Eugene Carson Blake was an American Protestant Church leader in the 1950s and 60s, and President of the National Council of Churches

National Council of Churches

The National Council of the Churches of Christ in the USA is an ecumenical partnership of 37 Christian faith groups in the United States. Its member denominations, churches, conventions, and archdioceses include Mainline Protestant, Orthodox, African American, Evangelical, and historic peace...

 in the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

, 1954—1957. He was General Secretary of the World Council of Churches

World Council of Churches

The World Council of Churches is a worldwide fellowship of 349 global, regional and sub-regional, national and local churches seeking unity, a common witness and Christian service. It is a Christian ecumenical organization that is based in the Ecumenical Centre in Geneva, Switzerland...

, 1966—1974.

Blake's sermon is considered to be the impetus for the 40-year Consultation on Church Union

Consultation on Church Union

The Consultation on Church Union was an effort towards church unity in the United States, that began in 1962 and in 2002 became the Churches Uniting in Christ...

 ecumenical

Ecumenism

Ecumenism or oecumenism mainly refers to initiatives aimed at greater Christian unity or cooperation. It is used predominantly by and with reference to Christian denominations and Christian Churches separated by doctrine, history, and practice...

 effort to unite ten mainline denominations. He was educated at Princeton University

Princeton University

Princeton University is a private research university located in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. The school is one of the eight universities of the Ivy League, and is one of the nine Colonial Colleges founded before the American Revolution....

 and the University of Edinburgh

University of Edinburgh

The University of Edinburgh, founded in 1583, is a public research university located in Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland, and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The university is deeply embedded in the fabric of the city, with many of the buildings in the historic Old Town belonging to the university...

. From 1928 to 1929, he taught at the Forman Christian College

Forman Christian College

Forman Christian College University, or FCCU, is a chartered university in Lahore, Pakistan, named after its American-born founder, Dr. Charles William Forman.- History :...

 in Lahore

Lahore

Lahore is the capital of the Pakistani province of Punjab and the second largest city in the country. With a rich and fabulous history dating back to over a thousand years ago, Lahore is no doubt Pakistan's cultural capital. One of the most densely populated cities in the world, Lahore remains a...

; from 1935 to 1951, he was the minister of Presbyterian churches in America; and from 1951 to 1958, he was stated clerk of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)

Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)

The Presbyterian Church , or PC, is a mainline Protestant Christian denomination in the United States. Part of the Reformed tradition, it is the largest Presbyterian denomination in the U.S...

, and of the United Presbyterian Church

United Presbyterian Church

United Presbyterian Church was the name of multiple Christian denominations in the world, among which are the following:*The United Presbyterian Church of Scotland , a union of the United Secession Church and the Relief Church which joined the Free Church of Scotland to form the United Free Church...

until 1966.

Dr. Blake once said that he was "the first white clergyman to be arrested in the civil rights movement." At the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom (August 28, 1963) he spoke following A. Phillip Randolph and before John Lewis.

He is buried in Stamford's Long Ridge Union Cemetery.