Clifford Harris Nash (16 December 1866 – 27 September 1958) was an English-Australian clergyman who became the founding

principal Principal may refer to: Title or rank * Principal (academia), the chief executive of a university ** Principal (education), the office holder/ or boss in any school * Principal (civil service) or principal officer, the senior management level in ...

of the Melbourne Bible Institute (now the

Melbourne School of Theology The Melbourne School of Theology (MST) is an evangelical Christian theological college with its main campus in Wantirna, an eastern suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. The school has a Chinese department, known as MST Chinese, in which un ...

). According to Darrel Paproth, he "dominated evangelicalism in Melbourne between the wars."

Education and initial ministry

Nash was born in

Brixton Brixton is a district in south London, part of the London Borough of Lambeth, England. The area is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London. Brixton experienced a rapid rise in population during the 19th centu ...

and educated at

Oundle School Oundle School is a public school (English independent day and boarding school) for pupils 11–18 situated in the market town of Oundle in Northamptonshire, England. The school has been governed by the Worshipful Company of Grocers of the ...

Corpus Christi College, Cambridge Corpus Christi College (full name: "The College of Corpus Christi and the Blessed Virgin Mary", often shortened to "Corpus"), is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. From the late 14th century through to the early 19th centur ...

, and

Ridley Hall Ridley Hall is a theological college located on the corner of Sidgwick Avenue and Ridley Hall Road in Cambridge (United Kingdom), which trains men and women intending to take Holy Orders as deacon or priest of the Church of England, and member ...

. At Corpus Christ he became an

evangelical Anglican Evangelical Anglicanism or evangelical Episcopalianism is a tradition or church party within Anglicanism that shares affinity with broader evangelicalism. Evangelical Anglicans share with other evangelicals the attributes of "conversionism, ...

and was particularly influenced by

Brooke Foss Westcott Brooke Foss Westcott (12 January 1825 – 27 July 1901) was an English bishop, biblical scholar and theologian, serving as Bishop of Durham from 1890 until his death. He is perhaps most known for co-editing '' The New Testament in the Ori ...

. Nash taught at the

Loretto School Loretto School, founded in 1827, is an independent boarding and day school for boys and girls aged 0 to 18. The campus occupies in Musselburgh, East Lothian, Scotland. History The school was founded by the Reverend Thomas Langhorne in 1827. L ...

before being ordained a priest in 1893. According to the '' Australian Dictionary of Biography'', "two years later Nash's promising career was curtailed because it was alleged that while engaged to his vicar's daughter he had made advances to her younger sister." He subsequently emigrated to Australia and worked in

Tasmania ) , nickname = , image_map = Tasmania in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Tasmania in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdi ...

for two years before resuming his ministry in Sydney. He was relicensed by Bishop

Saumarez Smith William Saumarez Smith (known as Saumarez; K. J. Cable,Smith, William Saumarez (1836 - 1909), '' Australian Dictionary of Biography'', Vol. 11, MUP, 1988, pp 675-677. 14 January 1836 – 18 April 1909) was an Anglican Archbishop of Sydney ...

and spent two years there before moving to

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychelle ...

in 1900.

Controversy in Victoria

Nash was

vicar A vicar (; Latin: '' vicarius'') is a representative, deputy or substitute; anyone acting "in the person of" or agent for a superior (compare "vicarious" in the sense of "at second hand"). Linguistically, ''vicar'' is cognate with the English pr ...

St. Columb's Anglican Church St Columb's Anglican Church is an Anglican church in Hawthorn, Victoria, a suburb of Melbourne in Australia. Location The church is located on the corner of Burwood Road and St Columbs Street. The exact address is 5 St Columb's Street. History ...

, Hawthorn, from 1900 to 1906. He was popular and successful, and appeared on his way to becoming a bishop: he was made

canon Canon or Canons may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Canon (fiction), the conceptual material accepted as official in a fictional universe by its fan base * Literary canon, an accepted body of works considered as high culture ** Western can ...

