Bishop Vinton Anderson of the African Methodist Episcopal Church, a Bermudian minister who rose to global prominence in 1991 as president of the World Council of Churches, has died at the age of 86.

Bishop Anderson died yesterday at his home in St Louis, Missouri, just two days shy of his 87th birthday on Friday.

His retirement in 2004 as bishop of the Second Episcopal District of the AME Church, after 32 years in the episcopal ministry and 52 years in pastoral ministry, was a landmark occasion marked in Washington, DC.

His death will be occasion for a large memorial in the Missouri city where he lived between travels since 1964, with his wife Vivienne.

“It’s been an interesting journey, a wonderful journey — we have travelled all over the world, especially in his position on the World Council of Churches,” Mrs Anderson told The Royal Gazette.

Education was one of Bishop Anderson’s passions, and he was “beloved by many young people” for inspiring them, she said. The couple had been married for nearly 63 years.

Among his other accolades was to head the board of Wilberforce University, a prominent US institution affiliated with the AME Church. It was the first college to be owned and operated by African Americans.

A memorial service is likely for one week’s time, Mrs Anderson added.