Mary Baker Eddy's accomplishments

The First Church of Christ, Scientist, in Boston, Massachusetts, USA

Boston is the world headquarters for the Church of Christ, Scientist, which includes about 1700 branch churches in 80 countries.

The Church of Christ, Scientist, was founded by Mary Baker Eddy and a small group of students in 1879, but the congregation lacked a permanent church home until some fifteen years later.

The Original Mother Church, built in 1894, is at the heart of the Christian Science Plaza and remains today as it was when first built. The building is Romanesque in style, made of New Hampshire granite, and with many stained glass windows depicting Bible events. Designed to seat nearly 1,000 people, it was soon outgrown.

The large domed Extension was completed in 1906, and provides seating for approximately 3,000. The building combines Renaissance and Byzantine architectural concepts. The organ, built by the Aeolian-Skinner Company of Boston, is one of the largest in the world; it covers eight divisions and has a total of 13,290 pipes.

The Church’s pastor is unique, for it consists of two books, the Bible and Mary Baker Eddy’s primary work, Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures. Sunday services are centered around weekly Bible Lessons consisting of citations read by two readers from both books. Wednesday testimony meetings include readings that speak to a current issue or need in the community or world. Following the readings, the congregation is invited to share experiences of spiritual healing or insight gained from prayer and the study of Christian Science.

At The Mother Church in Boston, Sunday services are 10:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. (no 5:00 pm service in July and August), and Wednesday testimony meetings occur at 12:00 noon and 7:30 p.m.

The Christian Science Monitor is an international daily newspaper founded in 1908, its object and journalistic ethic established by Mary Baker Eddy “to injure no man, but to bless all mankind.” Winner of seven Pulitzer Prizes, the Monitor offers dependable journalism and balanced, in-depth news coverage.

In an age of corporate conglomerates dominating news media, the Monitor provides a uniquely independent voice in journalism, and, though published by The Christian Science Publishing Society, the Monitor is not a religious periodical. The newspaper reports national and international news, with related features and commentary.

Mary Baker Eddy, the newspaper’s founder, was committed to keeping up with changing times, and, to that effect, the Monitor is now available to the world on its multimedia website. The newspaper also offers additional e-mail, mobile, and e-book editions. For more information and the latest news coverage, visit The Christian Science Monitor.

Mary Baker Eddy established The Christian Science Publishing Society in 1898, and it remains very active today. In addition to the Pulitzer Prize-winning The Christian Science Monitor, the Publishing Society’s offerings include:

The Christian Science Journal

This monthly publication offers instructional articles, reports of Christian healing, and a worldwide directory of Christian Science practitioners, teachers, churches, Reading Rooms, and more. It was designed as a family paper for the home and “to put on record the divine Science of Truth.” (continuously published since 1883).

Christian Science Quarterly

This quarterly publication of weekly Bible Lessons is arranged for individual study and use in Sunday church services worldwide. It is translated into 9 languages, as well as English Braille, in online editorials for young people and adults, on audiocassette, compact disc, and video (continuously published since 1890).

Christian Science Sentinel

Watching the world from a spiritual perspective, this weekly magazine features articles, editorials, and firsthand accounts of healing. The Sentinel—Radio Edition includes discussions and candid interviews on topics uppermost in public thought. The Radio Edition is broadcast throughout the world and is available on audiocassette and online (continuously published since 1898).

The Herald of Christian Science

Established “to proclaim the universal activity and availability of Truth,” the Herald is published monthly and/or quarterly in 14 languages. The Herald presents articles and testimonies of healing, and a directory of Christian Science churches, practitioners, and other listings for each country. The Herald is also produced as a radio program in five languages, with interviews and reports of healings (continuously published since 1903).

For more information about The Christian Science Publishing Society and its publications, please visit The First Church of Christ, Scientist.

Mary Baker Eddy’s spiritual healing practice grew out of her Biblical research and her first-hand explorations of the medical treatments of her day. Chronically ill from childhood, she sought help from diverse healing systems, including drugs, diets, water-based therapies, and homeopathy. Her study and practice of homeopathy led her to some important insights into the mental nature of illness and cure—what is known today as the mind/body connection.

Following a serious accident in 1866, she experienced a profound healing through prayer as she read an account of healing in the New Testament. This experience motivated her to study the Bible in-depth to understand how she had been healed and whether spiritual healing could be replicated and practiced consistently. Gradually, she began healing many others through a method of spiritual treatment she would define as “Christian Science.” Convinced that what she had discovered could be practiced by anyone, she began teaching her system of healing to men and women, who in turn established successful healing practices of their own.

In 1875, Eddy published her major work, Science and Health, later named Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures. Its 18 chapters include subjects such as “Prayer,” “Science, Theology, Medicine,” and “Christian Science Practice.” With her book and her more systematic teaching came a college, which Eddy founded in Boston in 1881, chartered under the medical laws of Massachusetts. Dedicated to training practitioners and teachers in Christian Science healing, an auxiliary of this college still operates today.

In the Preface to Science and Health, Eddy offers these introductory statements regarding the practice of Christian Science healing:

By thousands of well-authenticated cases of healing, she and her students have proved the worth of her teachings. These cases for the most part have been abandoned as hopeless by regular medical attendants. Few invalids will turn to God till all physical supports have failed, because there is so little faith in His disposition and power to heal disease.

 

The divine Principle of healing is proved in the personal experience of any sincere seeker of Truth. Its purpose is good, and its practice is safer and more potent than that of any other sanitary method.