The Rev. Calvin O. Butts III, who welcomed generations of worshippers in addition to political leaders from throughout the nation and around the globe at Harlem's landmark Abyssinian Baptist Church, died Friday at age 73, the church introduced.
"The Butts Household and full Abyssinian Baptist Church membership solicit your prayers for us in our bereavement," the church stated on its web site. No explanation for dying was given.
Butts started serving as a youth minister at Abyssinian in 1972 and was senior pastor there for greater than 30 years. He additionally served as president of the State College of New York at Outdated Westbury, on Lengthy Island, from 1999 to 2020.
He labored with political leaders throughout the ideological spectrum.
In 1995, Republican Gov. George Pataki appointed Butts to 2 state boards that managed financial growth grants to companies. That very same yr, Butts hosted then-Cuban chief Fidel Castro at Abyssinian, the place the fatigues-wearing communist acquired a hero's welcome.
The Rev. Al Sharpton known as Butts a significant pillar within the Harlem neighborhood. "He was a dominant religion and educational chief for many years," Sharpton stated in a press release. "We knew one another for greater than 40 years, and whereas we didn't at all times agree we at all times got here again collectively."
Sharpton stated he had spoken to Butts not too long ago and "he was nonetheless combating most cancers," CBS New York reported.
In a tweet, Mayor Eric Adams known as Butts a "true large of our metropolis."
"All through my total journey, Reverend Butts was a mentor, buddy and advisor, even in his closing days," Adams wrote.
CBS New York's Elijah Westbrook reported Friday from outdoors the Abyssinian Baptist Church, the place residents have been mourning Butts' dying. Westbrook himself was christened by the reverend in 1995.
Tyler Perry and Invoice and Hillary Clinton have been among the many mourners at a memorial service for actor Cicely Tyson that Butts presided over at Abyssinian final yr. Butts praised Tyson for instance of "an instance of how all of us would possibly stay."