Gus Roman, celebrated Baptist pastor emeritus and longtime civil rights leader, has died at 92
He worked closely with the Rev. Leon Sullivan in Philadelphia, and Sullivan called him “one of the greatest preachers in the country.”
Gus Roman, 92, of Wyncote, celebrated pastor at Zion and Canaan Baptist Churches, worldwide longtime civil rights leader, onetime president of the Lott Carey Foreign Mission Convention, veteran, and mentor, died Wednesday, April 23, of age-associated decline at Jefferson Abington Hospital.
For more than 60 years, from 1963 until recently, the Rev. Roman served, preached, and ministered to countless congregants and others in Philadelphia, New York, Baltimore, New Orleans, South Africa, and elsewhere around the world. He decried racism, apartheid, and injustice wherever he was, and created Bible institutes, credit unions, employment services, and a wide array of other social service programs for the underserved.
He worked closely for decades with the Rev. Leon Sullivan at Zion and the Opportunities Industrialization Center, and Sullivan told the Daily News in 1988 that the Rev. Roman was “one of the greatest preachers in the country.” He was chair of the board for OIC International, and he and Sullivan expanded the job-training program to 80 chapters in the United States and 12 in Africa. “He’s just the best that could be found,” Sullivan said.
On most Sundays, the Rev. Roman used his baritone voice for what The Inquirer, in a 1996 story about inspiring local preachers, called a “resonant delivery” of his sermons. He won an oratory competition in high school by examining religion as an empirical science, and a fellow pastor said: “His sermons lived and breathed.”
The Rev. Michael A. Major Sr., interim pastor at Zion, said: “He had a unique way of blending the spiritual with [the] practical.” The Rev. Roman told The Inquirer in 1988: “There is no question the church has to provide leadership for people. … The religious enthusiasm has to get out on the streets.”
In addition to Zion and Canaan in Philadelphia, the Rev. Roman served at Berean Missionary Baptist Church in Brooklyn, N.Y., First Baptist Church in Baltimore, and elsewhere briefly. He was president of the Lott Carey Foreign Mission Convention from 1997 to 2000, and colleagues there called him “a towering figure in the global church.”
“Suddenly I became deeply conscious that I had to be responsible and responsive to God.”
He championed the “living power of the Holy Spirit” and “a spirit of service,” family and friends said. They praised his personal “power and strength” in tributes, and said his guidance toward a “future of faith, Black progress, and justice” was invaluable.
The Rev. Roman joined First Baptist in Baltimore in 1963 and left for Canaan and the OIC in 1967. He oversaw Canaan’s relocation to a new building and, for more than a decade, increased membership and expanded community outreach initiatives at both the church and OIC.
He left Canaan in 1980 to serve for eight years at Berean in Brooklyn and returned to Philadelphia in 1988 to succeed Sullivan as pastor at Zion. He returned to Canaan in 1993, retired in 2006, but returned to Zion as senior pastor when he was 91.
He earned his master of divinity degree at Howard University and received several honorary doctorates. “God was his beginning and his ending,“ said his sister, Ingrid Smith. His grandson Dex said: ”His life was a sermon in action.”
“I’m just pleased, proud, and happy that he’s coming.”
The Rev. Roman served two stints in the Army, the first when he was 15 and later as a chaplain based in Oklahoma. In 2022, his achievements were recognized by the Cheltenham Township Board of Commissioners.
His son Derrick said: “He was serious, intentional, and purposeful.”
Gus Roman was born Dec. 20, 1932, in New Orleans. He was reared by his mother and encouraged to aspire and succeed, he told his family later, by compassionate teachers, friends, and colleagues.
He left high school when he was 15, fibbed to enlistment recruiters about his age, and served two years in the Army. He returned to high school, earned his degree in just a year, and won a two-year scholarship to Dillard University in New Orleans.
“I got that sense of community involvement from him and a special passion for giving back to youth.”
He considered a career in medicine but felt a call to the church at 21 and earned a bachelor’s degree in philosophy and education at Virginia Union University. He rejoined the Army in 1960 and served three years as a chaplain.
He met Eunice Matthews at a church event in Washington, and they married and had sons Marcus, Derrick, and Jeffrey and daughters Jonai and Shauna. Marcus died earlier.
The Rev. Roman was an avid reader, and his home always overflowed with books. He and his wife took memorable Caribbean vacations, and his mentorship to younger pastors was a serious matter.
“He was very loving and caring,” his son Derrick said. “Thinking about others was foremost with him. Helping people gave him the most joy.”
In addition to his wife and children, the Rev. Roman is survived by five grandchildren, two great-grandchildren, a sister, two brothers, and other relatives.
Visitation with the family is to be from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Thursday, May 8, at Zion Baptist Church, 3600 N. Broad St., Philadelphia, and 9 to 10 a.m. Friday, May 9, at Salem Baptist Church of Abington, 2741 Woodland Rd., Abington. A celebration of his life is to follow Friday.