Edgar Painter Ellyson (1869–1954) was a minister,

theologian Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing the ...

, and general superintendent in the

Church of the Nazarene The Church of the Nazarene is an evangelical Christian denomination that emerged in North America from the 19th-century Wesleyan-Holiness movement within Methodism. It is headquartered in Lenexa within Johnson County, Kansas. With its members co ...

. Ellyson was born in

Damascus, Ohio Damascus is an unincorporated community and census-designated place in southern Mahoning and northern Columbiana counties in the U.S. state of Ohio. As of the 2020 census, it had a population of 418. The community lies at the intersection of ...

, August 4, 1869, of

Quaker Quakers are people who belong to a historically Protestant Christian set of Christian denomination, denominations known formally as the Religious Society of Friends. Members of these movements ("theFriends") are generally united by a belie ...

parentage. He became a Quaker minister and the headmaster of the Friends' Bible School in

Marshalltown, Iowa Marshalltown is a city in and the county seat of Marshall County, Iowa, United States, located along the Iowa River. It is the seat and most populous settlement of Marshall County and the 16th largest city in Iowa, with a population of 27,591 at ...

. In 1907, he succeeded Aaron Merritt Hills as the president of

Peniel College Peniel College was a Nazarene college located in Peniel, Texas. It has since closed. History Texas Holiness University was founded by B. A. Cordell and E. C. DeJernett in 1898. It was then established on a 37-acre campus in 1899 by A. M. Hills a ...

Greenville, Texas Greenville is a city in Hunt County, Texas, United States, about northeast of Dallas. It is the county seat and largest city of Hunt County. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 25,557, and in 2019, its estimated population was 28,827. ...

. Due to his sympathies with the

Holiness movement The Holiness movement is a Christian movement that emerged chiefly within 19th-century Methodism, and to a lesser extent other traditions such as Quakerism, Anabaptism, and Restorationism. The movement is historically distinguished by its emph ...

and his living in nearby Greenville, Ellyson was at the Second General Assembly of the Pentecostal Church of the Nazarene in

Pilot Point, Texas Pilot Point is a city in Denton County, Texas, United States. Its population was 3,856 at the 2010 census, increasing to 4,381 at the 2020 census. Geography Pilot Point is located at (33.396350, –96.958719). According to the United States Cens ...

. He was elected general superintendent in 1908, remaining in that position through 1911. During that time, he traveled between the various congregations of the new church, at the same time evangelizing and organizing the new church, while still remaining president of Peniel College. In later years, he would become president of

Pasadena College Point Loma Nazarene University (PLNU) is a private Christian liberal arts college with its main campus on the Point Loma oceanfront in San Diego, California, United States. It was founded in 1902 as a Bible college by the Church of the Nazarene. ...

, Olivet Nazarene College, Trevecca Nazarene, and Bresee College. He also served as a vital force in the Church's educational works in general. He was responsible for establishing the Department of Church Schools, and also was the chief editor of the church's

Sunday school A Sunday school is an educational institution, usually (but not always) Christian in character. Other religions including Buddhism, Islam, and Judaism have also organised Sunday schools in their temples and mosques, particularly in the West. Su ...

publications for many years. In 1924, he was the chairman of the committee that revised the ''Nazarene Manual''. His major published work, ''Theological Compend'', published in 1908, was the first systematic theology arising out of the American Holiness Movement. It placed emphasis on the basic themes of Holiness theology, and was later used by theologians like A. M. Hills and

H. Orton Wiley Henry Orton Wiley (11 November 1877 – 22 August 1961) was a Christian theologian primarily associated with the followers of John Wesley who are part of the Holiness movement. A member of the Church of the Nazarene, his "magnum opus" was the three ...

as one of the foundations of their own thinking. At the 1915 General Assembly, Ellyson was again elected as general superintendent. He was not in attendance and had to travel to Kansas City by train to address the General Assembly. Upon his arrival, he declined the election.

References

* Reid, Daniel G., et al. ''Dictionary of Christianity in America.'' Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1990. . Nazarene General Superintendents 1869 births 1954 deaths Presidents of Olivet Nazarene University Presidents of Point Loma Nazarene University Presidents of defunct Nazarene universities and colleges Trevecca Nazarene University faculty Peniel College Quaker ministers American Quakers American Nazarene ministers People from Marshalltown, Iowa People from Damascus, Ohio {{US-reli-bio-stub