World's Columbian Exposition (1893 : Chicago, Ill.)

The World's Columbian Exposition, also known as the Chicago World's Fair, was a world's fair held in Chicago, Illinois, from May 1 through October 31, 1893, commemorating the 400th anniversary of Christopher Columbus’s voyage to the Americas. Forty-six nations participated in the fair, the first to have national pavilions, and thirty-four U.S. states also had their own pavilions. During the exposition, many smaller conferences called Congresses and Parliaments on specific topics and issues were scheduled. The World's Parliament of Religions, which was initiated by Charles C. Bonney, president of the World's Congress Auxiliary, ran from September 11 to September 27 and was composed of representatives of Eastern and Western spiritual traditions from around the world. Representing forty-one denominations and religious traditions, the event is considered to be the first organized interfaith gathering.

Mary Baker Eddy had misgivings about Christian Science being represented at the World's Parliament of Religions, but eventually agreed to the wishes of her students, who were eager to participate. The inclusion of Christian Science as a denomination at such a large level provided exposure, and the opportunity for Christian Scientists to present an address allowed for the tenets of their faith to be shared on the world stage. This took place just one year after the reorganization of her fledgling church as The First Church of Christ, Scientist, in 1892. Although Eddy continued to guide the messaging that showcased the religion she discovered and founded, she had her student Edward A. Kimball take charge of planning for the exposition and for creating a Christian Science exhibit. An exhibit of Christian Science literature was located at the top of a staircase in the Publisher’s Department in the Manufactures and Liberal Arts Building, with Edward P. Bates representing The Christian Science Publishing Society. Several thousand copies of Eddy’s writings and other pieces of literature were exhibited, as well as a crayon portrait of Eddy.

As part of the Parliament events, a Christian Science Congress was held at Washington Hall in the Palace of Arts building (now the Art Institute of Chicago) on September 20, 1893, under the auspices of the National Christian Scientist Association, which had adjourned three years earlier. Christian Science was the only faith invited to hold both a denominational Congress of its own and to make a presentation of its teachings at a plenary session of the World's Parliament of Religions. Following remarks made by Bonney, Ebenezer J. Foster Eddy, president of the National Christian Scientist Association, first read from the Bible andScience and Health with Key to the Scripturesand then gave an opening address. This was followed by papers prepared for the occasion by some of Eddy's students, including David A. Easton, Isabella M. Stewart, and Alfred Farlow.

Septimus J. Hanna helped Eddy prepare these speakers for the Congress, and on September 22, after being introduced by chairman John Henry Barrows, he read Eddy’s paper titled "Unity and Christian Science" to the World's Parliament of Religions in Columbus Hall in the Palace of Arts building. The address received an enthusiastic response. Hanna, however, submitted the address for publication expressly against Eddy’s orders. Although it was a compilation of excerpts from Eddy’s published writings, the speech was printed as Hanna’s own work, and steps were immediately taken to rectify the mistake. This led Eddy to oppose any further publication of her address, however she eventually agreed to an abridged version to be included in Barrows’ The History of the World’s Parliament of Religions, 2 vols. (Chicago: Parliament Publishing Company, 1893), along with extracts from the various student papers read at the Christian Science Congress. Other contemporary publications that showcased Christian Science's time at the fair include Walter R. Houghton's Neely's History of The Parliament of Religions and Religious Congresses at the World's Columbian Exposition (Chicago: F. T. Neely, 1893) and John Wesley Hanson's The World's Congress of Religions: The Addresses and Papers Delivered Before the Parliament, and an Abstract of the Congresses Held in the Art Institute, Chicago August 25 to October 15, 1893 (Chicago: W. B. Conkey Company, 1894).