Bishop Michael Curry, from Buffalo, New York, took his position on Sunday and said that everybody is a child of God, and the church must reflect this.
"God has not given up on the world and God is not finished with the Episcopal Church yet," he said.
He is urging Episcopalians to evangelize by breaking down boundaries with respect to race, education and wealth, according to the Los Angeles Times.
The 62-year-old succeeded the first woman to hold the position, Katharine Jefferts Schori.
Mr Curry served for around 15 years as leader of the Diocese of North Carolina before he was elected in 2014 to his new position.
The denomination has about 1.9 million members and his historic installation comes at a time when fewer Americans are associating themselves with a religious group.
Bishop Michael Curry said that now is a time of many challenges: "It is an understatement to say we live in a deeply complex and difficult time in the life of the world.
"This is a time when again it is an understatement to say there are challenges before the church and communities of faith. This is a time of difficulty and hardship for many.
"A time of goodness and joy for others. And a time when we must even find ways to save the mother earth, who is the mother of us all."
He has also spoken about how he wants to address racial tensions in the USA and has stressed that he will investigate the Church's past including slavery and segregation.
Curry spoke about his father's reaction at a white church, when he and his mother were allowed to drink from the same chalice being passed among white parishioners: "He was dumbfounded."
"Years later he would say he joined the Episcopal Church because he really hadn't imagined that could happen in America.
"Any church where blacks and whites drink out of the same cup knows something about the Gospel I want to be a part of."
