THE SOCIAL GOSPEL AND THE COLD WAR: THE MELISH CAS

The Rev. Dr. John Howard Melish served as Rector of the Church of the Holy Trinity {Protestant Episcopal} on Brooklyn Heights, New York for close to have a century {1904-49}. He was a leading liberal exponent of Social Christianity in the Episcopal Church. His social views lead him into alliances with other leading liberal figures in public questions about free speech, ecumenicity, the peace movement, housing, anti-imperialism, Soviet-American friendship and the rights of women and labor. Early in his ministry he had the support of the noted philanthropist, George Foster Peabody and crossed swords with the conservative Episcopal Bishop of New York {William T. Manning} on theological and social questions of the day.;In 1939, Melish was joined in his ministry by his son, the Rev. William Howard Melish who became an Associate minister of Holy Trinity with the understanding he would succeed his father as Rector.;The war time years saw the younger Melish become active first in Russian War Relief and then in the National Council of American-Soviet Friendship. These had the approval of both government and Church officials. In 1940 the Diocese of Long Island elected a protege of Bishop Manning as its ordinary. The war years muted social and theological differences.;Even before the war was over the war time alliance began to crumble domestically in renewed anti-Sovietism. The cold war transformed former allies into adversaries, internationally and subversives domestically.;In Brooklyn there was a strong polarization in social and religious forces where the Roman Catholic Diocese was identified with pro-fascist elements (The Christian Front of Fr. Charles E. Coughlin) and the older Protestant leaders with a liberalism which rapidly crumpled before the barrage of red-baiting attack. In addition the leading newspaper in Brooklyn, the Eagle was used by its conservative editor and publisher, Frank Schroth, to launch a crusade to drive the Melishes from Holy Trinity. Long Island Episcopal Bishop De Wolf had earlier been roundly rejected in his attacks on Rockefeller's ecumenicity. De Wolfe now found that a public and Church that would not respond to a strident sectarian Anglo-Catholicism would respond to anti-communism. The Melishes found themselves confronted with the opposition of their Bishop, the local press, the Roman Catholic Church and the government. These forces came into play when the younger Melish joined a Protestant delegation to visit Yugoslavia to examine the state of the Churches and religion under the new communist regime. Melish was singled out as the object of attack and the delegation never received a hearing in the increasing hostile atmosphere. These same forces became more demanding in the call to disavow friendship with the Soviet Union and associations with domestic left groups. After active FBI intervention in the parish, the Vestry asked the Bishop to remove the father in order to remove the son. After a political trial by the Standing Committee of the Diocese, Dr. Melish was removed as Rector. This may be said to be the beginning of the Melish Case as it initiated a long string of subsequent legal actions. While the father was removed as Rector the younger Melish remained as Supply Priest when the congregation voted out the anti-Melish Vestrymen. Eight years later the new vestry split again and the Bishop this time vicared the parish and then closed the Church when it became apparent the congregation was solidly pro-Melish.;The basic issues raised by the Melishes and their faithful congregation as to the rights of the laity were never resolved by the secular courts. In subsequent years, Melish was largely exonerated and even welcomed to the now merged St. Ann's and Holy Trinity.