report on authority an order from Mrs. Eddy that she has not sent,
either to the Boards or to the executive bodies of this Church. The
Pastor Emeritus is not to be consulted on cases of discipline, on the
cases of candidates for admission to this Church, or on the cases of
those on trial for dismissal from the Church.
Private Communications. SECTION 8. A strictly private communication
from the Pastor Emeritus to a member of her Church shall not be made
public without her written consent.
Unauthorized Legal Action. SECTION 9. A member of this Church shall
not employ an attorney, nor take legal action on a case not provided
for in its By-Laws--if said case relates to the person or to the
property of Mary Baker Eddy--without having personally conferred with
her on said subject.
Duty to God. SECTION 10. Members of this Church who turn their
attention from the divine Principle of being to personality, sending
gifts, congratulatory despatches or letters to the Pastor Emeritus on
Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Year, or Easter, break a rule of this
Church and are amenable therefor.
Opportunity for Serving the Leader. SECTION 11. At the written
request of the Pastor Emeritus, Mrs. Eddy, the Board of Directors
shall immediately notify a person who has been a member of this
Church at least three years to go in ten days to her, and it shall be
the duty of the member thus notified to remain with Mrs. Eddy three
years consecutively. A member who leaves her in less time without the
Directors' consent or who declines to obey this call to duty, upon
Mrs. Eddy's complaint thereof shall be excommunicated from The Mother
Church. Members thus serving the Leader shall be paid semi-annually
at the rate of one thousand dollars yearly in addition to rent and
board. Those members whom she teaches the course in Divinity, and who
remain with her three consecutive years, receive the degree of the
Massachusetts Metaphysical College.
Location. SECTION 12. Rev. Mary Baker Eddy calls to her home or
allows to visit or to locate therein only those individuals whom
she engages through the Christian Science Board of Directors of
the Mother Church. This By-Law takes effect on Dec. 15, 1908.
Agreement Required. SECTION 13. When the Christian Science Board of
Directors calls a student in accordance with Article XXII, Sect. 11,
of our Church Manual to the home of their Leader, Mrs. Eddy, said
student shall come under a signed agreement to remain with Mrs. Eddy
if she so desires, during the time specified in the Church Manual.
Incomplete Term of Service. SECTION 14. If a student who has been
called to serve our Leader in accordance with Article XXII, Sect. 11,
of the Church Manual leaves her before the expiration of the time
therein mentioned such student shall pay to Mrs. Eddy whatsoever she
may charge for what she has taught him or her during the time of such
service.
Help. SECTION 15. If the author of the Christian Science textbook
call on this Board for household help or a handmaid, the Board shall
immediately appoint a proper member of this Church therefor, and the
appointee shall go immediately in obedience to the call. "He that
loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me." (Matt.
10:37.)
Students with Mrs. Eddy. SECTION 16. Students employed by Mrs. Eddy
at her home shall not take care of their churches or attend to other
affairs outside of her house.
Mrs. Eddy's Room. SECTION 17. The room in The Mother Church formerly
known as "Mother's Room" shall hereafter be closed to visitors.
Pastor Emeritus to be Consulted. SECTION 18. The Mother Church shall
not make a church By-Law, nor enter into a business transaction with
a Christian Scientist in the employ of Rev. Mary Baker Eddy, without
first consulting her on said subject and adhering strictly to her
advice thereon.
THE MOTHER CHURCH AND BRANCH CHURCHES
Article XXIII
Local Self-government. SECTION 1. The Mother Church of Christ,
Scientist, shall assume no general official control of other
churches, and it shall be controlled by none other. Each Church
of Christ, Scientist, shall have its own form of government. No
conference of churches shall be held, unless it be when our churches,
located in the same State, convene to confer on a statute of said
State, or to confer harmoniously on individual unity and action of
the churches in said State.
Titles. SECTION 2. "The First Church of Christ, Scientist," is the
legal title of The Mother Church. Branch churches of The Mother
Church may take the title of First Church of Christ, Scientist;
Second Church of Christ, Scientist; and so on, where more than one
church is established in the same place; but the article "The"
must not be used before titles of branch churches, nor written on
applications for membership in naming such churches.
