Gerasimos Avlonites Ordains John Wesley to the Episcopate

Erasmus of Arcadia (

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

: Έρασμος της Αρκαδίας), also known as Gerasimos Avlonites (

: Γεράσιμος Αυλωνίτης), was a

Greek Orthodox The term Greek Orthodox Church ( Greek: Ἑλληνορθόδοξη Ἐκκλησία, ''Ellinorthódoxi Ekklisía'', ) has two meanings. The broader meaning designates "the entire body of Orthodox (Chalcedonian) Christianity, sometimes also cal ...

bishop A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is c ...

of the Diocese of Arcadia in

Crete Crete ( el, Κρήτη, translit=, Modern: , Ancient: ) is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, the 88th largest island in the world and the fifth largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, after Sicily, Sardinia, Cyprus, ...

, operating under the Metropolitan of Smyrna. Erasmus'

monastery A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in communities or alone ( hermits). A monastery generally includes a place reserved for prayer whi ...

, located south of Rethymon in central Crete, was a centre of resistance to foreign domination by the Turkish régime. As such, the bishop was driven into exile around 1739. He is regarded as the founder of the first Greek Orthodox

congregation A congregation is a large gathering of people, often for the purpose of worship. Congregation may also refer to: * Church (congregation), a Christian organization meeting in a particular place for worship *Congregation (Roman Curia), an administr ...

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the capital and most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population of 907,976 within the city proper, 1,558,755 in the urban ar ...

. Some Methodists believe that the Greek bishop, while visiting London in 1763, consecrated John Wesley as a bishop and ordained several Methodist lay preachers (including John Jones and Thomas Bryant) as priests. However, Wesley could not openly announce his episcopal consecration without incurring the penalty of the Præmunire Act. In light of Erasmus's alleged episcopal consecration of Wesley, some believe that Methodists can assert participation in apostolic succession as understood in the traditional sense, because John Wesley ordained and sent forth every Methodist preacher in his day, who preached and baptized and ordained, and because every Methodist preacher who has ever been ordained as a Methodist has allegedly been ordained in this direct succession from Erasmus. Nevertheless, some people (notably,

Augustus Toplady Augustus Montague Toplady (4 November 174011 August 1778) was an Anglican cleric and hymn writer. He was a major Calvinist opponent of John Wesley. He is best remembered as the author of the hymn "Rock of Ages". Three of his other hymns – ...

) doubt or condemn Erasmus's consecration of Wesley. According to ''The Greek Orthodox Theological Review'', Bishop Erasmus of the Diocese of Aracadia also ordained other famous clergymen, including Samson Staniforth, Thomas Bryant, Alexander Mather, among other men, as presbyters: The eastern prelate was also well respected in London, by men who had known Erasmus in the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University) ...

. Greek Orthodox Christians in

attribute Erasmus with establishing Orthodoxy there.

References

External links

John Wesley & Gerasimos Avlonites: Two Paintings
authored by Craig Adams {{authority control Bishops of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople History of Methodism Eastern Orthodox bishops in Greece