The James Albert Pike Papers consist of correspondence, professional records, memorabilia, financial and legal records, writings, and miscellany. The collection is comprised of two separate segments which have not been physically integrated; however, they are listed logically in the inventory. For this reason, box numbers sometimes occur out of order in the inventory.

Correspondence covers the years 1889-1970. The early correspondence, 1889-1904, consists of letters from Pike's father to his mother (Pike's grandmother) and sister (Pike's aunt). There is a large amount of correspondence between Pike and many of his relatives during the period 1952-1958. Some of this correspondence contains important genealogical information. Especially interesting is a series of letters between Pike and a cousin, Sister Agnes Marie, a Roman Catholic nun, which contain his reflections on his own religious development beyond what he received from his Catholic background. However, there is very little correspondence with his wives and children.

There are a number of important groups of correspondence and some noteworthy individual letters. These include letters relating to: Pike's controversy with the Vassar religion department over the teaching of the Christian faith, 1949-1950; his refusal of an honorary degree from the University of the South, 1953; the organization and construction and administration of the Chapel of Saint James the Fisherman, Wellfleet, Massachusetts, 1952-1961; the controversy over the treaty with Spain which included a restriction on the freedom of United States service personnel to marry Spanish women, 1954; the controversy over the sermon which criticized Senator Joseph McCarthy, 1954; the work of the Rev. G. Michael Scott at the United Nations regarding South West Africa, 1952-1957; the issue of the Arab refugees and the Middle East, 1953-1957; his sermon on the movie Baby Doll 1956-1957; the issue of the alleged religious quota system in the assignment of probation officers in New York City, 1957; his threatened suit against the Manchester, New Hampshire Union, 1957; the charges of heresy against him, 1966-1967; and the question of psychic phenomena, 1967-1969. Also of interest is a series of correspondence with the Harry Walker Agency relating to that organization's handling of the scheduling of Pike's speaking engagements and to the problems caused by his decision, late in 1967, to reduce the number of his appearances. Scattered throughout are groups of correspondence related to his various articles, books, sermons, and speeches, as well as pastoral letters counseling people on matters of divorce and mixed marriages, which have been restricted. After 1965 the bulk of the correspondence is of the "fan mail" variety, and most of it deals either with the charges of heresy or with psychic phenomena. A selected group of correspondence relating to his speaking engagements during this period has been included. At the end of the correspondence are a number of notebooks, 1955-1958, which contain carbon copies of his replies to correspondence as well as carbon copies of some inter-office memoranda.

Among individual pieces of correspondence which are of interest are: a letter dated February 24, 1947 in which the Rev. John Hines, later Presiding Bishop of the Protestant Episcopal Church, invites Pike to become the Episcopal religion professor at the University of Texas; letters dated June 19, 1966 to K. Greenleaf Pedley, and October 18, 1967 to Robert Marshall, in which Pike gives his views on the Qumran community and comments on his research into Christian origins; a letter dated March 16, 1967 to Emil Oberholzer in which he details his views on the taxation of churches; a detailed memo from William Stringfellow dated August 1967 which discusses possible strategies for the general convention in Seattle; a letter dated Nov 3, 1968 from Mrs. Paul Tillich, in which she criticizes Pike for involving her husband's name in accounts of his experiences with psychic phenomena; and a letter to J. Richard Lander dated April 5, 1969 in which he recounts some of the events surrounding his first marriage.

An index of certain significant correspondents is included at the end of this inventory. Notable persons and their dates include:

