The Christian Science Board of Directors

The Christian Science Board of Directors (CSBD) is a five member board, which oversees both the long-term direction and day-to-day operations of The First Church of Christ, Scientist, in Boston, Massachusetts. A Board of Directors was originally established in 1889 by a Deed of Trust, at the time land was purchased for building a church in Boston, Massachusetts. The role of that Board was initially to maintain church services and employ a pastor. In 1892, the church was reorganized with a new Deed of Trust, which established the Christian Science Board of Directors for the first time. Their objective was to build a church edifice on the land, and they shared responsibility for church government with Mary Baker Eddy and a group of “First Members.” The Deed listing their full responsibilities can be found in the Appendix of the Manual of The Mother Church. The role of the CSBD continued to evolve and was eventually defined in the Manual, which is used today to guide church activities.

The December 18, 1889, trust deed conveyed land for a church in Boston to three Trustees and established a separate, five-member Board of Directors, responsible for maintaining church services and employing a Pastor to preach strictly in accord with Christian Science. These Trustees and Board were superseded by the Christian Science Board of Directors, created by another Deed of Trust when the Church of Christ (Scientist) was reorganized as The Mother Church, The First Church of Christ, Scientist, in Boston, Massachusetts in 1892. This 1892 Board of Directors had four members: Stephen A. Chase, Joseph S. Eastaman, William B. Johnson, and Ira Oscar Knapp. The Directors shared responsibilities for church government with Mary Baker Eddy and the First Members.

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.

Correspondence between Mary Baker Eddy and the CSBD was ongoing regarding church-related matters, as the reorganized church was being defined. In September 1895, the first edition of the Manual of The Mother Church was published, which began to outline the scope of church activities and the roles of different church officers, including the CSBD. Over the years, existing By-Laws were revised and others were added.

In January 1901, Eddy requested that First Members transfer their powers in Church business to the CSBD. Their title later changed to Executive Members, and the role was eliminated completely in 1908.

In February 1903, Eddy added a fifth member, Archibald McLellan, to the four-member CSBD, and it continues to have five members to this day. Any vacancy in the five member board is filled per the Manual.

A notice appeared in the October 1, 1910, issue of the Christian Science Sentinel from Mary Baker Eddy, directing that all questions relating to Christian Science practice, to publication committee work, reading-room work, or to Mother Church membership, should be sent to the Christian Science Board of Directors of The Mother Church. The CSBD continues to oversee the church activities outlined in the Manual.