Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a group of historically related
denominations of
Protestant
Protestantism is a Christian denomination, branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Reformation, Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century agai ...
Christianity
Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. It is the world's largest and most widespread religion with roughly 2.38 billion followers representing one-third of the global pop ...
whose origins,
doctrine
Doctrine (from la, doctrina, meaning "teaching, instruction") is a codification of beliefs or a body of teachings or instructions, taught principles or positions, as the essence of teachings in a given branch of knowledge or in a belief system ...
and practice derive from the life and teachings of
John Wesley
John Wesley (; 2 March 1791) was an English people, English cleric, Christian theology, theologian, and Evangelism, evangelist who was a leader of a Christian revival, revival movement within the Church of England known as Methodism. The soci ...
.
George Whitefield
George Whitefield (; 30 September 1770), also known as George Whitfield, was an Anglican cleric and evangelist who was one of the founders of Methodism and the evangelical movement.
Born in Gloucester, he matriculated at Pembroke College at th ...
and John's brother
Charles Wesley
Charles Wesley (18 December 1707 – 29 March 1788) was an English leader of the Methodist movement. Wesley was a prolific hymnwriter who wrote over 6,500 hymns during his lifetime. His works include " And Can It Be", " Christ the Lord Is Risen ...
were also significant early leaders in the movement. They were named ''Methodists'' for "the methodical way in which they carried out their Christian faith".
Methodism originated as a
revival movement within the 18th-century
Church of England
The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Britain ...
and became a separate denomination after Wesley's death. The movement spread throughout the
British Empire
The British Empire was composed of the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates, and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It began with the overseas possessions and trading posts esta ...
, the United States, and beyond because of vigorous
missionary work
A missionary is a member of a Religious denomination, religious group which is sent into an area in order to promote its faith or provide services to people, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care, and economic development.Tho ...
,
today claiming approximately 80 million adherents worldwide.
Wesleyan theology
Wesleyan theology, otherwise known as Wesleyan– Arminian theology, or Methodist theology, is a theological tradition in Protestant Christianity based upon the ministry of the 18th-century evangelical reformer brothers John Wesley and Charles W ...
, which is upheld by the Methodist churches, focuses on
sanctification
Sanctification (or in its verb form, sanctify) literally means "to set apart for special use or purpose", that is, to make holy or sacred (compare la, sanctus). Therefore, sanctification refers to the state or process of being set apart, i.e. " ...
and the transforming effect of faith on the character of a
Christian
Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...
. Distinguishing doctrines include the
new birth
Born again, or to experience the new birth, is a phrase, particularly in evangelicalism, that refers to a "spiritual rebirth", or a regeneration of the human spirit. In contrast to one's physical birth, being "born again" is distinctly and sepa ...
,
assurance,
imparted righteousness
Imparted righteousness, in Methodism, Methodist theology, is that Divine grace, gracious gift of God given at the moment of the Born again (Christianity), new birth which enables a Disciple (Christianity), Christian disciple to strive for Sacred, ...
, the possibility of
entire sanctification
Christian perfection is the name given to theological concepts within some sects of Christianity that purport to describe a process of achieving spiritual maturity or perfection. The ultimate goal of this process is union with God characterized by ...
,
and the
works of piety
"Works of piety", in Methodism, are certain spiritual disciplines that along with the "works of mercy", serve as a means of grace, and are necessary for Christian perfection. All Methodist Christians, laity and ordained, are expected to employ the ...
.
Scripture
Religious texts, including scripture, are texts which various religions consider to be of central importance to their religious tradition. They differ from literature by being a compilation or discussion of beliefs, mythologies, ritual prac ...
is considered as a
primary authority A primary authority is a term used in legal research to refer to statements of law that are binding upon the courts, government, and individuals. Primary authority is usually in the form of a document that establishes the law, and if no document exi ...
, but Methodists also look to
Christian tradition
Christian tradition is a collection of traditions consisting of practices or beliefs associated with Christianity. These ecclesiastical traditions have more or less authority based on the nature of the practices or beliefs and on the group in que ...
, including the historic
creed
A creed, also known as a confession of faith, a symbol, or a statement of faith, is a statement of the shared beliefs of a community (often a religious community) in a form which is structured by subjects which summarize its core tenets.
The ea ...
s. Most Methodists teach that
Jesus Christ
Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label=Hebrew/Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and religious ...
, the
Son of God,
died for all of humanity and that
salvation
Salvation (from Latin: ''salvatio'', from ''salva'', 'safe, saved') is the state of being saved or protected from harm or a dire situation. In religion and theology, ''salvation'' generally refers to the deliverance of the soul from sin and its c ...
is available for all.
This is an
Arminian
Arminianism is a branch of Protestantism based on the theological ideas of the Dutch Reformed theologian Jacobus Arminius (1560–1609) and his historic supporters known as Remonstrants. Dutch Arminianism was originally articulated in the ''Re ...
doctrine, as opposed to the
Calvinist
Calvinism (also called the Reformed Tradition, Reformed Protestantism, Reformed Christianity, or simply Reformed) is a major branch of Protestantism that follows the theological tradition and forms of Christian practice set down by John Ca ...
position that God has
pre-ordained the salvation of a
select group
The Select Group is a panel of English professional football referees and assistant referees, appointed by Professional Game Match Officials Limited (PGMOL).
Select Group 1
In August 2022, the PGMOL announced the referees and assistant referees ...
of people. However, Whitefield and several other early leaders of the movement were considered
Calvinistic Methodists
Calvinistic Methodists were born out of the 18th-century Welsh Methodist revival and survive as a body of Christians now forming the Presbyterian Church of Wales. Calvinistic Methodism became a major denomination in Wales, growing rapidly in the 1 ...
and held to the Calvinist position.
The movement has a wide variety of forms of
worship
Worship is an act of religious devotion usually directed towards a deity. It may involve one or more of activities such as veneration, adoration, praise, and praying. For many, worship is not about an emotion, it is more about a recognition ...
, ranging from
high church
The term ''high church'' refers to beliefs and practices of Christian ecclesiology, liturgy, and theology that emphasize formality and resistance to modernisation. Although used in connection with various Christian traditions, the term originate ...
to
low church in
liturgical
Liturgy is the customary public ritual of worship performed by a religious group. ''Liturgy'' can also be used to refer specifically to public worship by Christians. As a religious phenomenon, liturgy represents a communal response to and partic ...
usage, in addition to
tent revival
A tent () is a shelter consisting of sheets of fabric or other material draped over, attached to a frame of poles or a supporting rope. While smaller tents may be free-standing or attached to the ground, large tents are usually anchored using g ...
s and
camp meeting
The camp meeting is a form of Protestant Christian religious service originating in England and Scotland as an evangelical event in association with the communion season. It was held for worship, preaching and communion on the American frontier d ...
s held at certain times of the year.
Denominations that descend from the British Methodist tradition are generally less ritualistic, while American Methodism is more so, the
United Methodist Church
The United Methodist Church (UMC) is a worldwide mainline Protestant denomination based in the United States, and a major part of Methodism. In the 19th century, its main predecessor, the Methodist Episcopal Church, was a leader in evangelical ...
in particular. Methodism is known for its rich musical tradition, and Charles Wesley was instrumental in writing much of the
hymn
A hymn is a type of song, and partially synonymous with devotional song, specifically written for the purpose of adoration or prayer, and typically addressed to a deity or deities, or to a prominent figure or personification. The word ''hymn'' ...
ody of Methodism.
In addition to
evangelism
In Christianity, evangelism (or witnessing) is the act of preaching the gospel with the intention of sharing the message and teachings of Jesus Christ.
Christians who specialize in evangelism are often known as evangelists, whether they are i ...
, Methodism emphasizes
charity
Charity may refer to:
Giving
* Charitable organization or charity, a non-profit organization whose primary objectives are philanthropy and social well-being of persons
* Charity (practice), the practice of being benevolent, giving and sharing
* Ch ...
and support for the sick, the poor, and the afflicted through the
works of mercy
Works of mercy (sometimes known as acts of mercy) are practices considered meritorious in Christian ethics.
The practice is popular in the Catholic Church as an act of both penance and charity. In addition, the Methodist church teaches that th ...
.
These ideals, collectively known as the
Social Gospel
The Social Gospel is a social movement within Protestantism that aims to apply Christian ethics to social problems, especially issues of social justice such as economic inequality, poverty, alcoholism, crime, racial tensions, slums, unclean envir ...
, are put into practice by the establishment of hospitals, orphanages, soup kitchens, and schools to follow Christ's command to spread
the gospel
The gospel or good news is a theological concept in several religions. In the historical Roman imperial cult and today in Christianity, the gospel is a message about salvation by a divine figure, a savior, who has brought peace or other benefits ...
and serve all people.
Methodists are historically known for their adherence to the doctrine of
nonconformity to the world
Nonconformity to the world, also called separation from the world, is a Christian doctrine based on , and other verses of the New Testament that became important among different Protestant groups, especially among Anabaptists. The corresponding Ge ...
, reflected by their traditional standards of a commitment to
teetotalism
Teetotalism is the practice or promotion of total personal abstinence from the psychoactive drug alcohol, specifically in alcoholic drinks. A person who practices (and possibly advocates) teetotalism is called a teetotaler or teetotaller, or i ...
, proscription of gambling, regular attendance at
class meeting
The cell group is a form of church organization that is used in many Christian churches. Cell groups are generally intended to teach the Bible and personalize Christian fellowship. They are always used in cell churches, but also occur in parach ...
s, and weekly observance of the
Friday fast.
Early Methodists were drawn from all levels of society, including the aristocracy, but the Methodist preachers took the message to labourers and criminals who tended to be left outside organized religion at that time. In Britain, the Methodist Church had a major effect in the early decades of the developing
working class
The working class (or labouring class) comprises those engaged in manual-labour occupations or industrial work, who are remunerated via waged or salaried contracts. Working-class occupations (see also " Designation of workers by collar colou ...
(1760–1820).
In the United States, it became the religion of many slaves who later formed
black church
The black church (sometimes termed Black Christianity or African American Christianity) is the faith and body of Christian congregations and denominations in the United States that minister predominantly to African Americans, as well as their ...
es in the Methodist tradition.
