James Freeman

James Freeman (April 22, 1759 – November 14, 1835) was an American Unitarian clergyman and writer, "noteworthy as the first avowed preacher of Unitarianism in the United States". After graduating Harvard and becoming pastor of King's Chapel in Boston, Freeman's revised Book of Common Prayer was adopted by the congregation. This and Freeman's later ordination are credited as the origins of Unitarianism in New England. Later receiving a D.D. from Harvard Divinity School, he was also a founding member of the Massachusetts Historical Society.

Early life James Freeman was born in Charlestown, Massachusetts, on April 22, 1759. After attending the Boston Latin Grammar School, and in 1782 became a reader at King's Chapel. Freeman differed from many of his Unitarian-minded contemporaries, who were Congregationalists that approached Unitarian teaching through Arianism. Instead, Freeman was in regular correspondence with English Unitarians such as Theophilus Lindsey and first adopted Socinianism.

Prayer book

In 1774, Lindsey had created a revised Book of Common Prayer based on alterations made by Samuel Clarke in the latter's copy of the 1662 prayer book. Lindsey would use this liturgy at his Essex Street Chapel, the first Unitarian congregation in England. Hazlitt had been among Lindsey's congregants and gave a copy of Lindsey's prayer book to Freeman in 1784.

Then 24 years old, Freeman pushed the King's Chapel congregation to adopt their own revision of the 1662 prayer book. The congregation's proprietors voted on February 20, 1785, to create a seven-man committee to report on Freeman's alterations. While he was optimistic that the congregation would adopt his revision, Freeman wrote to his father before the vote, saying that he would resign from his position as pastor should the vote fail.

Ordination and independent congregation Following the adoption of his prayer book, Freeman was still not ordained. The congregation decided against approaching the Church of England to perform such an ordination due in part to its requirement that ordinands swear loyalty to the king. As the congregation also desired to remain episcopal, a Presbyterian ordination was rejected. Freeman applied for ordination in the Episcopal Church in 1786. He was rejected by Bishops Samuel Seabury and Samuel Provoost after Freeman refused to assent to the Episcopalians' own prayer book and its Trinitarian theology. With this and their prayer book, King's Chapel became the first Unitarian church in the United States.

Freeman, a member of the local school committee and fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, contributed to the periodicals and collections of the Massachusetts Historical Society, which he helped found. Freeman and his wife had lived in Newton during his retirement. Freeman was buried in Newton Cemetery, with his wife interred in the family tomb there upon her death at 86 years old in 1841.