A Brief History of Unitarian Universalism
Modern Unitarianism emerged during the Reformation in Europe, primarily within England, Poland, and Translyvania. The movement appeared somewhat later in North America as an outgrowth of the early Puritan churches in New England. Unitarian leaders rejected the doctrine of the Trinity used within other Christian churches, and instead stressed the humanity of Jesus and the importance of his teachings, rather than his divinity. This basic foundation has its' roots in the Arian theology espoused in the earliest days of the Christian church.
A leading example of the early spread of Unitarianism was John Sigismund, a 16th century King of Transylvania. He was particularly noteworthy for granting religious freedom to his subjects (including non-Unitarians) in 1568. The doctrines which were to form Unitarianism were also coalescing in England during the same period, in spite of legal repression and official persecution. This process reached fruition in 1774 with the founding of the first English Unitarian church in London.
The First Unitarian Church of Philadelphia is the oldest church on the North American continent to call itself Unitarian, and was Founded in 1796 through the encouragement of Joseph Priestley (the English Unitarian minister better known for his discovery of oxygen).
Universalism began in the 18th century as an American movement, which was initially distinguished by a belief in the "universal" return of all people to god. This was in reaction to the view of Baptist and Congregational churches which held that only a small number of people would be saved.
In 1961, the two denominations agreed to merge, forming the UUA: Unitarian-Universalist Association.
And the First Unitarian Church of Philadelphia is now one of over 1,000 UUA congregations in North America alone.
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History of the Flaming Chalice Symbol
The symbol of the Flaming Chalice was inspired by Jan Hus, a religious leader in the late fourteenth century. Where previously the common people had to rely on the priests to translate from the Latin, Hus gave the Bible to the people, translating it into their own words. And in a time when the church reserved the communion wine for priests, he gave chalices to the people, that they might have both bread and wine together. For these and other "heresies," the Church ordered Jan Hus to be burned at the stake in the year 1419.
After his death, the people he had served combined the fire of his martyrdom with the communion cup to create the symbol of the flaming chalice, which became a symbol of freedom in Czechoslovakia. During the Second World War, it was adopted by the Unitarian Service Committee which was working to fight Nazism in Eastern Europe.
Today, many Unitarian-Universalist congregations light the chalice at the beginning of Sunday Services as a potent symbol of the "light of reason, the warmth of love, and the fire of our compassion for justice."
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