Hewlett Johnson

Hewlett Johnson (25 January 1874 – 22 October 1966) was an English Anglican priest of the Church of England and a Christian communist and Marxist-Leninist activist and author. He was Dean of Manchester and later Dean of Canterbury, where he acquired his nickname "The Red Dean of Canterbury" for his unyielding support towards Joseph Stalin and the Soviet Union and its allies.

His influence began to wane, particularly after public sympathy for the Soviets in Britain declined dramatically after the Soviet invasion of Hungary in 1956. On the events in Hungary, Johnson later commented in his autobiography Searching for Light :

In the same year, he refused to embrace Nikita Khrushchev's denunciation of Joseph Stalin. Johnson's pro-communist activities were especially troublesome for the British government since foreigners tended to confuse Johnson, the Dean of Canterbury, with the Archbishop of Canterbury.

Published works

The Socialist Sixth of the World, 1939 Searching for Light: an Autobiography (London, V. Gollancz, 1939) The Secrets of Soviet Strength, 1943 Soviet Russia since the war (New York, Boni & Gaer, 1947) China's New Creative Age (London, Lawrence: 1953) Eastern Europe in the Socialist World (London, Lawrence and Wishart: 1955) Christians and Communism (London, 1956); Russian translation – Хьюлетт Джонсон. Христиане и коммунизм. М., Изд. иностранной литературы, 1957, 154 с. The Upsurge of China, 1961 Searching for Light (autobiography), 1968 (posthumously published)