Sullivan, William L. (William Laurence), 1872-1935

William Laurence Sullivan (1872-1935) studied for the Roman Catholic priesthood at Boston College and graduated from St. John's Seminary in Brighton, Massachusetts, in 1896. He also graduated from Catholic University in 1899 and was ordained as a Paulist priest that same year. In 1917, he received an honorary DD from Meadville Theological School. For nearly a decade, Fr. Sullivan wrote articles in numerous Catholic journals which were critical of Roman Catholic church officials. In 1909, Sullivan severed his ties with Roman Catholicism and wrote a polemic on papal authority, entitled Letters to His Holiness, Pope Pius X, which was published in 1910. Sullivan received Unitarian fellowship in 1912, and served parishes in Schenectady and Manhattan, New York, as well as Germantown, Pennsylvania, and St. Louis, Missouri. Sullivan also served as the mission preacher for the Unitarian Laymen's League. He also published several books, including The Priest: A Tale of Modernism in New England (1911), A Noble Adventure (1917), Unitarian Christianity (1922), and his autobiography, Under Orders (1944).

Unitarian minister, formerly a Catholic priest. Ph.B., St. John's Seminary, 1896; S.T.B. Catholic University of America, 1899; ordained a Catholic priest in 1899; served St. Thomas's Church and taught theology, Washington, D.C. (1900-1907). Became a Unitarian in 1911 and served All Souls Unitarian Church, Schenectady, N.Y. (1912-1913); Unitarian Church of All Souls, New York City (1913-1922); Church of the Messiah, St. Louis (1924-1928); Unitarian Society of Germantown, Pa. (1929-1935).