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| Record Creator: | Holt, Ivan Lee |
| Title: | Ivan Lee Holt Papers |
| Dates: | 1920- 1966 |
| Abstract: | Ivan Lee Holt (1886-1967), American minister and bishop, was born in Dewitt, Arkansas, and educated at Vanderbilt University and the University of Chicago. After teaching and pasturing in Arkansas and Missouri, Holt he joined the faculty of Southern Methodist University in 1915 as professor of Old Testament literature, chair of the theological faculty and chaplain of the University. He went back to pastoral work in 1918, and was elected a bishop in 1938. He served as a bishop in Texas, New Mexico and Missouri until his retirement in 1956. |
| Extent: | 2 cu. feet |
| Identification: |
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Ivan Lee Holt (1886-1967), American minister and bishop, was born in Dewitt, Arkansas, on January 9, 1886 to Robert Paine and Ella (Thomas) Holt. He received an A.B. degree from Vanderbilt University in 1904 and a Ph.D. from the University of Chicago in 1909. He began his career as professor of Greek and Latin at the Stuttgart Training School in Arkansas, where he served from 1909-1911. Following that, he became pastor of Centenary Church, Cape Girardeau, Missouri and served for four years. In 1915, he joined the faculty of Southern Methodist University as professor of Old Testament Literature, chair of the theological faculty and chaplain of the University.
In 1918, Holt returned to the pastorate at Saint John's Church in St. Louis. He was elected bishop at the last General Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South (1938), serving in Texas and New Mexico for a year, and then in Dallas until 1944. He was a bishop in Missouri until his retirement in 1956.
He is the author of the Babylonian Contract Tablets; The Return of Spring to Man's Soul; The Search for a New Strategy in Protestantism; The Methodists of the World; Eugene Russell Hendrix, Servant of the Kingdom, and The Missouri Bishops.
Holt was deeply concerned with ecumenism. He was delegate to the first assembly of the World Council of Churches in Amsterdam, and to the second assembly in Evanston, Illinois. He was president of the Federal Council of Churches from 1935-1936 and a member of the committee which drew up the charter for the National Council of Churches. He was also active in world Methodism, and was elected president of the World Methodist Council, holding that position as president-emeritus while he lived.
Holt married Leland Burks on June 6, 1906. They had a son, Ivan Lee Jr., who became a judge in St. Louis, Missouri . After the death of this first wife in 1948, Holt married Starr Carithers of Georgia in 1950. After she died in 1958, he married Modena McPherson Rudisell of Duluth, Georgia. He died in Atlanta, Georgia on January 12, 1967 and is buried in St. Louis.
The papers of Bishop Ivan Lee Holt chiefly reflect his work while pastoring the St. John's Methodist Episcopal Church, South, in Saint Louis, Missouri. However, other areas of Holt's service to the church are documented as well. There is a small number of records that pertain directly to his episcopacy. Holt was an intellectual who mastered many areas within the study of theology. More often than not he would make both broad and minute applications of his various learning experiences and apply them in praxis from the local church level all the way up to and including his work with the World Council of Churches.
The effects of twentieth century wars on the Christian faith and the subsequent role of ecumenicism as related to these wars were primary in Holt's thoughts. Methodism and its placement in conjunction with other denominations during his lifetime is well represented. This is especially true of his sermons. The first and largest series within the collection is entitled Discourses. Here the researcher will find sermons, addresses, prayers, meditations, and quotes. The first sub-series, sermons, make up the bulk of the series. It is here that the diversity of Holt's ministry is best illuminated. However, it should be noted that the standard identifying tags that distinguish between sermons, addresses, and manuscripts are at times blurred. The second series is comprised of manuscripts. Subjects such as Methodism in South America, the Old Testament account of the military campaign against Biblical Sihon, and Bishops Quayle and Selecman are covered. Correspondence is the next series. This series contains letters relating to pastoral appointments, speaking engagements, and various conference cabinets.
Other professional activities include correspondence dealing with Bishop Holt's teaching career, episcopacy, and the various honorary degrees he received during his lifetime. One will find Holt's personal correspondence here as well. Holt's administrative records are located in the following series. Records such as reports, dockets, statements, regulations, minutes, and interviews complete this series.
Like many of the previous series the administrative series reflects both the Bishop's personal and professional life. Subjects include: Southern Methodist University, Central College, Federal Council of Churches, American-Japanese relations, the Commission on Christian Unity, North Texas Annual Conference, Asian Methodism, and cornerstone dedications. Series five contains publications. The first section encompasses both local church and conference publications. This would include bulletins, programs, pamphlets, and postcards. Holt's involvement with award dinners, church services, Women's Society of Christian Service in Northwest Texas, youth rallies, liturgy, various heritage meetings, and special holidays/ celebrations such as Reformation Sunday are documented. The second section includes reprinted articles collected by Holt for research purposes. Subjects covered are sociology, morality, communications, fishing, economics, biographies, Catholicism, Protestantism, Italy, and the Bible.
Newspaper clippings make up the final section. Centering on the United States in general and more specifically Texas, topics include church traditions, political science, awards, Reformation Sunday, speaking announcements, spirituality, and church unity Series six contains biographical records. This series focuses on Holt's memoirs. Oral history transcripts, travel documents and a vita round out the record types. The seventh and final series is a general file. Postcards, poems, correspondence, and notes cover areas such as orders of worship, sermon topics, and Holt's publication: The Methodists of the World.
Materials have been arranged in the following manner.
Series: Administrative
When citing material from this collection please use the following format: Direct reference to the item or its file folder, Ivan Lee Holt papers, United Methodist Church Archives - GCAH, Madison, New Jersey. Do not make use of the item's call number as that is not a stable descriptor.
There are no restrictions regarding this collection.
Detailed use restrictions relating to our collections can be requested from the office of the archivist at the General Commission on Archives and History. Photocopying is handled by the staff and may be limited in certain instances. Before using any material for publication from this collection a formal request for permission to publish is expected and required.
Elmer C. Clark Collection - General Commission on Archives and History, The United Methodist Church
University of Missouri, 32 cubic feet, see http://www.system.missouri.edu/ whmc/invent/religh.htm
Mission Biographical Reference Files - General Commission on Archives and History, The United Methodist Church
Papers of Bishop John McKendree Springer - General Commission on Archives and History, The United Methodist Church
Records of the Mission Education and Cultivation Program Department of the General Board of Global Ministries - General Commission on Archives and History, The United Methodist Church
Administrative Files of United Methodist Communications - General Commission on Archives and History, The United Methodist Church