Mother Church Unique. SECTION 3. In its relation to other Christian
Science churches, in its By-Laws and self-government, The Mother
Church stands alone; it occupies a position that no other church
can fill. Then for a branch church to assume such position would be
disastrous to Christian Science. Therefore, no Church of Christ,
Scientist, shall be considered loyal that has branch churches or
adopts The Mother Church's form of government, except in such cases
as are specially allowed and named in this Manual.
Tenets Copyrighted. SECTION 4. Branch churches shall not write the
Tenets of The Mother Church in their church books, except they give
the name of their author and her permission to publish them as Tenets
of The Mother Church, copyrighted in SCIENCE AND HEALTH WITH KEY TO
THE SCRIPTURES.
Manual. SECTION 5. Branch churches shall not adopt, print, nor
publish the Manual of The Mother Church. See Article XXXV, Sect. 1.
Organizing Churches. SECTION 6. A member of this Church who obeys its
By-Laws and is a loyal exemplary Christian Scientist working in the
Field, is eligible to form a church in conformity with Sect. 7 of
this Article, and to have church services conducted by reading the
SCRIPTURES and the Christian Science textbook. This church shall be
acknowledged publicly as a Church of Christ, Scientist. Upon proper
application, made in accordance with the rules of The Christian
Science Publishing Society, the services of such a church may be
advertised in _The Christian Science Journal_. The branch churches
shall be individual, and not more than two small churches shall
consolidate under one church government. If the Pastor Emeritus, Mrs.
Eddy, should relinquish her place as the head or Leader of The Mother
Church of Christ, Scientist, each branch church shall continue its
present form of government in consonance with The Mother Church
Manual.
Requirements for Organizing Branch Churches. SECTION 7. A branch
church of The First Church of Christ, Scientist, Boston, Mass., shall
not be organized with less than sixteen loyal Christian Scientists,
four of whom are members of The Mother Church. This membership shall
include at least one active practitioner whose card is published in
the list of practitioners in _The Christian Science Journal_.
Privilege of Members. SECTION 8. Members in good standing with
The Mother Church, who are members of the faculty, instructors,
or students organization.
No Close Communion. SECTION 9. The Mother Church and the branch
churches shall not confine their membership to the pupils of one
teacher.
No Interference. SECTION 10. A member of The Mother Church may be a
member of one branch Church of Christ, Scientist, or of one Christian
Science society holding public services, but he shall not be a member
of both a branch church and a society; neither shall he exercise
supervision or control over any other church. In Christian Science
each branch church shall be distinctly democratic in its government,
and no individual, and no other church shall interfere with its
affairs.
Teachers' and Practitioners' Offices. SECTION 11. Teachers and
practitioners of Christian Science shall not have their offices or
rooms in the branch churches, in the reading rooms, nor in rooms
connected therewith.
Recognition. SECTION 12. In order to be eligible to a card in _The
Christian Science Journal_, churches and societies are required to
acknowledge as such all other Christian Science churches and
societies advertised in said _Journal_, and to maintain toward them
an attitude of Christian fellowship.
GUARDIANSHIP OF CHURCH FUNDS
Article XXIV
Church Edifice a Testimonial. SECTION 1. Whereas, on March 20, 1895,
the Christian Science Board of Directors, in behalf of The First
Church of Christ, Scientist, Boston, Mass., presented to Rev. Mary
Baker Eddy their church edifice as a Testimonial of this Church's
love and gratitude, and she, with grateful acknowledgments thereof,
declined to receive this munificent gift, she now understands the
financial situation between the Christian Science Board of Directors
and said Church to be as follows:--
Financial Situation. SECTION 2. The Christian Science Board of
Directors owns the church edifices, with the land whereon they stand,
legally; and the Church members own the aforesaid premises and
buildings, beneficially. After the first church was built, the
balance of the building funds, which remained in the hands of the
Directors, belonged to the Church, and not solely to the Directors.
The balance of the church building funds, which can be spared after
the debts are paid, should remain on safe deposit, to be hereafter
used for the benefit of this Church, as the right occasion may call
for it. The following indicates the proper management of the Church
funds:--
Report of Directors. SECTION 3. It shall be the duty of the Christian
Science Board of Directors to have the books of the Church Treasurer
audited semi-annually, and to report at the annual Church meeting
the amount of funds which the Church has on hand, the amount of its
indebtedness and of its expenditures for the last year.
