Eugene Carson Blake
Eugene Carson Blake (born November 7, 1906 in St. Louis , Missouri , † July 31, 1985 in Stamford , Connecticut ) was an American theologian of the Presbyterian Church and between 1966 and 1972 second general secretary of the World Council of Churches .
Life
The son of a sales agent for the Inland Steel Company studied after attending Lawrenceville High School at Princeton University , where he obtained a Bachelor of Arts (BA) in 1928 . He then worked as a teacher at Forman Christian College in Lahore between 1928 and 1929 , before completing postgraduate studies at Princeton University's theological seminary in 1932 with a bachelor's degree in theology (Th.B.). He also studied temporarily at the New College of the University of Edinburgh .
After several years as a Presbyterian minister in New York City and California , Blake became General Secretary of the United Presbyterian Church of the United States in 1951 and held this office until 1966. In the meantime, from 1954 to 1957 he was also President of the National Council of Churches , an association of Anglican , Protestant and Orthodox Christian denominations in the United States. On August 28, 1963, he was one of the speakers at the rally at the March on Washington for Work and Freedom , where Martin Luther King gave his I Have a Dream speech .
In 1966 he was elected to succeed Willem Adolf Visser 't Hooft as the second general secretary of the World Council of Churches. This office was held by Blake, who campaigned for the formation of a church that was “truly reformed, truly catholic, truly evangelical”, for six years until he was replaced by Philip Potter in 1972. During his tenure, it came to the historic visit of the Office of the World Council in Geneva by Pope Paul VI. on June 10, 1969.
As general secretary of the WCC, he maintained contact with the Christian Peace Conference (CFK), whose III. He paid tribute to the All-Christian Peace Assembly in Prague in 1968 with his greeting.
His main work The Church in the next decade was published in 1969 in a German translation with the title The next steps to one church with a foreword by Klaus von Bismarck , who at that time was not only the director of the WDR but also a member of the presidency of the German Evangelical Church Congress .
Individual evidence
- ↑ Seek Peace and pursue it. Save man - Peace is possible. Documents of the Third All-Christian Peace Assembly, Prague March 31 - April 4, 1968
Web links and sources
- Eugene Carson Blake in the nndb (English)
- Meyer's Large Personal Lexicon. Mannheim 1968, p. 141
- Chambers Biographical Dictionary. Edinburgh 2002, ISBN 0-550-10051-2 , p. 172
Background literature
- Marlene Maertens: Eugene Carson Blake: The 2nd General Secretary of the World Council , 1966
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Blake, Eugene Carson |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | American Presbyterian theologian, ecumenical figure |
| DATE OF BIRTH | November 7, 1906 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | St. Louis , Missouri |
| DATE OF DEATH | July 31, 1985 |
| Place of death | Stamford , Connecticut |