Origins
The Methodist revival began in England with a group of men, including
John Wesley
John Wesley (; 2 March 1791) was an English people, English cleric, Christian theology, theologian, and Evangelism, evangelist who was a leader of a Christian revival, revival movement within the Church of England known as Methodism. The soci ...
(1703–1791) and his younger brother
Charles
Charles is a masculine given name predominantly found in English language, English and French language, French speaking countries. It is from the French form ''Charles'' of the Proto-Germanic, Proto-Germanic name (in runic alphabet) or ''*k ...
(1707–1788), as a movement within the Church of England in the 18th century.
The Wesley brothers founded the "
Holy Club" at the
University of Oxford
, mottoeng = The Lord is my light
, established =
, endowment = £6.1 billion (including colleges) (2019)
, budget = £2.145 billion (2019–20)
, chancellor ...
, where John was a fellow and later a lecturer at
Lincoln College.
The club met weekly and they systematically set about living a holy life. They were accustomed to receiving
Communion every week, fasting regularly, abstaining from most forms of amusement and luxury and frequently visited the sick and the poor, as well as prisoners. The fellowship were branded as "Methodist" by their fellow students because of the way they used "rule" and "method" to go about their religious affairs.
John, who was leader of the club, took the attempted mockery and
turned it into a title of honour.
In 1735, at the invitation of the founder of the
Georgia Colony, General
James Oglethorpe
James Edward Oglethorpe (22 December 1696 – 30 June 1785) was a British soldier, Member of Parliament, and philanthropist, as well as the founder of the colony of Georgia in what was then British America. As a social reformer, he hoped to re ...
, both John and Charles Wesley set out for America to be
ministers
Minister may refer to:
* Minister (Christianity), a Christian cleric
** Minister (Catholic Church)
* Minister (government), a member of government who heads a ministry (government department)
** Minister without portfolio, a member of government w ...
to the colonists and missionaries to the Native Americans. Unsuccessful in their work, the brothers returned to England conscious of their lack of genuine Christian faith. They looked for help to
Peter Boehler
Peter Boehler (born Petrus Böhler; December 31, 1712 – April 27, 1775) was a German-English Moravian bishop and missionary who was influential in the Moravian Church in the Americas and England during the eighteenth century.
Boehler was one o ...
and other members of the
Moravian Church
The Moravian Church ( cs, Moravská církev), or the Moravian Brethren, formally the (Latin: "Unity of the Brethren"), is one of the oldest Protestantism, Protestant Christian denomination, denominations in Christianity, dating back to the Bohem ...
. At a Moravian
service
Service may refer to:
Activities
* Administrative service, a required part of the workload of university faculty
* Civil service, the body of employees of a government
* Community service, volunteer service for the benefit of a community or a pu ...
in
Aldersgate
Aldersgate is a Ward of the City of London, named after one of the northern gates in the London Wall which once enclosed the City.
The Ward of Aldersgate is traditionally divided into Aldersgate Within and Aldersgate Without, the suffix denot ...
on 24 May 1738, John experienced what has come to be called his
evangelical
Evangelicalism (), also called evangelical Christianity or evangelical Protestantism, is a worldwide Interdenominationalism, interdenominational movement within Protestantism, Protestant Christianity that affirms the centrality of being "bor ...
conversion, when he felt his "heart strangely warmed". He records in his journal: "I felt I did trust in Christ, Christ alone, for salvation; and an assurance was given me that He had taken away my sins, even mine, and saved me from the law of sin and death." Charles had reported a similar experience a few days previously. Considering this a pivotal moment, Daniel L. Burnett writes: "The significance of
ohnWesley's Aldersgate Experience is monumental ... Without it the names of Wesley and Methodism would likely be nothing more than obscure footnotes in the pages of church history."
The Wesley brothers immediately began to preach salvation by faith to individuals and groups, in houses, in religious
societies, and in the few churches which had not closed their doors to evangelical preachers.
John Wesley came under the influence of the Dutch theologian
Jacobus Arminius (1560–1609). Arminius had rejected the
Calvinist
Calvinism (also called the Reformed Tradition, Reformed Protestantism, Reformed Christianity, or simply Reformed) is a major branch of Protestantism that follows the theological tradition and forms of Christian practice set down by John Ca ...
teaching that God had
pre-ordained an elect number of people to eternal bliss while others perished eternally. Conversely,
George Whitefield
George Whitefield (; 30 September 1770), also known as George Whitfield, was an Anglican cleric and evangelist who was one of the founders of Methodism and the evangelical movement.
Born in Gloucester, he matriculated at Pembroke College at th ...
(1714–1770),
Howell Harris (1714–1773), and
Selina Hastings, Countess of Huntingdon (1707–1791) were notable for being
Calvinistic Methodists
Calvinistic Methodists were born out of the 18th-century Welsh Methodist revival and survive as a body of Christians now forming the Presbyterian Church of Wales. Calvinistic Methodism became a major denomination in Wales, growing rapidly in the 1 ...
.
![George Whitefield (head)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/97/George_Whitefield_%28head%29.jpg)
George Whitefield, returning from his own mission in Georgia, joined the Wesley brothers in what was rapidly to become a national crusade.
Whitefield, who had been a fellow student of the Wesleys and prominent member of the Holy Club at Oxford, became well known for his unorthodox,
itinerant ministry, in which he was dedicated to
open-air preaching
Open-air preaching, street preaching, or public preaching is the act of evangelizing a religious faith in public places. It is an ancient method of proselytizing a religious or social message and has been used by many cultures and religious tradit ...
—reaching crowds of thousands.
A key step in the development of John Wesley's ministry was, like Whitefield, to preach in fields, collieries and churchyards to those who did not regularly attend
parish church
A parish church (or parochial church) in Christianity is the church which acts as the religious centre of a parish. In many parts of the world, especially in rural areas, the parish church may play a significant role in community activities, ...
services.
Accordingly, many Methodist converts were those disconnected from the Church of England; Wesley remained a cleric of the Established Church and insisted that Methodists attend their local parish church as well as Methodist meetings because only an ordained minister could perform the sacraments of baptism and communion.
Faced with growing evangelistic and
pastoral
A pastoral lifestyle is that of shepherds herding livestock around open areas of land according to seasons and the changing availability of water and pasture. It lends its name to a genre of literature, art, and music (pastorale) that depicts ...
responsibilities, Wesley and Whitefield appointed
lay
Lay may refer to:
Places
*Lay Range, a subrange of mountains in British Columbia, Canada
*Lay, Loire, a French commune
*Lay (river), France
*Lay, Iran, a village
*Lay, Kansas, United States, an unincorporated community
People
* Lay (surname)
* ...
preachers and leaders.
Methodist preachers focused particularly on evangelising people who had been "neglected" by the established Church of England. Wesley and his assistant preachers organized the new converts into Methodist societies.
These societies were divided into groups called ''
classes''—intimate meetings where individuals were encouraged to confess their sins to one another and to build each other up. They also took part in
love feasts which allowed for the sharing of
testimony, a key feature of early Methodism. Growth in numbers and increasing hostility impressed upon the revival converts a deep sense of their corporate identity.
Three teachings that Methodists saw as the foundation of Christian faith were:
# People are all, by nature, "
dead in sin".
# They are
justified by faith alone.
# Faith produces inward and
outward holiness
Outward holiness, or external holiness, is a Wesleyan–Arminian doctrine emphasizing modest dress and sober speech. It is a testimony of a Christian believer's regeneration, done in obedience to God. The doctrine is prevalent among denominations ...
.
Wesley's organisational skills soon established him as the primary leader of the movement. Whitefield was a Calvinist, whereas Wesley was an outspoken opponent of the doctrine of
predestination
Predestination, in theology, is the doctrine that all events have been willed by God, usually with reference to the eventual fate of the individual soul. Explanations of predestination often seek to address the paradox of free will, whereby G ...
.
Wesley argued (against Calvinist doctrine) that Christians could enjoy a
second blessing
According to some Christian traditions, a second work of grace (also second blessing) is a transforming interaction with God which may occur in the life of an individual Christian. The defining characteristics of the second work of grace are tha ...
—entire sanctification (
Christian perfection
Christian perfection is the name given to theological concepts within some sects of Christianity that purport to describe a process of achieving spiritual maturity or perfection. The ultimate goal of this process is union with God characterized by ...
) in this life: loving God and their neighbours, meekness and lowliness of heart and abstaining from all appearance of evil.
These differences put strains on the alliance between Whitefield and Wesley,
with Wesley becoming quite hostile toward Whitefield in what had been previously very close relations. Whitefield consistently begged Wesley not to let theological differences sever their friendship and, in time their friendship was restored, though this was seen by many of Whitefield's followers to be a doctrinal compromise.
[Dallimore. ''George Whitefield''.]
Many clergy in the established church feared that new doctrines promulgated by the Methodists, such as the necessity of a
new birth for salvation—the first work of grace, of
justification by faith and of the constant and sustained action of the
Holy Spirit
In Judaism, the Holy Spirit is the divine force, quality, and influence of God over the Universe or over his creatures. In Nicene Christianity, the Holy Spirit or Holy Ghost is the third person of the Trinity. In Islam, the Holy Spirit acts as ...
upon the believer's soul, would produce ill effects upon weak minds.
[Glen, Robert (1989). "Methodism, Religious Dissent and Revolution in the English Satiric Prints, 1780–1815", ''Consortium on Revolutionary Europe, 1750–1850: Proceedings'' 19:
173–188] Theophilus Evans
Theophilus Evans (February 1693 – 11 September 1767) was a Welsh clergyman and historian.
Life
Evans' father was from Pen-y-wenallt and he was christened in the church in Llandygwydd in Cardiganshire in 1693.
Evans served curacies in Brecknock ...
, an early critic of the movement, even wrote that it was "the natural Tendency of their Behaviour, in Voice and Gesture and horrid Expressions, to make People mad". In one of his prints,
William Hogarth likewise attacked Methodists as "enthusiasts" full of "
Credulity, Superstition, and Fanaticism
''Credulity, Superstition and Fanaticism'' is a satirical print by the English artist William Hogarth. It ridicules secular and religious credulity, and lampoons the exaggerated religious "enthusiasm" (excessive emotion, not keenness) of the Met ...