Finance Committee. SECTION 4. There shall be a Committee on Finance,
which shall consist of three members of this Church in good standing.
Its members shall be appointed annually by the Christian Science
Board of Directors and with the consent of the Pastor Emeritus. They
shall hold quarterly meetings and keep themselves thoroughly informed
as to the real estate owned by this Church and the amount of funds
received by the Treasurer of The Mother Church, who is individually
responsible for said funds. They shall have the books of the
Christian Science Board of Directors and the books of the Church
Treasurer audited annually by an honest, competent accountant.
The books are to be audited on May first.
Prior to paying bills against the Church, the Treasurer of this
Church shall submit them all to said committee for examination.
This committee shall decide thereupon by a unanimous vote, and its
endorsement of the bills shall render them payable.
If it be found that the Church funds have not been properly managed,
it shall be the duty of the Board of Directors and the Treasurer to
be individually responsible for the performance of their several
offices satisfactorily, and for the proper distribution of the funds
of which they are the custodians.
God's Requirement. SECTION 5. God requires wisdom, economy, and
brotherly love to characterize all the proceedings of the members
of The Mother Church, The First Church of Christ, Scientist.
Provision for the Future. SECTION 6. In case of any possible future
deviation from duty, the Committee on Finance shall visit the Board
of Directors, and, in a Christian spirit and manner, demand that each
member thereof comply with the By-Laws of the Church. If any Director
fails to heed this admonition, he may be dismissed from office and
the vacancy supplied by the Board.
Debt and Duty. SECTION 7. The Mother Church shall not be made legally
responsible for the debts of individuals except such debts as are
specified in its By-Laws. Donations from this Church shall not be
made without the written consent of the Pastor Emeritus. Also
important movements of the manager of the Committee on Publication
shall be sanctioned by the Board of Directors and be subject to the
approval of Mary Baker Eddy. (See Article I, Sect. 6.)
Emergencies. SECTION 8. The Treasurer, personally, or through the
Clerk of the Church, may pay from the funds of the Church bills of
immediate necessity not exceeding $200 for any one transaction, and
he may keep on deposit the sum of $500 with the Clerk, as a petty
cash fund, to be used by him for the payment of such bills. Such
payments shall be reported, on the first of the following month,
to the Board of Directors and the Committee on Finance, for their
approval.
Committee on Business. SECTION 9. The Christian Science Board of
Directors shall elect annually a Committee on Business, which shall
consist of not less than three loyal members of The Mother Church,
who shall transact promptly and efficiently such business as Mrs.
Eddy, the Directors, or the Committee on Publication shall commit
to it. While the members of this Committee are engaged in the
transaction of the business assigned to them they shall be paid from
the Church funds. Before being eligible for office the names of the
persons nominated for said office shall be presented to Mrs. Eddy
for her written approval.
THE CHRISTIAN SCIENCE PUBLISHING SOCIETY
Article XXV
Board of Trustees. SECTION 1. The Board of Trustees, constituted by a
Deed of Trust given by Rev. Mary Baker Eddy, the Pastor Emeritus of
this Church, on January twenty-fifth, 1898, shall hold and manage the
property therein conveyed, and conduct the business of "The Christian
Science Publishing Society" on a strictly Christian basis, for the
promotion of the interests of Christian Science.
Disposal of Funds. SECTION 2. The net profits of the business shall
be paid over semi-annually to the Treasurer of The Mother Church. He
shall hold this money subject to the order of the Christian Science
Board of Directors, which is authorized to order its disposition only
in accordance with the By-Laws contained in this Manual.
Vacancies in Trusteeship. SECTION 3. The Christian Science Board
of Directors shall have the power to declare vacancies in said
trusteeship, for such reasons as to the Board may seem expedient.
Whenever a vacancy shall occur, the Pastor Emeritus reserves the
right to fill the same by appointment; but if she does not elect to
exercise this right, the remaining trustees shall fill the vacancy,
subject to her approval.
