The First Church of Christ, Scientist

On September 23, 1892, the Church of Christ (Scientist) was reorganized with twelve members as The Mother Church, The First Church of Christ, Scientist, in Boston, Massachusetts. While the government of the Church of Christ (Scientist) was democratic, in this reorganization church government was divided between Mary Baker Eddy, a Board of Directors, and the First Members. With additional changes occurring after 1892, The First Church of Christ, Scientist, in Boston, continues today.

Prior to the reorganization, Eddy had been determining how to proceed with reorganizing the church and also building a church edifice in Boston. Land had originally been purchased in 1889 for the purpose of building a church, but various challenges had prevented this from happening. In early September 1892, Eddy established a Deed of Trust to give the land to a Christian Science Board of Directors. The Board of Directors, created by the deed, constituted “a perpetual body or corporation” for the purpose of building a church edifice on the land. The State Commissioner had refused to grant a charter for the church, so the legal support for Eddy’s action was found in a state statute permitting an unincorporated religious association through its trustees to take and hold property in the same manner as if incorporated. Stephen A. Chase, Joseph S. Eastaman, William B. Johnson, and Ira Oscar Knapp constituted this Board of Directors.

The First Members included these four directors and eight others – Julia Bartlett, Ellen L. Clarke, Janet T. Colman, Mary F. Eastaman, Ebenezer J. Foster Eddy, Eldora O. Gragg, Flavia S. Knapp, and Mary W. Munroe. They immediately admitted twenty additional members and more were added over time. First Members needed to live near Boston to be able to attend semi-annual meetings to discuss important questions and transact church business. Their title later changed to Executive Members, and the role was eliminated completely in 1908.

During this early period of reorganization, church services continued to be held, first at Chickering Hall and later at Copley Hall, both in Boston. Various individuals served as pastors: Lanson P. Norcross (August 1889 - February 1893), David Easton (March 1893 - March 1894) and Septimus J. Hanna (March 1894 - January 1895).

On September 29, 1893, Eddy instructed the Directors to begin building a church edifice on the land purchased in Boston. From the beginning, the work on constructing a church edifice faced challenges and delays, including the unusual shape of the land, an economic depression, and a Board of Directors who were dedicated but not experts in business and construction matters. Despite the many difficulties, the cornerstone for the church was laid on May 21, 1894, and the church was completed later that year. The first service was held in the church on December 30, 1894, and the edifice was dedicated on January 6, 1895. More details on the process of building the church are available in Joseph Armstrong’s book, The Building of The Mother Church. Armstrong was a member of the Board of Directors at this time and was among those supervising the work of building the church.

The completion of the church building coincided with another change. Eddy ordained the Bible and her book Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures as Pastor of The Mother Church, so church services would be conducted by two Readers rather than by an individual serving as Pastor. This change was made in December 1894, with Septimus J. Hanna transitioning from Pastor to Reader. In January 1895, the change was completed with Hanna and Eldora O. Gragg serving as First and Second Readers for The Mother Church. Later that year, in September 1895, the first edition of The Manual of The Mother Church was published to provide guidance and structure for church activities in Boston and beyond.

In 1903, work began to clear land for an extension to The Mother Church. It was completed in 1906, and the first services were held on June 10. This edifice is known as The Mother Church Extension, while the original building is known as the Original Edifice.

Church services continue to be held in both the Original Edifice and the Extension, and there are branch Churches of Christ, Scientist, around the world. Christian Scientists around the world can join both a local branch church and also The Mother Church, The First Church of Christ, Scientist, in Boston, Massachusetts.

For information on the history of the Church of Christ (Scientist), prior to the 1892 reorganization, see glossary term, Church of Christ (Scientist).