Adler, Mortimer J., 1966 Baker, Richard H., 1958-1966 Barnes, Hazel E., 1967 Barnes, Roswell, P., 1949-1955 Barrett, George W., 1966-1969 Bayne, Stephen F., 1951-1967 Bently, Eric, 1961 Berthold, Fred, 1965-1957 Block, Marguerite, 1954 Bloy, Francis Eric, 1958-1967 Bretall, Robert W., 1967 Burrill, Gerald F., 1956-1958 Burroughs, Nelson W., 1952-1968 Burton, Phillip, 1966 Cadigan, George L., 1966-1968 Campbell, Wilburn C., 1958-1969 Carman, James W. F., 1956-1964 Cassels, Louis, 1966 Craine, John P., 1953-1967 Crittenden, William, 1958-1967 Crowther, C. E., 1967 Culley, Margaret, 1965 Davis, Elmer, 1955 DeMille, Cecil B., 1956 DeWitt, Robert L., 1968-1969 Dillistone, F. W., 1952 Donegan, Horace W. B., 1952-1968 Dun, Angus, 1944-1958 Emrich, Richard, 1953-1966 Ferre, Nels F. S., 1969 Fey, Harold E., 1957 Frazer, Thomas A., 1964-1968 Fry, Franklin Clark, 1958 Giambastiani, J. F., 1968 Gilpatric, Roswell L., 1959 Goldstein, Israel, 1955 Gray, Walter H., 1958-1966 Hall, Charles Francis, 1957-1969 Hart, Oliver J., 1957-1962 Harte, John Joseph, 1958 Hatch, Robert McConnell, 1953-1966 Hennings, Thomas C., Jr., 1955 Hines, John E., 1947-1969 Hobson, Henry W., 1957-1958 Hodgson, Leonard, 1957 Hook, Sidney, 1957 Hubbard, Russell S., 1949-1964 Hurst, Fannie, 1958 Irion, Paul T., 1967 Kazan, Elia, 1957 Kellogg, Hamilton H., 1957-1967 Kinsolving, Arthur L., 1947-1958 Lawrence, William A., 1956-1957 Lichtenberger, Arthur, 1954-1963 Louttit, Henry I., 1953-1968 MacInnes, Angus Campbell, 1957-1958 McLaughlin, John, 1967 Marmion, William H., 1958-1969 Metcalf, George R., 1957 Michalis, C. G., 1951 Moore, Paul J., 1955-1968 Mosley, J. Brooke, 1953-1968 Myers, C. Kilmer, 1957-1968 Nash, Norman B., 1952-1958 O'Dwyer, Paul, 1953 Pardue, Austin, 1953-1959 Parsons, Edward L., 1956-1958 Peabody, Malcolm E., 1949-1953 Poage, W. R., 1957 Powell, Noble C., 1953-1958 Pusey, Nathan M., 1950 Quarterman, George H., 1953-1966 Reston, James B., 1954 Ritschl, Dietrich, 1967 Robinson, James H., 1965-1967 Ruether, Rosemary, 1968 Scribner, Charles, Jr., 1966 Sherman, Jonathan O., 1953-1965 Sherrill, Henry Knox, 1953-1958 Skelton, Kenneth J. F., 1967 Spurrier, William A., 1955 Stark, Leland, 1953-1969 Stewart, Weston Henry, 1956-1957 Stiegler, George E., 1966-1967 Stinnette, Charles R., 1953 Stokes, Anson Phelps, 1952-1969 Swift, A. Ervine, 1956-1958 Trueblood, O. Elton, 1955 VanBuren, Abigail, 1967 Walters, Sumner F.D., 1958-1968 Warnecke, Frederick J., 1956-1958 Washburn, Benjamin M., 1956-1958 Welles, Edward Randolph, 1952-1956 Wencilius, Leon, 1965 Wetmore, J. Stuart, 1955-1969 Wheeler, Harvey, 1966 Whittemore, Lewis B., 1954-1958 Wright, Richard, 1949

Other correspondents not specifically listed include: Donald B. Aldrich, John M. Allin, A. J. Appasamy, Donald Arden, Lane W. Barton, J. Christiaan Beker, Karl Morgan Block, Allen W. Brown, Frederick G. Budlong, John H. Burt, Michael Cantner, Charles C. J. Carpenter, H. H. Clark, Archie Henry Crowley, John T. Dallas, William Davidson, Ralph S. Dean, Harry Lee Doll, Roscoe T. Foust, Wallace J. Gardner, Robert F. Gibson, Frederick D. Goodwin, Clarence Haden, John S. Higgins, Walter M. Higley, William W. Horstick, Harry S. Kennedy, C. Avery Mason, Frank Arthur McElwain, Philip F. McNairy, R. Bland Mitchell, G. Ashton Oldham, E. O. Peters, W. R. Chilton Powell, George E. Rath, Basil Rathbone, Russell T. Rauscher, David B. Reed, R. Ambrose Reeves, F. Reus-Froylan, Lauriston L. Scaife, Bernard J. Sheil, Frank W. Sterrett, Robert W. Stopford, Albert R. Stuart, Arthur L. Swift, and F. H. Wilkinson. Almost all of these men are Episcopal bishops.