Editors and Manager. SECTION 4. The term of office for the editors
and the manager of The Christian Science Publishing Society is one
year each, dating from the time of election to the office. Incumbents
who have served one year or more can be re-elected, or new officers
elected, by a unanimous vote of the Christian Science Board of
Directors, and the consent of the Pastor Emeritus given in her own
handwriting.
Suitable Employees. SECTION 5. A person who is not accepted by the
Pastor Emeritus and the Christian Science Board of Directors as
suitable, shall in no manner be connected with publishing her books,
nor with editing or publishing _The Christian Science Journal_,
_Christian Science Sentinel_, _Der Herold der Christian Science_,
nor with The Christian Science Publishing Society.
Periodicals. SECTION 6. Periodicals which shall at any time be
published by The Christian Science Publishing Society, shall be
copyrighted and conducted according to the provisions in the Deed
of Trust relating to _The Christian Science Journal_.
Rule of Conduct. SECTION 7. No objectionable pictures shall be
exhibited in the rooms where the Christian Science textbook is
published or sold. No idle gossip, no slander, no mischief-making,
no evil speaking shall be allowed.
Books to be Published. SECTION 8. Only the Publishing Society of
The Mother Church selects, approves, and publishes the books and
literature it sends forth. If Mary Baker Eddy disapproves of
certain books or literature, the Society will not publish them. The
Committees on Publication are in no manner connected with these
functions. A book or an article of which Mrs. Eddy is the author
shall not be published nor republished by this Society without her
knowledge or written consent.
Removal of Cards. SECTION 9. No cards shall be removed from our
periodicals without the request of the advertiser, except by a
majority vote of the Christian Science Board of Directors at a
meeting held for this purpose or for the examination of complaints.
Members of this Church who practise other professions or pursue
other vocations, shall not advertise as healers, excepting those
members who are officially engaged in the work of Christian Science,
and they must devote ample time for faithful practice.
TEACHING CHRISTIAN SCIENCE
Article XXVI--TEACHERS
Motive in Teaching. SECTION 1. Teaching Christian Science shall not
be a question of money, but of morals and religion, healing and
uplifting the race.
Care of Pupils. SECTION 2. Christian Scientists who are teachers
shall carefully select for pupils such only as have good past records
and promising proclivities toward Christian Science. A teacher shall
not assume personal control of, or attempt to dominate his pupils,
but he shall hold himself morally obligated to promote their progress
in the understanding of divine Principle, not only during the class
term but after it, and to watch well that they prove sound in
sentiment and practical in Christian Science. He shall persistently
and patiently counsel his pupils in conformity with the unerring laws
of God, and shall enjoin them habitually to study the Scriptures and
SCIENCE AND HEALTH WITH KEY TO THE SCRIPTURES as a help thereto.
Defense against Malpractice. SECTION 3. Teachers shall instruct their
pupils how to defend themselves against mental malpractice, never to
return evil for evil, but to know the truth that makes free, and thus
to be a law, not unto others, but to themselves.
Number of Pupils. SECTION 4. The teachers of Christian Science shall
teach but one class yearly, which class shall consist of not more
than thirty pupils. After 1907, the Board of Education shall have one
class triennially, a Normal class not exceeding thirty pupils.
Pupil's Tuition. SECTION 5. A student's price for teaching Christian
Science shall not exceed $100.00 per pupil.
Associations. SECTION 6. The associations of the pupils of loyal
teachers shall convene annually. The pupils shall be guided by the
BIBLE, and SCIENCE AND HEALTH, not by their teachers' personal views.
Teachers shall not call their pupils together, or assemble a selected
number of them, for more frequent meetings.
A Single Field of Labor. SECTION 7. A loyal teacher of Christian
Science shall not teach another loyal teacher's pupil, except it
be in the Board of Education. Outside of this Board each student
occupies only his own field of labor. Pupils may visit each other's
churches, and by invitation attend each other's associations.
Caring for Pupils of Strayed Members. SECTION 8. A loyal teacher of
Christian Science may teach and receive into his association the
pupils of another member of this Church who has so strayed as justly
to be deemed, under the provisions of Article XII, Sect. 1, not ready
to lead his pupils.
