Safeguarding Christian Science

"Deed of Trust Organizing the The Christian Science Publishing Society, given by Mary Baker Eddy, January 25, 1898 Boston, USA"

HERBERT W. EUSTACE, C. S. B., Board member of the Deed of Trust from 1912-1922, wrote in his book CHRISTIAN SCIENCE ITS "CLEAR, CORRECT TEACHING" AND COMPLETE WRITINGS

"I had not long been a member of the board of trustees before I began to feel an indefinable element at work with the directors of the Church, an apparent attempt to dictate to the trustees on matters wholly within the province of the trustees' duties as set forth in the Deed of Trust. I soon realized that it was the age-old demand of ecclesiasticism to rule, to allow nothing to interfere with its thirst for power and authority...

It is evident that Mrs. Eddy's purpose in creating the 1898 Deed of Trust was, if possible, to check this inevitable greed of ecclesiasticism which she foresaw would seize everything in the line of power and authority. Mrs. Eddy determined to stem this tide by putting the entire authority for all Christian Science literature (apart from her own writings) under the trustees through her Deed of Trust, leaving only the authority for the church with the directors.

By this act Mrs. Eddy undoubtedly hoped to thwart the intent of evil to bury Christian Science in ecclesiasticism and materialism as it had previously buried Christianity. It was another evidence of her distrust in church organization as a possible channel for metaphysics...

No one can doubt that Mrs. Eddy foresaw and endeavored to foil the evil of ecclesiastical despotism. But this despotism was to grow and increase until it finally attempted to nullify the Deed of Trust, by making a demand in 1916 on the trustees to acknowledge the directors as the supreme governing power of the Christian Science movement, including the periodicals, thus endeavouring to destroy Mrs. Eddy's carefully thought out purpose. This was ecclesiasticism in its full measure of arrogance."