The Church Manual of The First Church of Christ, Scientist, in Boston, Massachusetts commonly known as the Manual of The Mother Church is the book that establishes the structure and governance of The First Church of Christ, Scientist, also known as The Mother Church, functioning like a constitution. It was written by Mary Baker Eddy, founder of the church. It was first published in 1895 and was revised dozens of times. The final edition, the 89th, was published in 1910.

Background

Writing in September 1895 to Septimus J. Hanna, then an editor of Christian Science periodicals and First Reader of The Mother Church, Eddy described the work of establishing the various by-laws as having been "impelled" by circumstances which made the need for a rule apparent. The impetus was always the future protection of the church, to fortify its structural integrity by preventing battles for personal control and creeping bureaucracy, and to maintain its spiritual integrity by preventing frivolous experimentation and the intrusions of personal opinion that would eventually adulterate the teaching and doctrine of Christian Science. The final revision of the Manual, the 89th edition, was published two weeks after Eddy's death in December 1910, although she had approved and signed the proof sheets of the edition before publication.

Church constitution

The Manual was first published in 1895. Its by-laws are organized into 35 articles that establish the duties and responsibilities of church officers, provide guidelines and rules for Christian Science practitioners and teachers, define the responsibilities of individual members and provide the means of discipline. The "Rule for Motives and Acts" (at right) typifies the nature of these by-laws

As a lay church, there is no hierarchy. All members, including church officers, are bound by the rules of the Manual. Under the Manual, the church officers comprising the Board of Directors are charged with administration, Adam Dickey, Eddy's last personal secretary, whom she appointed to the Board of Directors shortly before she died, wrote in 1922, "The safety of the Christian Science church does not rest in the Board of Directors; it lies in the integrity of each individual member, and in the determination of the members to obey the By-laws."|group=n However, after Eddy's passing some people both within and without of the church believed that without Eddy's presence the Manual could not function as it had before, with some believing the church should dissolve and others that the Trustees of the Christian Science Publishing Society should function as a separate governing body within the church. This culminated in a period of litigation in 1921 when the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court upheld the Baker interpretation that the Board of Directors assumed jurisdiction over the estoppel clauses upon Eddy's death. However, according to Eddy biographer Robert Peel, the estoppel clauses still add "moral force" and make it "morally incumbent upon the [Board of] Directors" to take particular care to fulfill the 'spirit and letter' when considering steps governed by those by-laws.

Notes

References

Further reading

  • “Mrs. Eddy’s Expressed Intention: Legal Opinions” - article on the "estoppel clause" controversy, info via csbibliography.org
  • Read online: Manual of The Mother Church, 89th Edition - Official website
  • 1st edition of the Manual of the Mother Church - archive.org
  • 89th (final) edition of the Manual of the Mother Church - archive.org