One of Detroit’s most prominent clergymen notified his congregation Monday, July 21, that a former parishioner with whom he had an “inappropriate relationship” was leveling false allegations against him.
Bishop Charles Ellis III, senior pastor at the massive Greater Grace Temple, sent his flock an email around 8 p.m. that said, in part: “I recently was made aware of social media posts shared by a former member of my congregation, with whom I had an inappropriate relationship over 15 years ago.”
Ellis said the posts include accusations “some of which are deeply troubling and untrue.”
Ellis did not name the former parishioner or specify which accusations were untrue.
His statement said he asked his attorney to review the matter, including “an apparent joint bank account with my name on it.”
Mario Morrow, who Ellis retained to help manage the potential controversy, declined to elaborate.
“The statement speaks for itself,” Morrow said.
Ellis’ statement said he turned to his bishop around the time he was involved with the woman and “these indiscretions were addressed … in a redemptive process, which included counseling.”
Ellis has led Greater Grace Temple on Detroit’s west side for more than 20 years. His biography on the church’s website says he has nearly 6,000 parishioners, many of whom attend services in a 4,000-seat auditorium in the church. The edifice cost $36 million at the time it opened in 2002.
Greater Grace sits on a 20-acre campus known as the “City of David,” which also houses some of Ellis’ endeavors, which include a Montessori day care, a charter school, a travel agency, television and recording studios and a funeral home.
Politicians routinely seek Ellis’ support, and he has served as a board member at the Detroit Zoological Society and Detroit Medical Center.
Ellis and Greater Grace Temple were in the national spotlight when they hosted the funeral services for civil rights icon Rosa Parks in 2005 and Aretha Franklin in 2018.
Ellis is married and has three children, including his daughter Kirsten, who died in 1994.
M.L. Elrick is a Pulitzer Prize- and Emmy Award-winning investigative reporter, director of student investigative reporting program Eye On Michigan, and host of the ML’s Soul of Detroit podcast. Contact him at mlelrick@freepress.com or follow him on X at @elrick, Facebook at ML Elrick and Instagram at ml_elrick.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit Bishop Charles Ellis III admits ‘inappropriate relationship,’ denies new claims
Reporting by M.L. Elrick, Detroit Free Press / Detroit Free Press
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