".
Other attacks against the Methodists were physically violent—Wesley was nearly murdered by a mob at
Wednesbury in 1743. The Methodists responded vigorously to their critics and thrived despite the attacks against them.
![The First Methodist chapel called](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d0/The_First_Methodist_chapel_called_%22The_Foundry%22_-_Capel_Cyntaf_y_Methodistiaid_Wesleyaidd_a_Adnabyddid_Wrth_%22Y_Foundry%22.jpeg)
Initially, the Methodists merely sought reform within the Church of England (
Anglicanism
Anglicanism is a Western Christian tradition that has developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the context of the Protestant Reformation in Europe. It is one of the ...
), but the movement gradually
departed from that Church. George Whitefield's preference for extemporaneous prayer rather than the fixed forms of prayer in the ''
Book of Common Prayer
The ''Book of Common Prayer'' (BCP) is the name given to a number of related prayer books used in the Anglican Communion and by other Christian churches historically related to Anglicanism. The original book, published in 1549 in the reign ...
'', in addition to his insistence on the necessity of the new birth, set him at odds with Anglican clergy.
As Methodist societies multiplied, and elements of an
ecclesiastical system were, one after another, adopted, the breach between John Wesley and the Church of England gradually widened. In 1784, Wesley responded to the shortage of priests in the American colonies due to the
American Revolutionary War
The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was a major war of the American Revolution. Widely considered as the war that secured the independence of t ...
by
ordaining
Ordination is the process by which individuals are Consecration, consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorization, authorized (usually by the religious denomination, denominational ...
preachers for America with power to administer the
sacrament
A sacrament is a Christianity, Christian Rite (Christianity), rite that is recognized as being particularly important and significant. There are various views on the existence and meaning of such rites. Many Christians consider the sacraments ...
s. Wesley's actions precipitated the split between American Methodists and the Church of England (which held that only bishops could ordain people to ministry).
With regard to the position of Methodism within
Christendom
Christendom historically refers to the Christian states, Christian-majority countries and the countries in which Christianity dominates, prevails,SeMerriam-Webster.com : dictionary, "Christendom"/ref> or is culturally or historically intertwine ...
, "John Wesley once noted that what God had achieved in the development of Methodism was no mere human endeavor but the work of God. As such it would be preserved by God so long as history remained." Calling it "the grand depositum" of the Methodist faith, Wesley specifically taught that the propagation of the doctrine of
entire sanctification
Christian perfection is the name given to theological concepts within some sects of Christianity that purport to describe a process of achieving spiritual maturity or perfection. The ultimate goal of this process is union with God characterized by ...
was the reason that God raised up the Methodists in the world.
In light of this, Methodists traditionally promote the motto "Holiness unto the Lord".
The influence of Whitefield and Lady Huntingdon on the Church of England was a factor in the founding of the
Free Church of England
The Free Church of England (FCE) is an episcopal church based in England. The church was founded when a number of congregations separated from the established Church of England in the middle of the 19th century.
The doctrinal basis of the F ...
in 1844. At the time of Wesley's death there were over 500 Methodist preachers in British colonies and the United States.
Total membership of the Methodist societies in Britain was recorded as 56,000 in 1791, rising to 360,000 in 1836 and 1,463,000 by the national census of 1851.
Early Methodism experienced a radical and spiritual phase that allowed
women authority in church leadership. The role of the woman preacher emerged from the sense that the home should be a place of community care and should foster personal growth. Methodist women formed a community that cared for the vulnerable, extending the role of mothering beyond physical care. Women were encouraged to
testify
In law and in religion, testimony is a solemn attestation as to the truth of a matter.
Etymology
The words "testimony" and "testify" both derive from the Latin word ''testis'', referring to the notion of a disinterested third-party witness.
La ...
their faith. However the centrality of women's role sharply diminished after 1790 as Methodist churches became more structured and more male dominated.
The Wesleyan Education Committee, which existed from 1838 to 1902, has documented the Methodist Church's involvement in the education of children. At first most effort was placed in creating Sunday Schools but in 1836 the British Methodist Conference gave its blessing to the creation of "Weekday schools".
Methodism spread throughout the British Empire and, mostly through Whitefield's preaching during what historians call the
First Great Awakening, in colonial America. After Whitefield's death in 1770, however, American Methodism entered a more lasting
Wesleyan
Wesleyan theology, otherwise known as Wesleyan– Arminian theology, or Methodist theology, is a theological tradition in Protestant Christianity based upon the ministry of the 18th-century evangelical reformer brothers John Wesley and Charles W ...
and Arminian phase of development.
Theology
Many Methodist bodies, such as the
African Methodist Episcopal Church
The African Methodist Episcopal Church, usually called the AME Church or AME, is a Black church, predominantly African American Methodist Religious denomination, denomination. It adheres to Wesleyan-Arminian theology and has a connexionalism, c ...
and the
United Methodist Church
The United Methodist Church (UMC) is a worldwide mainline Protestant denomination based in the United States, and a major part of Methodism. In the 19th century, its main predecessor, the Methodist Episcopal Church, was a leader in evangelical ...
, base their doctrinal standards on the
Articles of Religion,
John Wesley's abridgment of the
Thirty-nine Articles
The Thirty-nine Articles of Religion (commonly abbreviated as the Thirty-nine Articles or the XXXIX Articles) are the historically defining statements of doctrines and practices of the Church of England with respect to the controversies of the ...
of the Church of England that excised its Calvinist features.
Some Methodist denominations also publish
catechism
A catechism (; from grc, κατηχέω, "to teach orally") is a summary or exposition of doctrine and serves as a learning introduction to the Sacraments traditionally used in catechesis, or Christian religious teaching of children and adult c ...
s, which concisely summarise Christian
doctrine
Doctrine (from la, doctrina, meaning "teaching, instruction") is a codification of beliefs or a body of teachings or instructions, taught principles or positions, as the essence of teachings in a given branch of knowledge or in a belief system ...
.
Methodists generally accept the
Apostles' Creed
The Apostles' Creed (Latin: ''Symbolum Apostolorum'' or ''Symbolum Apostolicum''), sometimes titled the Apostolic Creed or the Symbol of the Apostles, is a Christian creed or "symbol of faith".
The creed most likely originated in 5th-century Ga ...
and the
Nicene Creed
The original Nicene Creed (; grc-gre, Σύμβολον τῆς Νικαίας; la, Symbolum Nicaenum) was first adopted at the First Council of Nicaea in 325. In 381, it was amended at the First Council of Constantinople. The amended form is a ...
as declarations of shared Christian faith.
Methodism also affirms the traditional Christian belief in the
triune Godhead (Father, Son and Holy Spirit) as well as the
orthodox
Orthodox, Orthodoxy, or Orthodoxism may refer to:
Religion
* Orthodoxy, adherence to accepted norms, more specifically adherence to creeds, especially within Christianity and Judaism, but also less commonly in non-Abrahamic religions like Neo-pag ...
understanding of the person of Jesus Christ as
God incarnate
Incarnation literally means ''embodied in flesh'' or ''taking on flesh''. It refers to the conception and the embodiment of a deity or spirit in some earthly form or the appearance of a god as a human. If capitalized, it is the union of divinit ...
who is both
fully divine and fully human.
Methodism emphasizes doctrines that indicate the power of the
Holy Spirit
In Judaism, the Holy Spirit is the divine force, quality, and influence of God over the Universe or over his creatures. In Nicene Christianity, the Holy Spirit or Holy Ghost is the third person of the Trinity. In Islam, the Holy Spirit acts as ...
to strengthen the faith of believers and to transform their personal lives.
Methodism is broadly
evangelical
Evangelicalism (), also called evangelical Christianity or evangelical Protestantism, is a worldwide Interdenominationalism, interdenominational movement within Protestantism, Protestant Christianity that affirms the centrality of being "bor ...
in doctrine and is characterized by Wesleyan theology;
John Wesley is studied by Methodists for his interpretation of church practice and doctrine.
At its heart, the theology of John Wesley stressed the life of Christian holiness: to love God with all one's heart, mind, soul and strength and to
love one's neighbour as oneself. One popular expression of Methodist doctrine is in the
hymn
A hymn is a type of song, and partially synonymous with devotional song, specifically written for the purpose of adoration or prayer, and typically addressed to a deity or deities, or to a prominent figure or personification. The word ''hymn'' ...
s of Charles Wesley. Since enthusiastic
congregational singing
Congregational singing is the practice of the congregation participating in the music of a church, either in the form of hymns or a metrical Psalms or a free form Psalm or in the form of the office of the liturgy (for example Gregorian chants). ...
was a part of the early evangelical movement, Wesleyan theology took root and spread through this channel. Martin V. Clarke, who documented the history of Methodist hymnody, states:
Theologically and doctrinally, the content of the hymns has traditionally been a primary vehicle for expressing Methodism's emphasis on salvation for all, social holiness, and personal commitment, while particular hymns and the communal act of participating in hymn singing have been key elements in the spiritual lives of Methodists.
Salvation
![Sankt Georgen am Laengsee Launsdorf Kreisverkehr Bildstock Kreuzigung Christi 02122015 2428](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/22/Sankt_Georgen_am_Laengsee_Launsdorf_Kreisverkehr_Bildstock_Kreuzigung_Christi_02122015_2428.jpg)
Wesleyan Methodists identify with the
Arminian
Arminianism is a branch of Protestantism based on the theological ideas of the Dutch Reformed theologian Jacobus Arminius (1560–1609) and his historic supporters known as Remonstrants. Dutch Arminianism was originally articulated in the ''Re ...
conception of
free will
Free will is the capacity of agents to choose between different possible courses of action unimpeded.
Free will is closely linked to the concepts of moral responsibility, praise, culpability, sin, and other judgements which apply only to actio ...
