Table of ContentsCharles & Myrtle Fillmore
Charles & Myrtle Fillmore
Last updated: July 7, 2026
The couple who transformed personal healing into a worldwide spiritual movement, proving that ordinary people could become extraordinary healers through simple, practical metaphysics.
Lived
1854 – 1948
Nationality
American
Tradition
New Thought
Known For
Christian Healing (1909), Prosperity (1936), The Revealing Word
Tone
Light-Leaning2 / 6
Devotional, prayerful, service-oriented. Myrtle's healing testimony is pure light.
Why Fillmore Matters
The Fillmores built something unprecedented in metaphysical history: a New Thought organization that survived and thrived for over a century. While other movements relied on charismatic leaders or complex philosophies, Unity succeeded through practical spirituality that ordinary people could apply immediately. Their genius lay in making the abstract principles of New Thought concrete through daily practices, biblical interpretation, and systematic healing methods. They proved that metaphysical Christianity could be both deeply spiritual and refreshingly practical.
Start Here: The Reading Path
- Christian Healing1909Start here to understand Unity's core healing philosophy and practical methods. This book contains the essential Unity principles distilled from decades of successful healing work.Focus on the first few chapters on the nature of healing rather than getting lost in specific techniques.
- The Revealing Word1931Charles Fillmore's metaphysical dictionary that redefines biblical and spiritual terms through Unity's lens. Essential for understanding Unity's unique vocabulary and interpretive framework.
- Prosperity1936The Unity approach to abundance that goes beyond mere wealth accumulation to spiritual principles of supply and circulation. Shows how Unity balances material and spiritual prosperity.
Core Ideas in 60 Seconds
- I am a child of God and therefore I do not inherit sicknessThe foundational Unity principle that divine inheritance trumps human heredity, making health our natural state rather than disease.Affirmation
- Prosperity is achieved through the understanding of divine law rather than human effort aloneTrue abundance comes from aligning with spiritual principles of giving, receiving, and circulation rather than mere material accumulation.Abundance
- The Bible is a metaphysical textbook describing psychological and spiritual states rather than merely historical eventsUnity's distinctive approach treats biblical narratives as maps of consciousness transformation available to every individual.Metaphysics
- Prayer is scientific demonstration rather than petition or worshipUnity transformed prayer from begging God into applying precise spiritual laws to achieve specific results.Affirmative Prayer
- Christ is a consciousness available to all humanity rather than limited to one historical personThe Christ principle represents the perfect idea of humanity that each person can realize and express.Christ Consciousness
Major Works
| Title | Year | What It Teaches | Best For |
|---|---|---|---|
| Christian Healing | 1909 | The fundamental principles and methods of spiritual healing through understanding divine law. | Beginners seeking practical healing techniques |
| The Revealing Word | 1931 | Unity's metaphysical interpretations of biblical and spiritual terminology. | Students wanting to understand Unity's unique vocabulary |
| Metaphysical Bible Dictionary | 1931 | Comprehensive metaphysical interpretation of biblical names, places, and concepts. | Advanced readers studying Unity's biblical hermeneutics |
| Prosperity | 1936 | Spiritual laws governing abundance and the proper relationship between material and spiritual wealth. | Practitioners applying metaphysics to financial and material concerns |
Lineage & Influence
Influenced By
Emma Curtis Hopkins was their primary teacher, providing the systematic New Thought framework they built upon. They also drew from broader currents including Emerson's transcendentalism and the healing discoveries of Phineas Parkhurst Quimby.
Influenced
Unity became the training ground for numerous New Thought leaders and influenced the development of Religious Science through Ernest Holmes. The movement's practical approach shaped later prosperity teachers and metaphysical Christianity broadly.
Parallel Thinkers
While Mary Baker Eddy developed Christian Science with similar healing focus, the Fillmores created a more inclusive, less dogmatic approach. Thomas Troward worked on mental science principles simultaneously but remained more theoretical than the Fillmores' practical methods.
The Story
Myrtle Fillmore's desperate search for healing led her to Emma Curtis Hopkins' classes in 1886, where she discovered the life-changing principle that as God's child, she could not inherit sickness. Her recovery from tuberculosis through affirmative prayer became the founding miracle of Unity. Charles, initially skeptical of his wife's metaphysical interests, became convinced through witnessing her transformation and threw his business acumen and systematic mind into building what would become one of America's most enduring spiritual movements. Together they created Unity not as another denomination but as a practical Christianity that taught people to demonstrate spiritual principles in daily life. Their genius lay in taking abstract New Thought concepts and making them accessible through simple affirmations, systematic Bible study, and practical prosperity principles that ordinary people could apply immediately. By the time of their deaths, Unity had grown from a small prayer circle in Kansas City to an international movement with millions of followers.
In Their Own Words
I am a child of God and therefore I do not inherit sickness.
Myrtle Fillmore's foundational affirmation
We are not teaching a new religion. We are teaching people to use the eternal truth of God.
Christian Healing
Prosperity is not an accumulation of things, but a consciousness of God as our inexhaustible resource.
Prosperity
The Christ in man is the true spiritual understanding, or the ability to perceive God-ideas.
Christian Healing
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the difference between Unity and Christian Science?
While both movements emphasize spiritual healing, Unity is more inclusive and less dogmatic than Christian Science. Unity accepts medical treatment alongside spiritual healing and welcomes people of all faith backgrounds rather than requiring strict adherence to specific doctrines.
How did Myrtle Fillmore heal herself?
Myrtle healed from tuberculosis by repeatedly affirming 'I am a child of God and therefore I do not inherit sickness' after learning this principle from Emma Curtis Hopkins. She spent two years systematically replacing thoughts of sickness with affirmations of divine health.
Is Unity considered Christianity or New Thought?
Unity represents metaphysical Christianity within the New Thought movement. It interprets Christian teachings through New Thought principles, emphasizing the divinity within humanity and the power of thought to create experience.
What makes Unity's prosperity teaching different from wealth-focused approaches?
Unity teaches that true prosperity comes from understanding spiritual principles of circulation, giving, and divine supply rather than mere accumulation. The focus is on consciousness of abundance rather than material wealth as an end goal.