Produced by Julie Barkley and PG Distributed Proofreaders
1912
Some Terms explained
i. The Unitarian Martyrs ii. Influences Making for 'Latitude' iii. The Old Nonconformists iv. The 'Unitarian Tracts' v. The Old Dissent
i. Before the 'Great Awakening' ii. The Liberal Reaction
i. The Communities ii. Ideas and Tendencies iii. Methods and Teachings
In certain quiet nooks of Old England, and, by contrast, in some of thebusiest centres of New England, landmarks of religious history are to befound which are not to be easily understood by every passer-by. He isfamiliar with the ordinary places of worship, at least as features in,the picture of town or village. Here is the parish church where theEnglish episcopal order has succeeded to the Roman; yonder is the moremodern dissenting chapel, homely or ornate. But, now and then, among thenon-episcopal buildings we find what is called distinctively a 'MeetingHouse,' or more briefly a 'Meeting,' which may perhaps be styled 'Old,''New,' or 'Great'. Its architecture usually corresponds with thesimplicity of its name. Plain almost to ugliness, yet not without somedegree of severe dignity, stand these old barn-like structures ofbrick—occasionally of stone; bearing the mellowing touch of time,surrounded by a little overshadowed graveyard, they often add a peculiarquaintness and solemnity to the scene. Mrs. Gaskell has described onesuch in her novel Ruth, and admirers of her art should know well thather own grave lies beside the little sanctuary she pictured so lovingly.
Sometimes, however, the surroundings of the ancient chapel are lessattractive. It stands, it may be, in some poverty-stricken corner orcourt of a town or city. Whatever picturesqueness it may have had oncehas long since vanished. Unlovely decay, an air of desolation, symptomsof neglect, present a mournful sight, and one wonders how much longerthe poor relic will remain. Many places of the kind have already beenswept away; others have been renovated, enlarged, and kept more worthyof their use. Not all the Meeting Houses are of one kind. Independents,Baptists, and Friends, each possess some of them. Now and again thenotice-board tells us that this is a 'Presbyterian' place of worship,but a loyal Scot who yearns for an echo of the kirk would be greatlysurprised on finding, as he would if he entered, that the doctrine andworship there is not Calvinistic in any shape whatever,but—Unitarian.
A similar surprise awaits the visitor to New England, it may be even agreater. For if he should tread In the footsteps of the Pilgrim Fathersand find the 'lineal descendants' of their original places of worship atPlymouth, Salem, or Boston, he will find Unitarians in possession. So