St Paul's Cathedral, Melbourne St Paul's Cathedral is an Anglicanism, Anglican cathedral in Melbourne, Australia. It is the cathedral church of the Anglican Diocese of Melbourne, Diocese of Melbourne and the seat of the Anglican Archbishop of Melbourne, Archbishop of Melbour ...

in 1903, and in 1906 was on the short list to become the second Bishop of Bendigo. He accepted the incumbency at Christ Church, Geelong in 1906, but the following year disaster struck: Nash was forced by Archbishop

Lowther Clarke Henry Lowther Clarke (23 November 1850 – 23 June 1926) was the fourth Anglican bishop and first archbishop of Melbourne, Australia. Early life Clarke was born at Firbank Vicarage, Westmorland, England, the son of the Revd William Clarke an ...

to resign due to another indiscretion with a female parishioner, this time at Hawthorn. Wei-Han Kuan notes, however, that "Nash's evangelical supporters were vocal, active, and sustained in support of him." Paproth suggests the sour relationship between Nash and Clarke reflected the division in the diocese between evangelicals and non-evangelicals. In 1908, Nash was relicensed by Bishop

Arthur Pain Arthur Wellesley Pain (21 August 1841 – 14 May 1920) was an Anglican bishop and the first Bishop of Gippsland from 1902 until 1917. Born in Felmersham and educated at St Catharine's College, Cambridge, he was ordained in 1866. He began hi ...

Gippsland Gippsland is a rural region that makes up the southeastern part of Victoria, Australia, mostly comprising the coastal plains to the rainward (southern) side of the Victorian Alps (the southernmost section of the Great Dividing Range). It cove ...

and became

rector Rector (Latin for the member of a vessel's crew who steers) may refer to: Style or title *Rector (ecclesiastical), a cleric who functions as an administrative leader in some Christian denominations *Rector (academia), a senior official in an edu ...

of St Paul's, Sale, and

archdeacon An archdeacon is a senior clergy position in the Church of the East, Chaldean Catholic Church, Syriac Orthodox Church, Anglican Communion, St Thomas Christians, Eastern Orthodox churches and some other Christian denominations, above that of m ...

of Gippsland. In 1909 John Norton wrote a newspaper article attacking Clarke for his role in the affair, but the publicity from a subsequent libel case forced Nash to resign from the Anglican Church in 1912. (He was relicensed by Clarke's successor,

Harrington Lees Harrington Clare Lees (17 March 187010 January 1929) was the Anglican Archbishop of Melbourne from 1921 until his death. Family Lees was born in Ashton-under-Lyne, Lancashire, United Kingdom, the eldest son of William Lees, a cotton farmer and Ju ...

, in 1926.)

Melbourne Bible Institute

Nash ran his own school (called Ashwick School) from 1913 to 1915, and pastored Prahran Independent Church (which belonged to the

Congregational Union of Australia The Congregational Union of Australia was a Congregational denomination in Australia that stemmed from the Congregational Church in England as settlers migrated from there to Australia. Congregational Churches existed in all states and terri ...

) from 1915 to 1920. He then started the

Melbourne Bible Institute The Melbourne School of Theology (MST) is an evangelical Christian theological college with its main campus in Wantirna, an eastern suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. The school has a Chinese department, known as MST Chinese, in which u ...

and remained principal there until his retirement in 1942. Nash also taught at the City Men's Bible Class, where he "gathered and energized an incredibly influential group of evangelical Melbourne businessmen." This group included his close friend

Lee Neil Edwin Lee Neil (13 October 1872 – 17 December 1934) was an Australian businessman. He was born in Chorlton-on-Medlock and emigrated with his family to Australia in 1884. He joined his father's drapery firm, Wright & Neil, as an accountant in 18 ...

, who was "the prime mover behind the founding of MBI as a necessary institution for the training of overseas missionaries and as an appropriate avenue for the deployment of the exiled Nash's gifts."Kuan, ''Foundations of Anglican Evangelicalism in Victoria'', p. 219.

Personal life

Nash married Louise Pearse in 1899 and had three sons and three daughters.

Works

* ''Christ Interpreted'' (1940) * ''The Fourfold Interpretation of Jesus Christ'' (1946)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nash, C. H. 1866 births 1958 deaths People from Brixton English emigrants to colonial Australia Seminary presidents University and college founders Anglican archdeacons in Australia Evangelical Anglican clergy People educated at Oundle School Alumni of Corpus Christi College, Cambridge Alumni of Ridley Hall, Cambridge