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Brief History

The International Council of Unitarians and Universalists was founded in March 1995 at Essex, Massachusetts, after years of discussion. Representatives of Unitarian, Universalist, and UU congregations from around the world came together to form this new organization.

There are about 500,000 Unitarians and Universalists in the world today. Many belong to large church organizations while others rarely meet another Unitarian face-to-face. The oldest groups, who are Hungarian speaking, have a continuous church history of more than 400 years. Some of the English speaking groups go back over 200 years. Many of the new groups have a much shorter history.

The name, International Council of Unitarians and Universalists was chosen to include all Unitarian, Universalists and UU groups. The ICUU is a representative body and a partnership of member groups in more than 20 countries.

Every other year representatives meet as a council to decide on program priorities for the coming years and to develop stronger ties for mutual aid and support.

ICUU's First President Looks Back...