, as opposed to the
theological determinism
Theological determinism is a form of predeterminism which states that all events that happen are pre-ordained, and/or predestined to happen, by one or more divine beings, or that they are destined to occur given the divine beings' omniscience. The ...
of absolute
predestination
Predestination, in theology, is the doctrine that all events have been willed by God, usually with reference to the eventual fate of the individual soul. Explanations of predestination often seek to address the paradox of free will, whereby G ...
. Methodism teaches that
salvation
Salvation (from Latin: ''salvatio'', from ''salva'', 'safe, saved') is the state of being saved or protected from harm or a dire situation. In religion and theology, ''salvation'' generally refers to the deliverance of the soul from sin and its c ...
is initiated when one chooses to respond to God, who draws the individual near to him (the Wesleyan doctrine of
prevenient grace
Prevenient grace (or preceding grace or enabling grace) is a Christian theological concept that refers to the grace of God in a person's life which precedes and prepares to conversion. It was termed and developed by Augustine of Hippo (354 – 4 ...
), thus teaching
synergism
In Christian theology, synergism is the position of those who hold that salvation involves some form of cooperation between divine grace and human freedom. Synergism is upheld by the Roman Catholic Church, Orthodox Churches, Anabaptist Churches ...
.
Methodists interpret Scripture as teaching that the
saving work of Jesus Christ is for all people (
unlimited atonement) but effective only to those who respond and believe, in accordance with the
Reformation
The Reformation (alternatively named the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation) was a major movement within Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the Catholic Church and in ...
principles of ''
sola gratia
''Sola gratia'', meaning by grace alone, is one of the five ''solae'' and consists in the belief that salvation comes by divine grace or "unmerited favor" only, not as something earned or deserved by the sinner. It is a Christian theologica ...
'' (grace alone) and ''
sola fide'' (faith alone). John Wesley taught four key points fundamental to Methodism:
# A person is free not only to reject salvation but also to accept it by an act of free will.
# All people who are obedient to
the gospel
The gospel or good news is a theological concept in several religions. In the historical Roman imperial cult and today in Christianity, the gospel is a message about salvation by a divine figure, a savior, who has brought peace or other benefits ...
according to the measure of knowledge given them will be saved.
# The Holy Spirit assures a Christian that they are
justified by faith in Jesus (
assurance of faith
As a general term in theological use, assurance refers to a believer's confidence in God, God's response to prayer, and the hope of eternal salvation. In Protestantism, Protestant Christianity, Christian doctrine, the term "assurance", also known ...
).
# Christians in this life are capable of
Christian perfection
Christian perfection is the name given to theological concepts within some sects of Christianity that purport to describe a process of achieving spiritual maturity or perfection. The ultimate goal of this process is union with God characterized by ...
and are commanded by God to pursue it.
[Harper, J. Steven Harper (1983). ''The Way to Heaven: The Gospel According to John Wesley'', ]
After the
first work of grace
Born again, or to experience the new birth, is a phrase, particularly in evangelicalism, that refers to a "spiritual rebirth", or a regeneration of the human spirit. In contrast to one's physical birth, being "born again" is distinctly and sepa ...
(the new birth),
Methodist
soteriology emphasizes the importance of the pursuit of holiness in salvation,
a concept best summarized in a quote by Methodist evangelist
Phoebe Palmer who stated that "justification would have ended with me had I refused to be holy."
Thus, for Methodists, "true faith...''cannot'' subsist without works".
Methodism, inclusive of 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 ...
, thus teaches that "justification
s made
S, or s, is the nineteenth letter in the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''ess'' (pronounced ), plural ''esses''.
History ...
conditional on obedience and progress in
sanctification
Sanctification (or in its verb form, sanctify) literally means "to set apart for special use or purpose", that is, to make holy or sacred (compare la, sanctus). Therefore, sanctification refers to the state or process of being set apart, i.e. " ...
",
emphasizing "a deep reliance upon Christ not only in coming to faith, but in remaining in the faith". John Wesley taught that the keeping of the moral law contained in the
Ten Commandments
The Ten Commandments (Biblical Hebrew עשרת הדברים \ עֲשֶׂרֶת הַדְּבָרִים, ''aséret ha-dvarím'', lit. The Decalogue, The Ten Words, cf. Mishnaic Hebrew עשרת הדיברות \ עֲשֶׂרֶת הַדִּבְ ...
,
as well as engaging in the
works of piety
"Works of piety", in Methodism, are certain spiritual disciplines that along with the "works of mercy", serve as a means of grace, and are necessary for Christian perfection. All Methodist Christians, laity and ordained, are expected to employ the ...
and the
works of mercy
Works of mercy (sometimes known as acts of mercy) are practices considered meritorious in Christian ethics.
The practice is popular in the Catholic Church as an act of both penance and charity. In addition, the Methodist church teaches that th ...
, were "indispensable for our sanctification".
Methodists also believe in the
second work of grace—Christian perfection, also known as entire sanctification, which removes
original sin
Original sin is the Christian doctrine that holds that humans, through the fact of birth, inherit a tainted nature in need of regeneration and a proclivity to sinful conduct. The biblical basis for the belief is generally found in Genesis 3 (t ...
and makes the believer holy.
John Wesley explained, "entire sanctification, or Christian perfection, is neither more nor less than pure love; love expelling sin, and governing both the heart and life of a child of God. The Refiner's fire purges out all that is contrary to love."
Methodist churches teach that
apostasy
Apostasy (; grc-gre, ἀποστασία , 'a defection or revolt') is the formal disaffiliation from, abandonment of, or renunciation of a religion by a person. It can also be defined within the broader context of embracing an opinion that i ...
can occur through a loss of faith or through
sinning.
If a person
backslides but later decides to return to God, he or she must confess his or her sins and be entirely sanctified again (the Arminian doctrine of
conditional security
The conditional preservation of the saints, or conditional perseverance of the saints, or commonly conditional security, is the Arminian Christian belief that believers are kept safe by God in their saving relationship with him upon the ''conditio ...
).
Sacraments
Methodists hold that
sacrament
A sacrament is a Christianity, Christian Rite (Christianity), rite that is recognized as being particularly important and significant. There are various views on the existence and meaning of such rites. Many Christians consider the sacraments ...
s are sacred acts of divine institution. Methodism has inherited its liturgy from
Anglicanism
Anglicanism is a Western Christian tradition that has developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the context of the Protestant Reformation in Europe. It is one of the ...
, although Wesleyan theology tends to have a stronger "sacramental emphasis" than that held by
evangelical Anglicans
Evangelical Anglicanism or evangelical Episcopalianism is a tradition or church party within Anglicanism that shares affinity with broader evangelicalism. Evangelical Anglicans share with other evangelicals the attributes of "conversionism, a ...
.
In common with most Protestants, Methodists recognize two sacraments as being instituted by Christ:
Baptism
Baptism (from grc-x-koine, βάπτισμα, váptisma) is a form of ritual purification—a characteristic of many religions throughout time and geography. In Christianity, it is a Christian sacrament of initiation and adoption, almost inv ...
and
Holy Communion
The Eucharist (; from Greek , , ), also known as Holy Communion and the Lord's Supper, is a Christian rite that is considered a sacrament in most churches, and as an ordinance in others. According to the New Testament, the rite was instituted ...
(also called the Lord's Supper). Most Methodist churches practice
infant baptism
Infant baptism is the practice of baptising infants or young children. Infant baptism is also called christening by some faith traditions.
Most Christians belong to denominations that practice infant baptism. Branches of Christianity that ...
, in anticipation of a response to be made later (
confirmation
In Christian denominations that practice infant baptism, confirmation is seen as the sealing of the covenant created in baptism. Those being confirmed are known as confirmands. For adults, it is an affirmation of belief. It involves laying on ...
), as well as
baptism of believing adults. The ''Catechism for the Use of the People Called Methodists'' states that, "
n Holy Communion
N, or n, is the fourteenth letter in the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''en'' (pronounced ), plural ''ens''.
History
...
Jesus Christ is
present
The present (or here'' and ''now) is the time that is associated with the events perception, perceived directly and in the first time, not as a recollection (perceived more than once) or a speculation (predicted, hypothesis, uncertain). It is ...
with his worshipping people and gives himself to them as their Lord and Saviour".
In the United Methodist Church, the explanation of how
Christ's presence is made manifest in the elements (bread and wine) is described as a "Holy Mystery".
Methodist churches generally recognize sacraments to be a
means of grace
The means of grace in Christian theology are those things (the ''means'') through which God gives grace. Just what this grace entails is interpreted in various ways: generally speaking, some see it as God blessing humankind so as to sustain and emp ...
. John Wesley held that God also imparted
grace
Grace may refer to:
Places United States
* Grace, Idaho, a city
* Grace (CTA station), Chicago Transit Authority's Howard Line, Illinois
* Little Goose Creek (Kentucky), location of Grace post office
* Grace, Carroll County, Missouri, an uninco ...
by other established means such as public and private
prayer
Prayer is an invocation or act that seeks to activate a rapport with an object of worship through deliberate communication. In the narrow sense, the term refers to an act of supplication or intercession directed towards a deity or a deified a ...
, Scripture reading,
study
Study or studies may refer to:
General
* Education
**Higher education
* Clinical trial
* Experiment
* Observational study
* Research
* Study skills, abilities and approaches applied to learning
Other
* Study (art), a drawing or series of drawi ...
and
preaching
A sermon is a religious discourse or oration by a preacher, usually a member of clergy. Sermons address a scriptural, theological, or moral topic, usually expounding on a type of belief, law, or behavior within both past and present contexts. El ...
,
public worship
In public relations and communication science, publics are groups of individual people, and the public (a.k.a. the general public) is the totality of such groupings. This is a different concept to the sociological concept of the ''Öffentlichkei ...
, and
fasting
Fasting is the abstention from eating and sometimes drinking. From a purely physiological context, "fasting" may refer to the metabolic status of a person who has not eaten overnight (see " Breakfast"), or to the metabolic state achieved after ...
; these constitute the works of piety. Wesley considered means of grace to be "outward signs, words, or actions ... to be the ordinary channels whereby
odmight convey to men, preventing
.e., preparing justifying or sanctifying grace". Specifically Methodist means, such as the
class meetings, provided his chief examples for these prudential means of grace.
