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Unitarian Universalist Church of Olinda
The Universalist faith developed in New England in the late 1700s and reached Canada in the early 1800s. Its central doctrine of universal salvation made it more liberal and inclusive than most Christian churches of the day. Local farmer Michael Fox began organizing Universalist services in the hamlet of Olinda around 1860. Twenty-three men and women formed a congregation in 1880 and built this church the following year. It was one of six Universalist churches in Ontario at the time. From 1938 until 1961, when the Universalists merged with the Unitarians, it was the only Universalist church in the province. This church is the oldest in Canada used continuously by a Universalist or Unitarian congregation.
Location
On the grounds of the church, Olinda Sideroad and Gosfield Road South, in the former hamlet of Olinda, north of the village of Ruthven