Eliot's History

Eliot Church cis rooted in the Congregational (Puritan)  tradition in the United Church of Christ. Thirty-seven neighbors at Angiers Corner first established the church here in 1845. The present building is our fourth structure; we outgrew the original by 1860 and two other structures were destroyed by fires in 1887 and 1956.

The church was named for the puritan minister, Rev. John Eliot, who began his work as an "Apostle to the Indians" nearby.

We invite you to click on the file below to read a brief history of Rev. John Eliot, missionary, authored by one of our parishioners, R. Mitsein John Eliot: Apostle to the Indians.

Brief History of John Eliot

As Eliot's personal struggle for justice was sometimes controversial, so has been the history of this church. In its 150 years, Eliot membership has fluctuated considerably, sometimes reaching 1000 and other times dipping to 30 or 40 loyalists. Controversies have not been avoided, beginning with the issue of slavery and continuing through the civil rights movement and the debate over the war in Vietnam.

​The Eliot Church of Newton, as part of the Congregationalist Movement in New England, united with three other denominations as one denomination, the United Church of Christ (UCC) 

Read more about the UCC

---