Sources of teaching
American Methodist theologian
Albert Outler, in assessing John Wesley's own practices of theological reflection, proposes a methodology termed the "Wesleyan Quadrilateral".
Wesley's Quadrilateral is referred to in Methodism as "our theological guidelines" and is taught to its
ministers
Minister may refer to:
* Minister (Christianity), a Christian cleric
** Minister (Catholic Church)
* Minister (government), a member of government who heads a ministry (government department)
** Minister without portfolio, a member of government w ...
(clergy) in seminary as the primary approach to interpreting Scripture and gaining guidance for moral questions and dilemmas faced in daily living.
Traditionally, Methodists declare the
Bible
The Bible (from Koine Greek , , 'the books') is a collection of religious texts or scriptures that are held to be sacred in Christianity, Judaism, Samaritanism, and many other religions. The Bible is an anthologya compilation of texts of a ...
(
Old
Old or OLD may refer to:
Places
*Old, Baranya, Hungary
*Old, Northamptonshire, England
*Old Street station, a railway and tube station in London (station code OLD)
*OLD, IATA code for Old Town Municipal Airport and Seaplane Base, Old Town, Mai ...
and
New Testament
The New Testament grc, Ἡ Καινὴ Διαθήκη, transl. ; la, Novum Testamentum. (NT) is the second division of the Christian biblical canon. It discusses the teachings and person of Jesus, as well as events in first-century Christ ...
s) to be the only divinely inspired Scripture and the primary source of authority for Christians. The historic Methodist understanding of Scripture is based on the superstructure of
Wesleyan covenant theology
Covenant theology (also known as covenantalism, federal theology, or federalism) is a conceptual overview and interpretive framework for understanding the overall structure of the Bible. It uses the theological concept of a covenant as an organ ...
.
Methodists also make use of
tradition
A tradition is a belief or behavior (folk custom) passed down within a group or society with symbolic meaning or special significance with origins in the past. A component of cultural expressions and folklore, common examples include holidays or ...
, drawing primarily from the teachings of the
Church Fathers
The Church Fathers, Early Church Fathers, Christian Fathers, or Fathers of the Church were ancient and influential Christian theologians and writers who established the intellectual and doctrinal foundations of Christianity. The historical per ...
, as a source of authority. Tradition may serve as a lens through which Scripture is interpreted. Theological discourse for Methodists almost always makes use of Scripture read inside the wider theological tradition of Christianity.
John Wesley himself contended that a part of the theological method would involve experiential faith.
In other words, truth would be vivified in personal experience of Christians (overall, not individually), if it were really truth. And every doctrine must be able to be defended rationally. He did not divorce
faith
Faith, derived from Latin ''fides'' and Old French ''feid'', is confidence or trust in a person, thing, or In the context of religion, one can define faith as "belief in God or in the doctrines or teachings of religion".
Religious people often ...
from
reason
Reason is the capacity of consciously applying logic by drawing conclusions from new or existing information, with the aim of seeking the truth. It is closely associated with such characteristically human activities as philosophy, science, ...
. By reason, one asks questions of faith and seeks to understand God's action and will. Tradition, experience and reason, however, were subject always to Scripture, Wesley argued, because only there is the Word of God
revealed
Reveal or Revealed may refer to:
People
* Reveal (rapper) (born 1983), member of the British hip hop group Poisonous Poets
* James L. Reveal (1941–2015), American botanist
Arts, entertainment, and media Literature
* ''Revealed'', a 2013 novel ...
"so far as it is necessary for our salvation."
Prayer, worship, and liturgy
Early Methodism was known for its "almost monastic rigors, its living by rule,
ndits canonical hours of prayer".
It inherited from its
Anglican patrimony the rubrics of reciting the
Daily Office, which Methodist Christians were expected to
pray.
The first prayer book of Methodism, ''
The Sunday Service of the Methodists with other occasional Services'' thus included the canonical hours of both
Morning Prayer and Evening Prayer; these two fixed prayer times were observed everyday in
early Christianity
Early Christianity (up to the First Council of Nicaea in 325) spread from the Levant, across the Roman Empire, and beyond. Originally, this progression was closely connected to already established Jewish centers in the Holy Land and the Jewish ...
, individually on weekdays and corporately on the
Lord's Day.
Later Methodist liturgical books, such as the ''Methodist Worship Book'' (1999) provide for Morning Prayer and Evening Prayer to be prayed daily; the
United Methodist Church
The United Methodist Church (UMC) is a worldwide mainline Protestant denomination based in the United States, and a major part of Methodism. In the 19th century, its main predecessor, the Methodist Episcopal Church, was a leader in evangelical ...
encourages its communicants to pray the canonical hours as "one of the essential practices" of being a disciple of Jesus.
Some Methodist religious orders publish the Daily Office to be used for that community, for example, ''The Book of Offices and Services of The Order of Saint Luke'' contains the canonical hours to be prayed traditionally at
seven fixed prayer times:
Lauds
Lauds is a canonical hour of the Divine office. In the Roman Rite Liturgy of the Hours it is one of the major hours, usually held after Matins, in the early morning hours.
Name
The name is derived from the three last psalms of the psalter (148, ...
(6 am),
Terce
Terce is a canonical hour of the Divine Office. It consists mainly of psalms and is held around 9 a.m. Its name comes from Latin and refers to the third hour of the day after dawn. With Sext, None and Compline it belongs to the so-called "Little ...
(9 am),
Sext (12 pm),
None
None may refer to:
*Zero, the mathematical concept of the quantity "none"
*Empty set, the mathematical concept of the collection of things represented by "none"
*''none'', an indefinite pronoun in the English language
Music
* ''None'' (Meshuggah E ...
(3 pm),
Vespers
Vespers is a service of evening prayer, one of the canonical hours in Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, Catholic Church, Catholic (both Latin liturgical rites, Latin and Eastern Catholic Churches, Eastern), Lutheranism, Lutheran, and Anglican ...
(6 pm),
Compline
Compline ( ), also known as Complin, Night Prayer, or the Prayers at the End of the Day, is the final prayer service (or office) of the day in the Christian tradition of canonical hours, which are prayed at fixed prayer times.
The English wo ...
(9 pm) and
Vigil
A vigil, from the Latin ''vigilia'' meaning ''wakefulness'' (Greek: ''pannychis'', or ''agrypnia'' ), is a period of purposeful sleeplessness, an occasion for devotional watching, or an observance. The Italian word ''vigilia'' has become genera ...
(12 am).
![Wesley's Chapel during Wikimania 2014 by-RaBoe 68](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/7d/Wesley%27s_Chapel_during_Wikimania_2014_by-RaBoe_68.jpg)
With respect to public worship, Methodism was endowed by the Wesley brothers with worship characterised by a twofold practice: the ritual liturgy of the ''
Book of Common Prayer
The ''Book of Common Prayer'' (BCP) is the name given to a number of related prayer books used in the Anglican Communion and by other Christian churches historically related to Anglicanism. The original book, published in 1549 in the reign ...
'' on the one hand and the non-ritualistic preaching service on the other.
This twofold practice became distinctive of Methodism because worship in the Church of England was based, by law, solely on the ''Book of Common Prayer'' and worship in the
Nonconformist
Nonconformity or nonconformism may refer to:
Culture and society
* Insubordination, the act of willfully disobeying an order of one's superior
*Dissent, a sentiment or philosophy of non-agreement or opposition to a prevailing idea or entity
** ...
churches was almost exclusively that of "services of the word", i.e. preaching services, with
Holy Communion
The Eucharist (; from Greek , , ), also known as Holy Communion and the Lord's Supper, is a Christian rite that is considered a sacrament in most churches, and as an ordinance in others. According to the New Testament, the rite was instituted ...
being observed infrequently. John Wesley's influence meant that, in Methodism, the two practices were combined, a situation which remains characteristic of the denomination.
The
Lovefeast
An agape feast or lovefeast (also spelled love feast or love-feast, sometimes capitalized) is a communal meal shared among Christians. The name comes from ''agape'', a Greek term for 'love' in its broadest sense.
The lovefeast custom originat ...
, traditionally practiced quarterly, was another practice that characterized early Methodism as John Wesley taught that it was an apostolic ordinance.
Worship, hymnology, devotional and liturgical practices in Methodism were also influenced by
Lutheran Pietism
Pietism (), also known as Pietistic Lutheranism, is a movement within Lutheranism that combines its emphasis on biblical doctrine with an emphasis on individual piety and living a holy Christian life, including a social concern for the needy and ...
and, in turn, Methodist worship became influential in 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 ...
.
![Methodistcommunion2](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d8/Methodistcommunion2.jpg)
In America, the United Methodist Church and
Free Methodist Church, as well as the
Primitive Methodist Church
The Primitive Methodist Church is a Methodist Christian denomination with the holiness movement. It began in England in the early 19th century, with the influence of American evangelist Lorenzo Dow (1777–1834).
In the United States, the Primiti ...
and
Wesleyan Methodist Church, have a wide variety of forms of worship, ranging from
high church
The term ''high church'' refers to beliefs and practices of Christian ecclesiology, liturgy, and theology that emphasize formality and resistance to modernisation. Although used in connection with various Christian traditions, the term originate ...
to
low church in liturgical usage. When the Methodists in America were separated from the Church of England because of the American Revolution, John Wesley himself provided a revised version of the ''Book of Common Prayer'' called ''
'' (1784).
Today, the primary
liturgical books of the United Methodist Church are ''
The United Methodist Hymnal
''The United Methodist Hymnal'' is the hymnal used by The United Methodist Church. It was first published in 1989 as the first hymnal for The United Methodist Church after the 1968 merger of The Methodist Church with The Evangelical United Brethre ...
'' and ''
The United Methodist Book of Worship'' (1992). Congregations employ its liturgy and rituals as optional resources, but their use is not mandatory. These books contain the liturgies of the church that are generally derived from Wesley's ''Sunday Service'' and from the 20th-century
liturgical renewal movement.
The
British Methodist Church is less ordered or liturgical in worship, but makes use of the ''Methodist Worship Book'' (similar to the Church of England's ''
Common Worship
''Common Worship'' is the name given to the series of services authorised by the General Synod of the Church of England and launched on the first Sunday of Advent in 2000. It represents the most recent stage of development of the Liturgical Movemen ...
