Carl Bean recorded in 1977 in I was born this way, and the disco song's message - "I'm happy, I'm carefree and I'm gay" ("I'm happy, I'm carefree and I'm gay") - made it an anthem for the LGBTQ movement.
The song also inspired Lady Gaga's world hit Born this way 2011.
Bean was ordained to the priesthood in 1982 and the same year he founded the Unity fellowship church movement, a church for blacks within the LGBTQ movement.
"Archbishop Bean worked tirelessly for the freedom of disadvantaged and religious LGBTQ people, thus helping many around the world find their way back to spirituality and religion," the church said in a statement.
Bean died after a long illness at the age of 77.