Financial and legal records contains agreements relating to book publication, bank statements and check books for both the bishop's discretionary fund and special account, contracts for speaking engagements, and the divorce papers of Pike's first divorce.

Memorabilia consists in large part of biographical materials, including newspaper clippings, various sermons and papers by others dealing with Pike's opinions and their significance, photographs, and programs of events in which he participated, and five large scrapbooks containing newspaper clippings.

Personal records contains Pike's birth certificate, along with personal correspondence, personal financial and legal material, and material on the Pike family. There is also a small amount pertaining to Pike's son James Pike, Jr.

Professional records consist of materials relating to Pike's professional career and are subdivided according to the chronological sequence of that career: lawyer, 1936-1944; curate, 1944-1946; rector, 1947-1949; chaplain, 1949-1952; dean, 1952-1958; bishop, 1958-1966; resigned bishop, 1966-1969. Materials of special interest in this series include the following: copies of the Christian education materials which he helped to introduce at St. John's Church in Washington, D. C.; drafts of reports and statements relating to the Vassar and Sewanee controversies; certificates of consent to Pike's election as bishop, as well as tally sheets of the votes of the election and materials relating to the preparations for the consecration; memoranda, pastoral letters, and directives related to the administration of the diocese of California, particularly a memorandum from Pike to an unidentified strategy committee and a position paper of that committee; materials related to the discussion of the status of deaconesses at the meeting of the House of Bishops in Glacier Park, Montana; materials relating to the heresy charges and the meeting of the House of Bishops in Wheeling, West Virginia, particularly the transcripts of tapes made by the C. B. C.; releases, memos, statements, and resolutions from the General Convention in Seattle, Washington; a proposal to buy The Churchman; an organizational affiliation card file; and notes and questions from two speaking engagements.

Recordings contains more than a hundred audio and video recordings of speeches, interviews, lectures, television appearances, sermons, and so on. Also included here is a recording of an episode of the television series "In Search Of" which focused on Pike and his disappearance in Egypt.

Writings consists of articles, book reviews, books, columns, forewords, interviews, memoranda, radio and television transcripts, sermons, speeches, and miscellaneous. Dates are given when known.

Among the books, The Next Day appears to have originated as a collection of sermons, and the original draft seems merely to consist of copies of those sermons. The next draft is apparently made up entirely of fragments from the first effort to put them into some continuous order. The drafts of Chapters 1 through 3 of The Other Side have been arranged as nearly as possible in the sequence in which they were written. It appears that after the book was begun the concept of its composition was changed and material which had been grouped together was separated into what eventually became the first three chapters. The first draft of the section of Selected Readings On The Legal Profession which Pike edited consists mainly of published material annotated so as to indicate material to be included in that section. Of interest among the drafts of Teen-agers and Sex are drafts of chapters which have been annotated by an unknown reader.

The columns consist mainly of drafts of the "Dean's Column" from the Bulletin of the diocese of New York. Of interest also are drafts of a proposed syndicated newspaper column in which Pike would have answered questions submitted to him by readers. The interviews are in the form either of drafts submitted to Pike for his approval, transcripts from tapes of the interview, or published material. Of significance here is a transcript of the interview of Pike and Arthur Ford on Canadian television by Alan Spraggett. Legal memoranda and memoranda submitted to the staff of the Center for their discussion and as proposals for further investigation constitute the section on memoranda.

The sermons are in large part mimeographed publicity releases by the Cathedral of St. John the Divine containing excerpts from or summaries of Pike's sermons. Since most of his preaching was done extemporaneously, and, apparently, without notes, most of this material consists of either prepared statements or transcriptions of tapes. However, there are some notes of sermons which date from the earlier part of his ministry. Many of these are arranged together in folders which cover a number of years, since the specific dates of their delivery are unknown. The speeches also consist in large measure of excerpts or summaries or transcriptions of material given extemporaneously.

Miscellaneous writings include the position paper written by Pike for presentation to the Bayne Committee, what appear to be papers written for courses which he had taken, as well as letters to the editor, press releases, and other types of public comment on various issues.

The collection concludes with a small amount of Writings by others, 1923-1970. This consists of writings of others arranged alphabetically by author. Included are published materials containing annotations by Pike or by the author to Pike, and papers written by students in Pike's classes.