THE GUIDE

Abyssinian Baptist Church

One of the oldest, largest and most influential Protestant congregation in the country.
Its origins date back to 1808 when a group of believers from the First Baptist Church in New York refused to accept seats reserved for blacks and formed a new congregation with a group of Ethiopian merchants. In 1908, thanks to the impulse of the young shepherd Adam Clayton Powell Sr. who managed to raise the necessary funds among the faithful, the current church was built on 138th Street.
The building, designed by Charles W. Bolton & Son in the Gothic Revival and Tudor Revival styles with stained glass windows and marble furnishings, was consecrated on June 17, 1923. In 1937, when the confraternity reached 7,000 members, the pastor left his mandate to his only son, Adam Clayton Powell Jr., a preacher and civil rights defender, who was elected twelve times to the United States Congress.
The church is also known for its traditional and contemporary gospel choirs, jazz, blues, R&B and hip hop. Tourists can attend Sunday Mass at 11:30 a.m. (not 9:00 a.m.) which on average lasts about 2 and a half hours and is asked not to go out during the service.

References

Kenneth T. Jackson, Lisa Keller, Nancy Flood. The Encyclopedia of New York City: Second Edition. Yale University Press, 2010. p. 4
About Abyssinian Baptist Church (Abyssinian Baptist Church)
Abyssinian Baptist Church (Wikipedia)