Fergus County argus. [volume] (Lewistown, Mont.) 1886-1946, 1899-02-22
TWO HISIUI.IUSTONES
They Are Set in Two of C~hicago's
Leading Churches.
One Commentaries IA Unitarian Mar
tyr and the other Plymouth
Rock and nm Old Eng
Iish sanctuary.

In Dearborn avenue within a block
Of each other stand two churches, one
Unitarian and the other tongrega-
tionai, or, as th" world lo,s H.. one lib
eral and lac other ~orthoaON. The fact
that d.. The pas, uuerality and ortho'
doxy each had i,s share of persecu-
tior H. attc. rs certain gray build
in .,... ,ich form part Of the front
walls otb IA structures.
high above the apex of the
main portal of the Church of the
Unity. set well into the wall, is
a gray stone whose front is about
six inches square. 1t is just the
color OF the st"ucs that surround
il, and may he distinguished from
them only by its having about itanar-
row rim of gold. The stone looks sim
ply as though the mortar which holds
IL in place were Of gold. This bit of
rock, for it is nothing less, has held its
place above Uniry church portal since
the year 1867. That part OF the wall
which contains il. according 10 one of
the church trustees, did not fall when
the rest OF the church VA dcstTcyedb by
the great fire. This gold.rimmed stone
was scorchcd. smoked and blackencd,
but il was not the first time il had
known q touch Of fire. Upon the small
rock from whence this bit of the wall
of Unity church was hewn rested the
feet of ScrvetuS. when the fagots were
piled about him and he died az the
stake. a martyr to his Unitarianism.
Servctus has been called the first
Unitarian martyr. Rudely carved
Just above the gold rim of this historic
stone is the word "Champel." the name
of the rlace where, October 81, 1853,
Michael Scryetus suffered for con-
science sake. The inscription cannot
be seen from tn" street. and the stone
itself. despite the gold about it, rarely
attracts the attention of the passer.
In fact. its history and its significance
are unknown TO a goodly portion of
the congregation of the church itself.
II is a curious thing that the man
whose cXpoundiEg of the faith finds
followers in the church just one block
away was the man who was RESPONSE
BILE for the death Of the Unitarian mar
tyr. It was John Calvin who supplied
the proof which gave the Roman Cath
Ollie theolorians the opportunity TO
condemn Michael Servetus to the
stake. Servetus was a physician and
a polemic. Tie was born in Navarro in
the year 1911. and his rarly training
was had at the university of SaragOssa.
Afterward he studied law nj Toulouse,
where he first became acquainted with
the Bible. lnwardly he turned
against the Roman church, though
~outwardly he conformed To its teach
ings. His first original essay was
crude in its nature and was entitled
"De Trinitatis Erroribus." Servetus
went 10 Paris 10 study medicine and
there he met CALVIN. They had a thco-
logical discussion. for Calvin held Uni
t~arianism in more utter adherence
than he did Romanism. Calvin went
back to Geneva and Servetus went 10
Vienna. where he became confidential
physician TO a noted Roman Catholic
cleric. He conformed once more out
wardly TO the forms of the church, but
ne wrote Unitarian treatises. the
manuscript of which he sem TO Calvin.
Calvin refused &c return them, and
when they were rewritten by Servetus
and published anonymously Calvin
gave the Roman church authorities
some sheets of S%ervetus' original man
uscript, so that by a comparison of
handwriting they were enabled to CON
Wet the Unitarian of hercsy and To
burn him at the stake. II is said that
his feet rested upon the very piece of
stone which now gold mounted. does
honor ia his memory in the Chicago
Church of the Unity.
In the wall of the New England Con-
gregational church, one block south of
the Unitarian cdiiice. is n piece of
Plymouth Rock upon which supposed
ly the Pilgrims first set foot in the
new world after fleeing from perse-