Manual of The Mother Church (Church Manual)

The Manual of The Mother Church (also known as the Church Manual) contains the Church Tenets, a brief historical sketch, and the By-Laws that govern the organization and functions of the church and its officers as well as behavior of its members. Also included are a limited number of By-Laws that apply to the “branch churches” of The Mother Church around the world. An Appendix contains instructions for applicants for membership as well as sample applications. Orders of church services and Sunday School, and the deeds for the Boston church property are also included. Early editions of the Manual included lists of the current members of the church, but as the church grew these were discontinued, and the Manual underwent many revisions between the first and current editions. The first edition was published in September 1895. The current edition (89th) was finalized by Mary Baker Eddy prior to her passing in 1910 and published the following year.

Documents in the Mary Baker Eddy collections preserve By-Laws that were created for earlier organizations founded by Eddy – the Christian Scientist Association (1876) and the 1879 Church of Christ (Scientist). These By-Laws did not become part of the Manual of The Mother Church. After the reorganization of Eddy's church as The First Church of Christ, Scientist, in 1892, By-Laws began to be formulated for its government. In 1895, Eddy decided it was time to collect these By-Laws in a book so that they could be read and utilized by all the members of the church. In addition, she was receiving questions from members that could be best answered by referring them to the By-Laws.

In the years following its first printing in 1895 until Mary Baker Eddy's death on December 3, 1910, the Manual was enlarged and underwent many changes. Among her works, only Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures received the same level of editing and revision. Eddy's correspondence makes evident that By-Laws often resulted from collaborations between Eddy and Church officials, as well as occasionally with others. Eddy herself approved the final version of each By-Law. No further revisions to By-Laws have been made since Eddy’s passing.

A significant number of the By-Laws provided practical solutions to problems confronting the church. Continuing to the present day, the Manual has proven itself to be an effective instrument for the government of The Mother Church and for the guidance of its members.