History

Second Church

Second Church was founded in 1649 by members of the First Church.  Second Church is famous for being the Church of the Mather Dynasty.  Increase, Cotton, and Samuel Mather served Second Church from 1664 to1741.  Increase Mather (1664-1723) in addition to his role as President of Harvard College, played an important part in the tense negotiations with England in the days following the revocation of the Massachusetts Charter and the imposition of the Andros tyranny. 

Cotton Mather (1684-1723) was the son of Increase Mather and the grandson of John Cotton.  He was a prolific writer, a promoter of education and learning, and had a major influence in New England’s rise as a cultural center.  His ‘magnum opus’, Magnalia Christi Americana brought to a close Puritan theology in New England.  He was also a distinguished scholar and scientist and introduced the practice of inoculation for smallpox to Massachusetts.

Second Church played a major role in the American Revolution.  John Lathrop, whose ministry extended from 1768 to 1816, did much to promote the cause of liberty.  With Paul Revere as a member and John Lathrop in the pulpit, the political position of Second Church was clear.  “A nest of traitors” was their reputation among the British.  After the war, it was Lathrop who quietly led the Second Church into the Unitarian movement.

During the 19th century the pulpit of Second Church was graced by the distinguished theologian Henry Ware Jr., one of the founders of the American Unitarian Association.  Ralph Waldo Emerson also served Second Church for three years, leaving the ministry over a controversy concerning Communion for his later career as an essayist, lyceum speaker, and poet.

In 1914 the Second Church moved from Copley Square to a building designed by Ralph Adams Cram, at the intersection of Audubon Circle (Park Drive and Beacon Street).  In 1970, Second Church merged with First Church, to become the First and Second Church in Boston under the joint ministry of Dr. Williams and Rev. John K. Hammon.