History
The Flower Communion was initiated by Norbert Čapek, who was also the founder of the Unitarian Church in Czechoslovakia. He saw the need to unite the diverse congregants of his church, from varying Protestant, Catholic, and Jewish backgrounds, without alienating those who had left these traditions. For this reason he honored the universal beauty of nature by having a communion of flowers instead of the Eucharist. The first Flower Communion was held in Prague on June 4, 1923. Čapek's term is more accurately translated as "Flower Celebration," a term which continues to be preferred by Czech Unitarians today.
The Flower Communion was reportedly introduced in the United States in 1940 by Maja Čapek, Norbert's wife, and was widely adopted by the American Unitarian churches, and their successor Unitarian Universalist congregations. Earlier Unitarian "Flower Services," documented in Midwestern U.S. Unitarian congregations beginning circa 1880, were somewhat different in form from Čapek's service.
Read more about this topic: Flower Communion
Famous quotes containing the word history:
“English history is all about men liking their fathers, and American history is all about men hating their fathers and trying to burn down everything they ever did.”
—Malcolm Bradbury (b. 1932)
“The history of reform is always identical; it is the comparison of the idea with the fact. Our modes of living are not agreeable to our imagination. We suspect they are unworthy. We arraign our daily employments.”
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)
“If you look at history you’ll find that no state has been so plagued by its rulers as when power has fallen into the hands of some dabbler in philosophy or literary addict.”
—Desiderius Erasmus (c. 1466–1536)