William Montgomery Brown

William Montgomery Brown (1855-1937) was an Episcopal bishop and Communist author, of Galion, Ohio. Bishop William Montgomery Brown was one of the most fascinating individuals in the history of the Protestant Episcopal Church in the twentieth century, for he was, according to his obituary, "the first Bishop of his communion to be tried for heresy since the Reformation, and the first of any creed in America to be disposed for heretical teachings."

Brown's conversion from the orthodox Episcopal priesthood as a missionary to Grace Episcopal Church from 1883-1891, as author of The Church for Americas (1895) to explain the beliefs of the Protestant Episcopal Church, and as Bishop of Arkansas from 1899-1912 to his interest in Marxism, socialism, and Communism in the 1910s and authorship of Communism and Christianism (1920) dramatically increased and challenged his influence in the church, leading to his heresy trial by the House of Bishops in 1924-25, where he tried to prove to his fellow Bishops that they did not believe in a strict interpretation of the Bible any more than he then did. While awaiting the final verdict on his deposition as Bishop in October 1925, he had himself ordained as Bishop in the Old Catholic Church in his study (originally St. Joseph's Roman Catholic Church) in Galion, thus enabling him to retain the title of "Bishop." Brown felt his real ministry began at age 71 when he started lecturing to the working class and writing a variety of books until his death in 1937.

Brownella Cottage in Galion Ohio was Brown's home from its construction 1885-1887 to his death in 1937, except for the years in Arkansas. Paid for by Mary Scranton Bradford, the wealthy philanthropist of Cleveland, the house was built for Brown and his wife, Ella Scranton Bradford, the niece and adopted daughter of Brown's benefactress, reflecting the Bradford wealth and high style of the 1880s architecture in the United States.

Writings

Books below are taken from the Library of Congress, except where indicated.

* Church for Americans.
* The crucial race question; or, Where and how shall the color line be drawn. 1907
* Communism and Christianism, analyzed and contrasted from the Marxian and Darwinian points of view. 1920, Galion, Ohio, Bradford Brown educational company, inc.
* Teachings of Marx for girls and boys. 1935
* Human meaning of Christian doctrines
* My heresy; the autobiography of an idea. New York, John Day, 1926.
* Why I am a Communist. Galion, Ohio, Bradford Brown Publ. Co., 1932 Fact|date=February 2007.
* Communism, the new faith for a new world. Bishop Brown's appeal to Chicago's World Parliament of Religion [sub-title from cover] . Galion, Ohio The Bradford-Brown Educational Co. Fact|date=February 20071935

Additionally, the Galion Public Library has copies of the following books:

* Science and History: For Girls and Boys
* The Christian Way Out: A Criticism
* The Level Plan for Church Union
* The Bankruptcy of Christian Supernaturalism from the Viewpoint of the Trial
* The Bankruptcy of Christian Supernaturalism from the Viewpoint of Other Heretics in the Episcopal Church
* The Bankruptcy of Christian Supernaturalism from the Viewpoint of the World and the Church
* The Bankruptcy of Christian Supernaturalism from the Viewpoint of Science
* The Bankruptcy of Christian Supernaturalism from the Viewpoint of Philosophy
* The Bankruptcy of Christian Supernaturalism from the Viewpoint of Sociology
* The Bankruptcy of Christian Supernaturalism from the Viewpoint of the Bible
* The Bankruptcy of Christian Supernaturalism from the Viewpoint of History

Most of these books appear to have been self-published.

References

* [http://anglicanhistory.org/usa/wmbrown/appeal_brief1924.html In the Matter of the Presentment of Bishop William Montgomery Brown] Church Advocate's Brief on Appeal (1924)
* [http://www.anglocatholicsocialism.org/episcopus.html William Montgomery Brown]