Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1893-05-03
THE UNITARIANS.
Dr. Robert Coliyer Tells something of Their
Origin and Belief.

woman's meeting yesterday afternoon at
O'Clock opened the spring meeting of the Uni
tartan conference OF the middle states and
Canada The meeting was held at All Souls
Church and was presided over by Mrs b. Ward
Dix. Mrs. George l.. Clancy Of Atlanta. Ca,
read q paper on 1.-The Southern Alliance "
Mira. Davis OF New York talked about the
growth of Unitarianism. and after brief
sueeeh and prayer the meeting adjourned.
The Rev. DIR. Robert :CoIiyer preached at ALL
Souls Church last night That the edifice was
crowded goes without saying-the mere an
nouncement Of his presence would assure that.
DIR. Collyer's sermon more in the nature
OF interesting talk than anything else. He
chose for his text the verse in st. John. Eye
shall know the truth and the truth shall make
ye free" Upon this peg DIR. Collyer proceeded
10 hang discourse on the birth and rise of the
Unitarian Church, of which the above text might
be taken as q watchword.
The origin Of Unitarianism was he said, in
the stronghold of orthodoxy, Puritan New Eng
land There, in a community whose founders
hoped to establish church in perfect uni
formity with the state-a faith belted around
with walls OF steel and fre-there sprang up
the seed of Cnitarianism The orthodox
Puritans had to deal with a spirit within their
church for which they did not reckon-a spirit
of hungering for more Acknowledgement which
WAS bound to reach outside OF the limits Of
orthodox teaching II was this desire for more
knowledge about the things they were called
upon to believe that made this Puritan colony,
SO strong, so sure of its footing, become the
nursing mother of the new faith
The people began to think Tor themselves and
not let some one who died great while ago do
their thinking for them. There were stores of
knowledge in the colony, several fine Libraries
being in the possession Of prominent men, and
those who wanted to know more found oppor-
tunity to learn 1t has been said that some
men have religion without sense and some men
sense without religion" but when men have
both there will be a change in conditions. By
wide reading the Puritan obtained free thought.
Then a printing press was started, and the seal
was broken and the spirit forever set free
that would have been held in bondage The
first Cnitarians suffered for their belief. They
were harrassed in mind and body for
their heresy from orthodoxy, for
there were men in that old Puritan stronghold
who could have given points to the Spanish in
QUESTION. Jefferson was a good Unitarian
when be said, God, who gave us life. gave Us
liberty at the same time People should not
be called upon to believe things simply because
they are In the Bible, things they would not be-
heve il they found them in any other book.
Dr. Collyer spoke lovingly of Claiming. he
who crystallized the belief of the Unitarians
into faith As the chemist shows you a vapor
In glass and then by touch precipitates it
into crystals 80 did Claiming with the nebulous
beliefs Of those who became his followers.
The old citadel of orthodoxy, the speaker de-
clared, is becoming weak, the walls are
crumbling down and the prophecy is coming
true to them The truth shall make you free"
DIR. Coliyer said there has been no loss Of fell
lowship or friendship between those who still
remain in the orthodox stronghold and those
who have left il. In these last years Of my
life, he said. ''the good will and good fellow
ship has been as sweet as L could desire. No
dearer sympathy can come to me than has
como from the old friends who still remain in
the.stronghold-"
DIR. Collyer closed his remarks with the
prophecy that the time will come when all
churches will be built on wider spaces and all
windows will look sunward toward the divine
truth that God is love, and no man will turn
away from the Unitarian Church. I've preach
religion Of hope instead Of what has been
doctrine of despair always looking forward and
not backward, upward and not downward