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UU
History - A Distinguished Past
Rooted in Judaism and Christianity,
Unitarian Universalism has been defined as the joining of two
theological heresies: The belief in the unity of God (Unitarianism) and
the belief in universal salvation (Universalism).
Unitarianism can trace its roots back to 525 A.D. and the Council of
Nicea. Modern Unitarianism came into being during the
Reformation. Unitarianism in America predates the
revolution. We've even had 4 or 5 Unitarian presidents: John and
John Quincy Adams, Millard Fillmore and William Howard Taft (Thomas
Jefferson held Unitarianism in high regard, and said he'd have liked to
be a member of a Unitarian church, but there were none in Virginia).
Universalism's beginnings go back to the second century A.D., when
Origen began teaching the belief of universal salvation, opposing the
notion that only a select few would be saved.
In 1961, the two denominations merged to form the Unitarian
Universalist Association (UUA). The more than 1000 churches in
North America that make up the UUA are free churches answering to their
local congregations.
More history can be found at the Unitarian Universalist
Association, and even more at the American Unitarian Conference.
More on the Universalist branch of our history can also be found at the
UUA
here.
The Unitarian Universalist church of the
North Hills is affiliated with the UUA through the Ohio-Meadville
District, which is made up of some 40 societies in Ohio, western
Pennsylvania, and West Virginia. The congregation elects the
Board of Trustees and directs Board Policy.
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