Teachers must have Certificates. SECTION 9. A member of this Church
shall not teach pupils Christian Science unless he has a certificate
to show that he has been taught by Mrs. Eddy or has taken a Normal
Course at the Massachusetts Metaphysical College or in the Board of
Education.
Such members who have not been continuously active and loyal
Christian Scientists since receiving instruction as above, shall
not teach Christian Science without the approval of The Christian
Science Board of Directors.
Article XXVII--PUPILS
Authorized to Teach. SECTION 1. After a student's pupil has been duly
authorized to be a teacher of Christian Science, or has been under
the personal instruction of Mrs. Eddy, he is no longer under the
jurisdiction of his former teacher.
Without Teachers. SECTION 2. Those beloved brethren whose teacher has
left them, can elect an experienced Christian Scientist, who is not
in charge of an association of students and who is ready for this
high calling, to conduct the meetings of their association.
Basis for Teaching. SECTION 3. The teachers of the Normal class shall
teach from the chapter Recapitulation in SCIENCE AND HEALTH WITH KEY
TO THE SCRIPTURES, and from the Christian Science Platform, beginning
on page 330 of the revised editions since 1902, and they shall teach
nothing contrary thereto. The teachers of the Primary class shall
instruct their pupils from the said chapter on "Recapitulation" only.
Church Membership. SECTION 4. Neither the Pastor Emeritus nor a
member of this Church shall teach Roman Catholics Christian Science,
except it be with the written consent of the authority of their
Church. Choice of patients is left to the wisdom of the practitioner,
and Mrs. Eddy is not to be consulted on this subject.
Class Teaching. SECTION 5. Members of The Mother Church who are
authorized by its By-Laws to teach Christian Science, shall not
solicit, or cause or permit others to solicit, pupils for their
classes. No member of this Church shall advise against class
instruction.
Teachers of Christian Science must have the necessary moral and
spiritual qualifications to elucidate the Principle and rule of
Christian Science, through the higher meaning of the Scriptures.
"The less the teacher personally controls other minds, and the more
he trusts them to the divine Truth and Love, the better it will be
for both teacher and student." (Retrospection and Introspection,
page 84.)
BOARD OF EDUCATION
Article XXVIII--ORGANIZATION
Officers. SECTION 1. There shall be a Board of Education, under
the auspices of Mary Baker Eddy, President of the Massachusetts
Metaphysical College, consisting of three members, a president,
vice-president, and teacher of Christian Science. Obstetrics will
not be taught.
Election. SECTION 2. The vice-president shall be elected annually by
the Christian Science Board of Directors. Beginning with 1907, the
teacher shall be elected every third year by said Board, and the
candidate shall be subject to the approval of the Pastor Emeritus.
President not to be Consulted. SECTION 3. The President is not to be
consulted by students on the question of applying for admission to
this Board nor on their course or conduct. The students can confer
with their teachers on subjects essential to their progress.
Presidency of College. SECTION 4. Should the President resign
over her own signature or vacate her office of President of the
Massachusetts Metaphysical College, a meeting of the Christian
Science Board of Directors shall immediately be called, and the
vice-president of the Board of Education being found worthy, on
receiving her approval shall be elected to fill the vacancy.
Article XXIX--APPLICANTS AND GRADUATES
Normal Teachers. SECTION 1. Loyal students who have been taught in
a Primary class by Mrs. Eddy and have practised Christian Science
healing acceptably three years, and who present such credentials as
are required to verify this fact, are eligible to receive the degree
of C.S.D.
Qualifications. SECTION 2. Loyal Christian Scientists' pupils who so
desire may apply to the Board of Education for instruction; and if
they have practised Christian Science healing successfully three
years and will furnish evidence of their eligibility therefor, they
are eligible to enter the Normal class. All members of this class
must be thorough English scholars.
Certificates. SECTION 3. Students are examined and given certificates
by this Board if found qualified to receive them.
Article XXX--ACTION OF THE BOARD
Sessions. SECTION 1. The term of the Massachusetts Metaphysical
College will open with the Board of Education on the first Wednesday
of December. The sessions will continue not over one week. None but
the teacher and members of the College class shall be present at the
sessions, and no Primary classes shall be taught under the auspices
of this Board.