SUNDRY VOTES PASSED BY THE CHURCH OF CHRIST IN DORCHESTER, ANN. DOM. 1773. PREVIOUS TO THE MEETING OF AN ECCLESIASTICAL COUNCIL THERE, THE RESULT OF SAID COUNCIL, &C. PUBLISHED BY ORDER OF SAID CHURCH

[First Church of Christ, Dorchester]

Published by Printed and Sold by Mills and Hicks, Boston, 1774

About this Item

23. [1 blank] pp. Bound in later half morocco and marbled paper over boards, gilt rules, with gilt-stamped spine title. Text with some dusting, Good+. This pamphlet demonstrates the democratic, self-governing principles of American congregations, unlike the hierarchical organization of their British antecedents. It tells the story of the decline and fall of Reverend Jonathan Bowman, the minister of this Unitarian Universalist Church from 1729 until 1773, when he "came somewhat violently into collision with his parish" [web site of Dorchester Historical Society]. The Congregation objected to Bowman's "absolute and unlimited power in the Church of Christ, in this place, contrary to constitution of Church government." The crisis was initiated by Reverend Bowman's chickens, who trespassed into the neighboring yard of Paul Hall, his parishioner, who punished the offending creatures by executing them. In a display of chutzpah, Hall then brought his baby to the Church for baptism. Bowman refused to perform the ceremony. The bitter dispute ended with Bowman's ouster after more than four decades of service. Bowman was pilloried for refusing the baptism; and his sermons were deemed excessively short and old-fashioned. Moreover, "There has been a neglect in our Rev. Pastor, in not insisting more fully upon the doctrines of original sin, regeneration and self-denial." Evans 13254. ESTC W24648. Seller Inventory # 37356

Bibliographic Details

Title: SUNDRY VOTES PASSED BY THE CHURCH OF CHRIST ...

Publisher: Printed and Sold by Mills and Hicks, Boston

Publication Date: 1774

Binding: Hardcover