July 3, 2019
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The Right Reverend Adam Jefferson Richardson Becomes Senior Bishop of the African Methodist Episcopal Church
The Senior Bishop is the active Bishop with the longest tenure of service in the AME Church and is first in order of precedence among the Council of Bishops. The position occupies a key role in the polity and practice of the AME Church. While a Senior Bishop has existed since the incorporation of the church as a denomination in 1816, the first formal investiture ceremony occurred at the 2004 General Conference. The ceremony includes the passage of the Senior Bishop's regalia-a solid gold medallion with the logo of the denomination donated by the family of Claude Stephens.