 |
The Mother Bethel African Methodist Episcopal Church is a historic church and congregation at 419 South 6th Street in Center City Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA. The congregation, founded in 1794, is the oldest African Methodist Episcopal congregation in the nation. Its present church, completed in 1890, is the oldest church property in the United States to be continuously owned by African Americans. It was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1972.
The church was organized by African-American members of St. George's Methodist Church who walked out due to racial segregation in the worship services. Mother Bethel was one of the first African-American churches in the United States, dedicated July 29, 1794, by Bishop Francis Asbury. On October 12, 1794, Reverend Robert Blackwell announced that the congregation was received in full fellowship in the Methodist Episcopal Church. In 1816 Rev Richard Allen brought together other black Methodist congregations from the region to organize the new African Methodist Episcopal Church denomination. He was elected bishop of this denomination. After the American Civil War, its missionaries went to the South to help freedmen and planted many new churches in the region.
Allen and his wife, Sarah Allen are both buried in the present church's crypt. The current church building was constructed in 1888-1890, and it has been designated a National Historic Landmark.
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