Establishment of First Unitarian Church

Date: June 19, 1785 • Location: Boston, United States

The proprietors of King's Chapel, Boston, voted to adopt James Freeman's Book of Common Prayer, thus establishing the first Unitarian church in the Americas.

King's Chapel is an independent Unitarian congregation in Boston, Massachusetts, United States. It is affiliated with the Unitarian Universalist Association and describes itself as "Unitarian Christian in theology, Anglican in worship, and congregational in governance." It is housed in what was for a time after the American Revolution called the "Stone Chapel", an 18th-century structure at the corner of Tremont Street and School Street. The chapel building, completed in 1754, is one of the finest designs of the noted colonial architect Peter Harrison, and was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1960 for its architectural significance. The congregation has worshipped according to a Unitarian version of the Book of Common Prayer since 1785, currently in its ninth edition.