''), containing worship services (
liturgies) and rubrics for the celebration of other
rite Rite may refer to:
* Ritual, an established ceremonious act
* Rite of passage, a ceremonious act associated with social transition
Religion
* Rite (Christianity), a sacred ritual or liturgical tradition in various Christian denominations
* Catho ...
s, such as marriage. The ''Worship Book'' is also ultimately derived from Wesley's ''Sunday Service''.
A unique feature of American Methodism has been the observance of the
season
A season is a division of the year based on changes in weather, ecology, and the number of daylight hours in a given region. On Earth, seasons are the result of the axial parallelism of Earth's tilted orbit around the Sun. In temperate and pol ...
of
Kingdomtide, encompassing the last 13 weeks before Advent, thus dividing the long season after Pentecost into two distinct segments. During Kingdomtide, Methodist liturgy has traditionally emphasized charitable work and alleviating the suffering of the poor.
A second distinctive liturgical feature of Methodism is the use of
Covenant Services. Although practice varies between different national churches, most Methodist churches annually follow the call of John Wesley for a renewal of their
covenant with God. It is common, at least in British Methodism, for each congregation to normally hold an annual Covenant Service on the first convenient Sunday of the year, and Wesley's covenant prayer is still used, with minor modification, in the order of service:
As Wesley advocated outdoor evangelism,
revival services are a traditional worship practice of Methodism that are often held in churches, as well as at
camp meeting
The camp meeting is a form of Protestant Christian religious service originating in England and Scotland as an evangelical event in association with the communion season. It was held for worship, preaching and communion on the American frontier d ...
s,
brush arbor revival
A brush arbour revival, also known as brush arbour meeting, is a revival service that takes place under an open-sided shelter called an " arbour", which is "constructed of vertical poles driven into the ground with additional long poles laid acro ...
s, and
tent revival
A tent () is a shelter consisting of sheets of fabric or other material draped over, attached to a frame of poles or a supporting rope. While smaller tents may be free-standing or attached to the ground, large tents are usually anchored using g ...
s.
Membership
Traditionally, Methodist
connexions descending from the tradition of the
Methodist Episcopal Church
The Methodist Episcopal Church (MEC) was the oldest and largest Methodist denomination in the United States from its founding in 1784 until 1939. It was also the first religious denomination in the US to organize itself on a national basis. In ...
have a probationary period of six months before an individual is admitted into
church membership as a full member of a congregation.
Given the wide attendance at Methodist
revival meeting
A revival meeting is a series of Christian religious services held to inspire active members of a church body to gain new converts and to call sinners to repent. Nineteenth-century Baptist preacher Charles Spurgeon said, "Many blessings may come ...
s, many people started to attend Methodist services of worship regularly, though they had not yet committed to membership.
When they made that commitment, becoming a probationer was the first step and during this period, probationers "receive additional instruction and provide evidence of the seriousness of their faith and willingness to abide by church discipline before being accepted into full membership."
In addition to this, to be a probationary member of a Methodist congregation, a person traditionally requires an "earnest desire to be saved from
ne'ssins".
In the historic Methodist system, probationers were eligible to become members of
class meetings, where they could be further discipled in their faith.
Catechism
A catechism (; from grc, κατηχέω, "to teach orally") is a summary or exposition of doctrine and serves as a learning introduction to the Sacraments traditionally used in catechesis, or Christian religious teaching of children and adult c ...
s such as ''
The Probationer's Handbook
''The Probationer's Catechism'', also called ''The Probationer's Handbook'', is a catechism authored by Methodist divine S. Olin Garrison for probationary members of the Methodist Episcopal Church seeking full membership. First published in 1883 ...
'', authored by minister
Stephen O. Garrison
Stephen Olin Garrison (1853–1900) was a Methodist minister and scholar who developed ''The Probationer's Catechism'' for Methodist probationary members and founded Vineland Training School, The Training School in Vineland, New Jersey.
Personal ...
, have been used by probationers to learn the Methodist faith. After six months, probationers were examined before the Leaders and Stewards' Meeting (which consisted of
Class Leaders and
Stewards) where they were to provide "satisfactory assurance both of the correctness of his faith and of his willingness to observe and keep the rules of the church."
If probationers were able to do this, they were admitted as full members of the congregation by the
pastor
A pastor (abbreviated as "Pr" or "Ptr" , or "Ps" ) is the leader of a Christian congregation who also gives advice and counsel to people from the community or congregation. In Lutheranism, Catholicism, Eastern Orthodoxy, Oriental Orthodoxy and ...
.
Full members of a Methodist congregation "were obligated to attend worship services on a regular basis" and "were to abide by certain moral precepts, especially as they related to substance use, gambling, divorce, and immoral pastimes."
This practice continues in certain Methodist connexions, such as the Lumber River Conference of the Holiness Methodist Church, in which probationers must be examined by the pastor, class leader, and board for full membership, in addition to being
baptized
Baptism (from grc-x-koine, βάπτισμα, váptisma) is a form of ritual purification—a characteristic of many religions throughout time and geography. In Christianity, it is a Christian sacrament of initiation and adoption, almost ...
.
The same structure is found in the
African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church
African or Africans may refer to:
* Anything from or pertaining to the continent of Africa:
** People who are native to Africa, descendants of natives of Africa, or individuals who trace their ancestry to indigenous inhabitants of Africa
*** Ethn ...
, which teaches:
The pastor and class leader are to ensure "that all persons on probation be instructed in the Rules and Doctrines of The African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church before they are admitted to Full Membership" and that "probationers are expected to conform to the rules and usages of the Church, and to show evidence of their desire for fellowship in the Church".
After the six-month probation period, "A probationer may be admitted to full membership, provided he/she has served out his/her probation, has been baptized, recommended at the Leaders' Meeting, and, if none has been held according to law, recommended by the Leader, and, on examination by the Pastor before the Church as required in ¶600 has given satisfactory assurance both of the correctness of his/her faith, and of his/her willingess to observe and keep the rules of our Church."
The
Allegheny Wesleyan Methodist Connection admits to associate membership, by vote of the congregation, those who give affirmation to two questions: "1) Does the Lord now forgive your sins? 2) Will you acquaint yourself with the discipline of our connection and earnestly endeavor to govern your life by its rules as God shall give you understanding?"
Probationers who wish to become full members are examined by the advisory board before being received as such through four vows (on the
new birth,
entire sanctification
Christian perfection is the name given to theological concepts within some sects of Christianity that purport to describe a process of achieving spiritual maturity or perfection. The ultimate goal of this process is union with God characterized by ...
,
outward holiness
Outward holiness, or external holiness, is a Wesleyan–Arminian doctrine emphasizing modest dress and sober speech. It is a testimony of a Christian believer's regeneration, done in obedience to God. The doctrine is prevalent among denominations ...
, and assent to the
Articles of Religion) and a
covenant.
In the
United Methodist Church
The United Methodist Church (UMC) is a worldwide mainline Protestant denomination based in the United States, and a major part of Methodism. In the 19th century, its main predecessor, the Methodist Episcopal Church, was a leader in evangelical ...
, the process of becoming a professing member of a congregation is done through the taking membership vows (normatively in the rite of
confirmation
In Christian denominations that practice infant baptism, confirmation is seen as the sealing of the covenant created in baptism. Those being confirmed are known as confirmands. For adults, it is an affirmation of belief. It involves laying on ...
) after a period of instruction and receiving the sacrament of baptism.
It is the practice of certain Methodist connexions that when people become members of a congregation, they are offered the
Right Hand of Fellowship.
Methodists traditionally celebrate the
Covenant Renewal Service
The Covenant Renewal Service, or simply called the Covenant Service, was adapted by John Wesley, the founder of Methodism, for the purpose of the renewal of the Christian believer's covenant with God. Wesley's ''Directions for Renewing Our Covena ...
as the
watchnight service annually on New Year's Eve, in which members renew their
covenant with God and the Church.
Lifestyle
Early Methodists wore
plain dress
Plain dress is a practice among some religious groups, primarily some Christian churches in which people dress in clothes of traditional modest design, sturdy fabric, and conservative cut. It is intended to show acceptance of traditional gender ...
, with Methodist clergy condemning "high headdresses, ruffles, laces, gold, and 'costly apparel' in general".
John Wesley recommended that Methodists annually read his thoughts ''On Dress''; in that sermon, Wesley expressed his desire for Methodists: "Let me see, before I die, a Methodist congregation, full as plain dressed as a
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 ...
congregation". The 1858 Discipline of the
Wesleyan Methodist Connection
The Wesleyan Methodist Church was a Methodist denomination in the United States organized on May 13, 1841.
It was composed of ministers and laypeople who withdrew from the Methodist Episcopal Church because of disagreements regarding slavery, ...
thus stated that "we would ... enjoin on all who fear God plain dress".
Peter Cartwright, a Methodist
revivalist, stated that in addition to wearing plain dress, the early Methodists distinguished themselves from other members of society by
fasting
Fasting is the abstention from eating and sometimes drinking. From a purely physiological context, "fasting" may refer to the metabolic status of a person who has not eaten overnight (see " Breakfast"), or to the metabolic state achieved after ...
once a week,
abstaining from alcohol (teetotalism), and devoutly
observing the Sabbath.
Methodist
circuit riders were known for practicing the
spiritual discipline
A spiritual practice or spiritual discipline (often including spiritual exercises) is the regular or full-time performance of actions and activities undertaken for the purpose of inducing spiritual experiences and cultivating spiritual developme ...
of
mortifying the flesh as they "arose well before dawn for solitary prayer; they remained on their knees
without food or drink or physical comforts sometimes for hours on end".
The early Methodists did not participate in, and condemned, "worldly habits" including "playing cards, racing horses, gambling, attending the theater, dancing (both in frolics and balls), and cockfighting".
In Methodism, fasting is considered one of the
works of piety
"Works of piety", in Methodism, are certain spiritual disciplines that along with the "works of mercy", serve as a means of grace, and are necessary for Christian perfection. All Methodist Christians, laity and ordained, are expected to employ the ...
