The Portland daily press., 1895-03-11
BOSTON UNITARIANISM.
eeeond Lecture on Boston Churches of
Fifty Years Ago.

tartan Controversy.
at st. stephens church yesterday after
noon Rev. DR.. Dalton delivered the second
OF his series of lectures upon the old
ohmches and pastors of Boston. His sub
ject was the "Unitarian Churches, Minis
tsrs and Movements of Fifty Years Ago.
- lie said that the first church in Boston, OF
which the celebrated John Cotton the
first mister, stood in Chauncy Place near
summer street. 1t was very plain sfruct-
ire AT the time under considers tion j.,
about 90 years ago. DR.. Maj haniel Frothing-
ham was the posior, brother-in-law of
Edward Everett, man o. similar culture
a d equally refined in manner.
fIe second church of viii, DR.. Chandler
Eobpins was pastor, stood on Harvard
street.
The third. as we saw i'll last Sundays lect-
IRE, was the Old South, and the only one OF
them all which remained Orthodox.
The first church to become Unitarian in
Boston was Kings Chapel, which! before the
Revolution, was Episcopal, massive and
beautiful church which reamins to this day
on the corner of fremont and School
streets. More cele brated than this was the
Brattle street church in the very centre of
old Boston. A Bri ish cannon ball lodged in
lis hall and remained there until the churo b
WAS demolished.
Suckminster and Ed ward Everett We're the
pastors of this church early in the century
1t was Everett of whom a Boston paper
said thai he made the most eloquent pray eT
ever addressed to Boston congregation.
The West church with Dr.. Lowell for its
pastor was in Cambridge street near Bow
doin square. DR.. Lowell was the father of
tie poet James RUSSELL Lowell.
The North church was in Hanover street
of which Ralph Waldo Emerson was at one
time the min lister.
The Church On the Green" was on Sum-
mer street. DIR. Y Dung WAS the minister.
DR.. Channing's church was on Federal
street. All these churches were plain build
ings ex, eptine the Church of the Queen"
which had some pretensions to architectural
beauty. The son OF DR.. Young, o. that
church, Dr.. E. J. Young, was classmate of
DR.. Dalton's and became the successor of
the late Dr. Thomas Hill at Waltham,
Mass. where he still dictates. There was
also church on Purchase street OF which
Dr.. George Ripley was he pastor. He will
be REMEMBERED as the founder of the oele-
brated Brook Farm experiment. in Roxbury
and later as literary editor of the New
York Triune.
The South church was south of the
Albany Railroad bridge at first, and after
wards was located in Union Square. DR..
Huntington was the minister in the fortes.
and was succeeded by DR.. Edward Everett
Hale These two church buildings were
sold, he first 10 the Roman Catholics and
the second OF the Jews, the parish moving
to the Back Bay, where DR.. Hale is still the
min isteI.
The first church in Roxbury crowned the
bill. The first in Brookline bad d.. Fierce
fer its clergyman. a man who knew mere of
the families about an. in ost ON that any
body Else. including the date OF everybody s
birth. for which knowledge he was notori-
GUS.
The first church in Cambridge stood and
still stands, in Hazard Square. The church
in Charlestown was near Bunker Hill, of
which successfully Drs. James Walker and
George Ellis were pastors. 1t was "a plain
brick church.
THE MINISTER'S.
In regard 10 the best known ministers DR..
Dalton began with DR.. rockingham, of the
First church. He WAS very scholarly and
highly conservative. DR. Chadler Robbins,
of the second church, stood where our Dr.
Hill did in this city.
DIR. Luthrop. of Brattle Square church,
was of the same school, man of imposing
appearance and address. AZ
DR.. Lowell declined TO declare himself as
on either side of the great controversy ano
remained neutral to the last. His successor
DR.. Bartul. Maine man and graduate OF
Bowdoin. who still lives, was man o.
various gifts but very radical.
DR.. Ellis, one of the later pastors of the
First CHI rch also conservative.
Dr.. Gannett, DR.. Channing's co1leag ne
was also of the old school. and AN able
preacher.
But the most distinguished of all. OF
course, was DR.. Charming himself, who
stood and still stands. the most conserva.
tive type of ULifarianism, man of the
rarest gifts and singular beauty of charac.
ter.
Drs. Putnam, of Rox bury, Lamson of Ded-
ham, Fierce, OF Brookline. Mussey, of Cam
bridge, were all able and useful men.
The trst departure from the conservative
ranks was made by Ralph Waldo Emerson,
in his Address 20 the Cambridge Divinity
school in 1910.
The FIRST to respond to this epoch making
address I theodore Parker, of West Roz-
bury. He began his new departure in an
ordination sermon at South Boston. on the
transient and Permanent in Christ
trinity" From hat day he became the lead
er of the radial wing, and was soon called
to Boston, wnere he remained until the
close of his life.
This new departure is very instructive
But for the first or old one the new might
not have happened; at least in form and
degree.
The first departure from the old school OF
Calvinists LOOK place. in the 18th century
those of che new school were called Al
mini rs. As the opposition to them or eW
warm the degree of departure constantly In
creased Until it developed into Unita1ian-
ism ea ly in this century
Bellsmy, Hopkins, Enmons and Moses
Stuart OF Andover were the Calyinistic
lenders.
Chnunoey, of the First Church Of Bosl on l..
Aayhew, Claiming and Andrews Norton
were correspondents on the Arminian side
at 1rst, and later the Unitarian side.
Che controversy became heated and hit
ter. msaing the breach irrepa.ab bic. The