First Unitarian Church of Baltimore

...the spiritual home of a diverse and mutually supportive community of people who strive to build on our deep historical roots as a congregation to be a beacon of hope, social justice and liberal religious values in Baltimore and in the world. The First Unitarian Church of Baltimore was founded as the "First Independent Church of Baltimore" in 1817. The architect was Maximilien Godefroy, who also designed St. Mary's Seminary Chapel and Battle Monument in Baltimore. On May 5, 1819, Dr. William Ellery Channing (1780-1842) delivered the "Baltimore Sermon" that defined the newly emerging Unitarian denomination in America. The occasion was the ordination of a minister, and Channing took the opportunity to explain the beliefs of the church. He began, He went on to explain why the doctrine of the Trinity should be rejected, which is the main defining characteristic of Unitarians. The Unitarians joined with the Universalists in 1961, forming today's Unitarian Universalist denomination. The church building has remained mostly unchanged since its construction. The architect Joseph E. Sperry added a barrel vault ceiling as part of a renovation in 1893, in order to correct the poor acoustics of the original dome. The church was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1972.