FIFTY years ago, in 1883, The Christian Science Journal was started by Mrs. Eddy under the name of Journal of Christian Science. What a busy quarter 569 Columbus Avenue, Boston, must have been in the early days of the Journal! For besides housing the Christian Scientists' Publishing Company, the Metaphysical College building was the place where Mrs. Eddy taught, where lectures on Christian Science were given, the Christian Scientists' Association met, and church services were held.
It is interesting to note that seventeen years had elapsed between the discovery of Christian Science by Mary Baker Eddy in 1866, and eight years between the publication of Science and Health by her in 1875, and the founding of the first Christian Science periodical. It is reasonable to conclude that Mrs. Eddy felt impelled to take this step in order that the good news of Christian Science might be circulated more freely and more rapidly throughout the world. In "The First Church of Christ, Scientist, and Miscellany" (p. 353), in stating that she herself gave the names to all the Christian Science periodicals, she says, "The first was The Christian Science Journal, designed to put on record the divine Science of Truth."
What a contrast the first number of the Journal presents to the Journal as it is today! The former consisted of but eight pages as against a little over one hundred and seventy in the latter. The first issue advertised the cards of fourteen practitioners, including that of Mrs. Eddy, one of whom was resident outside of Massachusetts. The February Journal of 1933 listed the names of 10,751 practitioners and 493 nurses, as well as 2586 churches and societies and forty-six Christian Science organizations at universities or colleges. Mrs. Eddy herself was the Editor of the Journal in its earlier days, the first issues containing many contributions from her pen, a fact which meant that it was assuredly recording "the divine Science of Truth."