. The Directions Given to Band Societies (25 December 1744) by John Wesley mandate fasting and abstinence from meat on
all Fridays of the year (in remembrance of the crucifixion of Jesus).
Wesley himself also fasted before receiving Holy Communion "for the purpose of focusing his attention on God," and asked other Methodists to do the same.
Over time, many of these practices were gradually relaxed in mainline Methodism, although practices such as teetotalism and fasting are still very much encouraged, in addition to the current prohibition of gambling;
denominations of the
conservative holiness movement
The conservative holiness movement is a loosely defined group of theologically conservative Christian denominations with the majority being Methodists whose teachings are rooted in the theology of John Wesley, and a minority being Quakers (Frie ...
, such as the
Allegheny Wesleyan Methodist Connection and
Evangelical Methodist Church Conference
The Evangelical Methodist Church (EMC) is a Christian denomination in the Wesleyan-Holiness tradition headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana. The denomination reported 399 churches in the United States, Mexico, Burma/Myanmar, Canada, Philippines ...
, continue to reflect the spirit of the historic Methodist practice of wearing plain dress, with
members abstaining from the "wearing of apparel which does not modestly and properly clothe the person" and "refraining from the wearing of jewelry" and "superfluous ornaments
(including the wedding ring)".
The
Fellowship of Independent Methodist Churches, which continues to observe the
ordinance
Ordinance may refer to:
Law
* Ordinance (Belgium), a law adopted by the Brussels Parliament or the Common Community Commission
* Ordinance (India), a temporary law promulgated by the President of India on recommendation of the Union Cabinet
* ...
of
women's headcovering, stipulates "renouncing all vain pomp and glory" and "adorning oneself with modest attire." The General Rules of the Methodist Church in America, which are among the doctrinal standards of many Methodist Churches, promote first-day Sabbatarianism as they require "attending upon all the ordinances of God" including "the public worship of God" and prohibit "profaning the day of the Lord, either by doing ordinary work therein or by buying or selling".
Contemporary Methodist denominations
Methodism is a worldwide movement and Methodist churches are present on all populated continents.
[Cracknell and White (2005), ]
An Introduction to World Methodism
', p. 'i' (frontmatter) Although Methodism is declining in Great Britain and North America, it is growing in other places—at a rapid pace in, for example, South Korea. There is no single Methodist Church with universal juridical authority; Methodists belong to multiple independent denominations or "
connexions". The great majority of Methodists are members of denominations which are part of the
World Methodist Council, an international association of 80 Methodist, Wesleyan, and related
uniting denominations, representing about 80 million people.
Europe
![Jerusalemskirken in Copenhagen 2](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/10/Jerusalemskirken_in_Copenhagen_2.JPG)
Methodism is prevalent in the English-speaking world but it is also organized in mainland Europe, largely due to missionary activity of British and American Methodists. British missionaries were primarily responsible for establishing Methodism across Ireland and Italy.
Today the
United Methodist Church
The United Methodist Church (UMC) is a worldwide mainline Protestant denomination based in the United States, and a major part of Methodism. In the 19th century, its main predecessor, the Methodist Episcopal Church, was a leader in evangelical ...
(UMC)—a large denomination based in the United States—has a presence in Albania, Austria, Belarus, Belgium, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Croatia, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Moldova, North Macedonia, Norway, Poland, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, Sweden, Switzerland, and Ukraine. Collectively the European and Eurasian regions of the UMC constitute a little over 100,000 Methodists ().
Other smaller Methodist denominations exist in Europe.
Great Britain
The original body founded as a result of Wesley's work came to be known as the
Wesleyan Methodist Church.
Schism
A schism ( , , or, less commonly, ) is a division between people, usually belonging to an organization, movement, or religious denomination. The word is most frequently applied to a split in what had previously been a single religious body, suc ...
s within the original church, and independent
revivals
Revival most often refers to:
* Resuscitation of a person
*Language revival of an extinct language
* Revival (sports team) of a defunct team
*Revival (television) of a former television series
*Revival (theatre), a new production of a previously p ...
, led to the formation of a number of separate denominations calling themselves "Methodist". The largest of these were the
Primitive Methodists
The Primitive Methodist Church is a Methodist Christian denomination with the holiness movement. It began in England in the early 19th century, with the influence of American evangelist Lorenzo Dow (1777–1834).
In the United States, the Primiti ...
, deriving from a revival at
Mow Cop
Mow Cop is a village split between Cheshire and Staffordshire, and therefore divided between the North West England, North West and West Midlands (region), West Midlands regions of England. It is south of Manchester and north of Stoke-on-Trent ...
in
Staffordshire
Staffordshire (; postal abbreviation Staffs.) is a landlocked county in the West Midlands region of England. It borders Cheshire to the northwest, Derbyshire and Leicestershire to the east, Warwickshire to the southeast, the West Midlands Cou ...
, the
Bible Christians, and the
Methodist New Connexion. The original church adopted the name "Wesleyan Methodist" to distinguish it from these bodies. In 1907, a union of smaller groups with the Methodist New Connexion and Bible Christian Church brought about the
United Methodist Church
The United Methodist Church (UMC) is a worldwide mainline Protestant denomination based in the United States, and a major part of Methodism. In the 19th century, its main predecessor, the Methodist Episcopal Church, was a leader in evangelical ...
; then the three major streams of British Methodism
united in 1932 to form the present
Methodist Church of Great Britain.
The fourth-largest denomination in the country, the Methodist Church of Great Britain has about 202,000 members in 4,650 congregations.
![Wesley's Chapel](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c8/Wesley%27s_Chapel.jpg)
Early Methodism was particularly prominent in
Devon
Devon ( , historically known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South West England. The most populous settlement in Devon is the city of Plymouth, followed by Devon's county town, the city of Exeter. Devon is ...
and
Cornwall
Cornwall (; kw, Kernow ) is a historic county and ceremonial county in South West England. It is recognised as one of the Celtic nations, and is the homeland of the Cornish people. Cornwall is bordered to the north and west by the Atlantic ...
, which were key centers of activity by the
Bible Christian faction of Methodists. The Bible Christians produced many preachers, and sent many missionaries to Australia. Methodism also grew rapidly in the old mill towns of
Yorkshire
Yorkshire ( ; abbreviated Yorks), formally known as the County of York, is a Historic counties of England, historic county in northern England and by far the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its large area in comparison with other Eng ...
and
Lancashire
Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a historic county, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significantly.
The non-metropolitan county of Lancashi ...
, where the preachers stressed that the working classes were equal to the upper classes in the eyes of God. In Wales, three elements separately welcomed Methodism: Welsh-speaking, English-speaking, and
Calvinistic
Calvinism (also called the Reformed Tradition, Reformed Protestantism, Reformed Christianity, or simply Reformed) is a major branch of Protestantism that follows the theological tradition and forms of Christian practice set down by John Calv ...
.
British Methodists, in particular the Primitive Methodists, took a leading role in the
temperance movement
The temperance movement is a social movement promoting temperance or complete abstinence from consumption of alcoholic beverages. Participants in the movement typically criticize alcohol intoxication or promote teetotalism, and its leaders emph ...
of the 19th and early 20th centuries. Methodists saw alcoholic beverages, and alcoholism, as the root of many social ills and tried to persuade people to abstain from these. Temperance appealed strongly to the Methodist doctrines of sanctification and perfection. To this day, alcohol remains banned in Methodist premises, however this restriction no longer applies to domestic occasions in private homes (i.e. the minister may have a drink at home in the
manse
A manse () is a clergy house inhabited by, or formerly inhabited by, a minister, usually used in the context of Presbyterian, Methodist, Baptist and other Christian traditions.
Ultimately derived from the Latin ''mansus'', "dwelling", from '' ...
).
The choice to consume alcohol is now a personal decision for any member.
![2017 Methodist Central Hall](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c2/2017_Methodist_Central_Hall.jpg)
British Methodism does not have
bishops
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 ca ...
; however, it has always been characterised by a strong central organisation, the
Connexion
Connexion is a variant spelling of connection and may refer to:
Technology and Internet
* Connexion by Boeing, an in-flight online connectivity service
* Connexions (now called OpenStax CNX), a repository of open educational resources started at ...
, which holds an annual Conference (the church retains the 18th-century spelling ''connexion'' for many purposes). The Connexion is divided into Districts in the charge of the chair (who may be male or female). Methodist districts often correspond approximately, in geographical terms, to counties—as do Church of England
diocese
In Ecclesiastical polity, church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop.
History
In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided Roman province, pro ...
s. The districts are divided into
circuits governed by the Circuit Meeting and led and administrated principally by a superintendent minister.
Ministers
Minister may refer to:
* Minister (Christianity), a Christian cleric
** Minister (Catholic Church)
* Minister (government), a member of government who heads a ministry (government department)
** Minister without portfolio, a member of government w ...
are appointed to Circuits rather than to individual churches, although some large inner-city churches, known as "central halls", are designated as circuits in themselves—of these
Westminster Central Hall, opposite
Westminster Abbey
Westminster Abbey, formally titled the Collegiate Church of Saint Peter at Westminster, is an historic, mainly Gothic church in the City of Westminster, London, England, just to the west of the Palace of Westminster. It is one of the United ...
in central London, is the best known. Most circuits have fewer ministers than churches, and the majority of services are led by lay
local preacher
A Methodist local preacher, also known as a licensed preacher, is a layperson who has been accredited by the Methodist Church to lead worship and preach on a frequent basis. With separation from the Church of England by the end of the 18th century ...
s, or by supernumerary ministers (ministers who have retired, called supernumerary because they are not counted for official purposes in the numbers of ministers for the circuit in which they are listed). The superintendent and other ministers are assisted in the leadership and administration of the Circuit by circuit stewards– laypeople with particular skills who, who with the ministers, collectively form what is normally known as the Circuit Leadership Team.
The Methodist Council also helps to run a number of schools, including two
public school
Public school may refer to:
* State school (known as a public school in many countries), a no-fee school, publicly funded and operated by the government
* Public school (United Kingdom), certain elite fee-charging independent schools in England an ...
s in
East Anglia
East Anglia is an area in the East of England, often defined as including the counties of Norfolk, Suffolk and Cambridgeshire. The name derives from the Anglo-Saxon kingdom of the East Angles, a people whose name originated in Anglia, in ...
