HISTORY
The National Unitarian Fellowship was founded in 1944 and has proved to be a spiritual focal point for a great many people who, for one reason or another, either temporarily or permanently, have found themselves unable to make contact with a church. A fair proportion of members, however, while belonging to a regular worshipping congregation, also appreciate the wider contacts which they can enjoy through the NUF.
Past Unitarians
- Josiah Wedgwood
- Rev. Dr. Joseph Priestley (1733-1804) (pictured)
- Sir Adrian Boult
- Mrs. Elizabeth Gaskell
- George Stephenson
- Samual Morse
- Alexander Bell
- Sir Tim Berners-Lee (www)
UNITARIANS
are to be found worldwide but the first avowedly Unitarian congregation in
England gathered in an auction room in Essex Street, off the Strand in London
on 17th April 1774 to hear the Rev. Theophilus Lindsey preach.
At the meeting were Joseph Priestley, the discoverer of oxygen and Benjamin
Franklin. Joseph Priestley later became Unitarian minister in Birmingham, but
after the destruction of his scientific laboratory by a mob he moved to America
and became the founder of the first Unitarian Church in the U.S.A.
More information on Joseph Priestley can be found in the
biography
written by our Head of Publicity, Dorothy Archer, on the
Priestley Society
web page and in our
Viewpoint 173.
The Flaming Chalice
The flaming chalice has become the internationally recognised symbol of the Unitarian movement. While originally only appearing as a device on letterheads and neckties, the lighting of a chalice is increasingly becoming a feature of communal worship in Unitarian congregations.
History
The philosopher A N Whitehead said that real symbols have the power to change
history. The history of the chalice symbol is significant. It began by
representing the religious courage of Jan Hus, a 15th century Czech priest, who
was martyred for offering communion to his congregants in defiance of the Roman
church, which reserved the sharing of wine to priests only. He was burnt at the
stake for this act, and Unitarians too have a history of being persecuted for
innovative and democratic deeds in religion.
During the Second World War an American Unitarian, Reverend Charles Joy, was
stationed in Lisbon to help refugees from Nazism escape to safe havens. As
executive director of the Unitarian Service Committee he felt that this new,
unknown organisation needed some visual image to represent Unitarianism to the
world, especially when dealing with government agencies abroad.
He commissioned a Czech refugee and cartoonist, Hans Deutsch, to design
something that could be used on official documents, and thus an early version
of the modern chalice came into being.
Joy described what Deutsch had drawn in the following terms: 'A chalice with a
flame, the kind of chalice which the Greeks and Romans put on their altars.The
holy oil burning in it is a symbol of helpfulness and sacrifice...This was in
the mind of the artist. The fact, however, that it remotely suggests a cross
was not in his mind, but to me this also has merit. We do not limit our work to
Christians. Indeed, at the present moment, our work is nine-tenths for the
Jews, yet we do stem from the Christian tradition and its central theme of
sacrificial love'.
The American Universalists and Unitarians merged in the early sixties, and
versions of the symbol were adopted by the Unitarian Universalist Association
and by the General Assembly of Unitarian and Free Christian Churches in
Britain. It has since been used by Unitarian churches in other parts of the
world.
Unitarianism values insights from the present as well as the past. It is
appropriate therefore that the flaming chalice symbol should have both ancient
and modern roots, in both instances grounded in the principles of sacrifice and
service to humanity.
Three Elements
The symbol of the chalice flame may be further understood as a metaphor for the
lives of human beings, both as individuals and in community.
A cup is a familiar object made to be held and passed around - for sharing. A
flame by contrast, is not an object. It cannot be weighed or measured. It is no
static thing, but a dynamic, changing process.
The flame needs three elements. The first of these is fuel. Fuel is material -
like human body, like the treasured buildings and books, money and documents of
a church community. If a fire lacks fuel it is said to be "burning low" like a
candle in its final moments. The flame shrinks until it is just a feeble glow.
Unitarians are not ascetic or "other-worldly" but try to take a realistic and
rational view of life. Unitarians readily accept that, like kindling for a
fire, people in their private lives and collectively need the fuel of physical
things.
The second element is heat. Think of the heat of life itself, distinguishing
the living from the dead; the spark of intelligence, the warmth of human
encounter, even the friction of disagreement. If a fire lacks heat, as when you
dampen a flame with water, it is said to be guttering.
To develop as human beings, people also need heat. The vitality of
congregational life, activities which animate and engross, thought-provoking
moments that challenge are signs of a healthy liberal religious community.
Unitarians believe that society is sustained by the warmth that functioning and
supportive communities can provide.
The third element is air. Spirit has always been compared with air, or wind -
by Greeks and Hebrews alike. If a fire lacks air, we say that it is
smouldering. There is much heat and thick black smoke, but little
or no light. Modern life is too often like this.
Unitarians are open to the importance of a personal religious experience,
whether in chapel on a Sunday, on a mountain-top, or in everyday moments during
the working week. To develop, people need air - or spirit: the inspiration, or
breathing in, of that invisible, yet vital element; the deep moments of the
self in prayer or meditation; the shared movement of the heart when the spirit
is felt.
A Living Flame
Unitarians, unlike Moses, do not simply find the fire burning in the
wilderness. The flaming chalice is no burning bush, but something to be lit,
and re-lit, by every person. It requires an act of will, of purpose and of
faith.
Unitarianism allows persons to develop freely, without the constrictions of
received dogma, while experiencing the warmth of community. Unitarians are open
to the truths that science has bequeathed, including the truth that darkness
has no existence in itself. Darkness is the absence of light. Unitarians
believe the way to overcome the darkness is to light our lamps whenever we meet.
********************************************
Comprehensive lists of famous worldwide Unitarians can be found on the
following web sites:
Unitarian Historical Society
Famous Unitarians (Unitarians of South Africa)
Famous Unitarian List (American)
Namings,