:
Culford School
Culford School is a co-educational independent day and boarding school for pupils age 1-18 in the village of Culford, miles north of Bury St Edmunds in Suffolk, England. The headmaster is a member of the Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Confer ...
and
the Leys School. It helps to promote an all round education with a strong Christian
ethos
Ethos ( or ) is a Greek word meaning "character" that is used to describe the guiding beliefs or ideals that characterize a community, nation, or ideology; and the balance between caution, and passion. The Greeks also used this word to refer to ...
.
Other Methodist denominations in Britain include: the
Free Methodist Church, the
Fellowship of Independent Methodist Churches, 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 ...
, and
The Salvation Army
The Salvation Army (TSA) is a Protestant church and an international charitable organisation headquartered in London, England. The organisation reports a worldwide membership of over 1.7million, comprising soldiers, officers and adherents col ...
, all of which are Methodist churches aligned 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 ...
, as well as the
Wesleyan Reform Union
The Wesleyan Reform Union is an independent Methodist Connexion founded in 1859 and based in the United Kingdom. The Union comprises around one hundred individual self-governing churches in England and Scotland. Beliefs are set out in a nine po ...
, an early secession from the Wesleyan Methodist Church, and the
Independent Methodist Connexion
The Independent Methodist Connexion is a British group of Nonconformist (Protestantism), Nonconformist congregations that have their roots in the 18th-century Evangelical Revival. It emphasises the equality of all members and independence of the ...
.
Ireland
![Chapel-athlone](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d4/Chapel-athlone.jpg)
John Wesley visited Ireland on at least twenty-four occasions and established classes and societies. The
Methodist Church in Ireland ( ir, Eaglais Mheitidisteach in Éirinn) today operates across both Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland on an all-Ireland basis. , there are around 50,000 Methodists across Ireland. The biggest concentration–13,171–is in
Belfast
Belfast ( , ; from ga, Béal Feirste , meaning 'mouth of the sand-bank ford') is the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan on the east coast. It is the 12th-largest city in the United Kingdo ...
, with 2,614 in
Dublin
Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of th ...
. , it is the fourth-largest denomination in Northern Ireland, with Methodists accounting for 3% of the population.
Eric Gallagher
Robert David Eric Gallagher CBE, (24 August 1913 – 30 December 1999) was President of the Methodist Church in Ireland during 1967.
In 1974 he was one of a group of Protestant clergymen who met with Provisional IRA officers in Feakle, County Cla ...
was the President of the Church in the 1970s, becoming a well-known figure in Irish politics. He was one of the group of Protestant churchmen who met with
Provisional IRA
The Irish Republican Army (IRA; ), also known as the Provisional Irish Republican Army, and informally as the Provos, was an Irish republicanism, Irish republican paramilitary organisation that sought to end British rule in Northern Ireland, fa ...
officers in
Feakle, County Clare
Feakle (historically ''Feakell'' and ''Fiakil'', from ) is a village in County Clare, Ireland, in the Roman Catholic parish of the same name.
Location
"Paroiste na fiacaile" means parish of the tooth. A legend says that the tooth of Mochonna, t ...
to try to broker peace. The meeting was unsuccessful due to a
Garda raid on the hotel.
In 1973, the
Fellowship of Independent Methodist Churches (FIMC) was established as a number of theologically conservative congregations departed both the
Methodist Church in Ireland and
Free Methodist Church due to what they perceived as the rise of
Modernism
Modernism is both a philosophy, philosophical and arts movement that arose from broad transformations in Western world, Western society during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The movement reflected a desire for the creation of new fo ...
in those denominations.
Italy
![Ponte - memoria Gavazzi e chiesa evangelica 1130333](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/28/Ponte_-_memoria_Gavazzi_e_chiesa_evangelica_1130333.JPG)
The
Italian Methodist Church ( it, Chiesa Metodista Italiana) is a small Protestant community in Italy, with around 7,000 members.
Since 1975, it is in a formal covenant of
partnership with the Waldensian Church, with a total of 45,000 members.
Waldensians
The Waldensians (also known as Waldenses (), Vallenses, Valdesi or Vaudois) are adherents of a church tradition that began as an ascetic movement within Western Christianity before the Reformation.
Originally known as the "Poor Men of Lyon" in ...
are a Protestant movement which started in
Lyon
Lyon,, ; Occitan: ''Lion'', hist. ''Lionés'' also spelled in English as Lyons, is the third-largest city and second-largest metropolitan area of France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of t ...
, France, in the late 1170s.
Italian Methodism has its origins in the Italian Free Church, British
Wesleyan Methodist Missionary Society, and the
American Methodist Episcopal Mission
American Methodist Episcopal Mission (AMEM; also known as Board of Foreign Missions of the Methodist Episcopal Church EFB was the missionary society of the Methodist Episcopal Church that was involved in sending workers to countries such as C ...
. These movements flowered in the second half of the 19th century in the new climate of political and religious freedom that was established with the end of the
Papal States
The Papal States ( ; it, Stato Pontificio, ), officially the State of the Church ( it, Stato della Chiesa, ; la, Status Ecclesiasticus;), were a series of territories in the Italian Peninsula under the direct sovereign rule of the pope fro ...
and unification of Italy in 1870.
Bertrand M. Tipple
Bertrand Martin Tipple (1 December 1868 – 19 October 1952) was a Methodist writer, lecturer, and the founder and president of Methodist International College in Rome, Italy.
Biography
Bertrand M. Tipple was born at Camden, Oneida County, Ne ...
, minister of the American Methodist Church in Rome, founded a college there in 1914.
In April 2016, the World Methodist Council opened an Ecumenical Office in Rome. Methodist leaders and the leader of the Roman Catholic Church,
Pope Francis
Pope Francis ( la, Franciscus; it, Francesco; es, link=, Francisco; born Jorge Mario Bergoglio, 17 December 1936) is the head of the Catholic Church. He has been the bishop of Rome and sovereign of the Vatican City State since 13 March 2013. ...
, jointly dedicated the new office. It helps facilitate Methodist relationships with the wider Church, especially the Roman Catholic Church.
Nordic and Baltic countries
![Methodist Church in Hammerfest](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c6/Methodist_Church_in_Hammerfest.jpg)
The "Nordic and Baltic Area" of the United Methodist Church covers the
Nordic countries
The Nordic countries (also known as the Nordics or ''Norden''; literal translation, lit. 'the North') are a geographical and cultural region in Northern Europe and the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic. It includes the sovereign states of Denmar ...
(Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Finland) and the
Baltic countries
The Baltic states, et, Balti riigid or the Baltic countries is a geopolitical term, which currently is used to group three countries: Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania. All three countries are members of NATO, the European Union, the Eurozone, ...
(Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania). Methodism was introduced to the Nordic countries in the late 19th century.
Today the
United Methodist Church in Norway
United Methodist Church in Norway ( no, Metodistkirken i Norge) is an annual meeting of the United Methodist Church covering Norway. It consists of 46 congregations and had 10,684 members in 2014.
Norway's first Methodist was Ole Peter Petersen ...
( no, Metodistkirken) is the largest annual meeting in the region with 10,684 members in total ().
The
United Methodist Church in Sweden
The United Methodist Church in Sweden ( sv, Metodistkyrkan i Sverige) was a Protestant Christian denomination that existed in Sweden between 1868 and 2012. The church participated in creating the Uniting Church in Sweden
Uniting Church in Swed ...
( sv, Metodistkyrkan) joined the
Uniting Church in Sweden
Uniting Church in Sweden ( sv, Equmeniakyrkan) is a united Protestant denomination in Sweden.
History
It was established on 4 June 2011 by the merger of the United Methodist Church, Baptist Union of Sweden, and Mission Covenant Church of Sweden ...
in 2011.
France
The French Methodist movement was founded in the 1820s by Charles Cook in the village of
Congénies
Congénies (; oc, Congènhas) is a commune in the Gard department in southern France.
It is situated between Nîmes, Montpellier, the Cévennes and the Camargue and has a strong Quaker history. Congénies possesses the only and oldest purpose ...
in
Languedoc
The Province of Languedoc (; , ; oc, Lengadòc ) is a former province of France.
Most of its territory is now contained in the modern-day region of Occitanie in Southern France. Its capital city was Toulouse. It had an area of approximately ...
near
Nîmes
Nîmes ( , ; oc, Nimes ; Latin: ''Nemausus'') is the prefecture of the Gard department in the Occitanie region of Southern France. Located between the Mediterranean Sea and Cévennes, the commune of Nîmes has an estimated population of 148,5 ...
and
Montpellier
Montpellier (, , ; oc, Montpelhièr ) is a city in southern France near the Mediterranean Sea. One of the largest urban centres in the region of Occitania (administrative region), Occitania, Montpellier is the prefecture of the Departments of ...
. The most important chapel of department was built in 1869, where there had been a
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 ...
community since the 18th century. Sixteen Methodist congregations voted to join the
Reformed Church of France in 1938.
In the 1980s, missionary work of a Methodist church in
Agen
The communes of France, commune of Agen (, ; ) is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Lot-et-Garonne Departments of France, department in Nouvelle-Aquitaine, southwestern France. It lies on the river Garonne southeast of Bordeaux.
...
led to new initiatives in
Fleurance
Fleurance (; oc, Florença) is a commune in the Gers department in southwestern France.
Geography
Population
See also
*Communes of the Gers department
The following is a list of the 461 communes of the Gers department of France.
The ...
and
Mont de Marsan
Mont-de-Marsan (; Occitan: ''Lo Mont de Marçan'') is a commune and capital of the Landes department, Nouvelle-Aquitaine, southwestern France.
Population
Military installations
The French Air and Space Force operates the ''Constantin Rozanof ...
.
Methodism exists today in France under various names. The best-known is the Union of Evangelical Methodist Churches (french: l'Union de l'Eglise Evangélique Méthodiste) or UEEM. It is an autonomous regional conference of the United Methodist Church and is the fruit of a fusion in 2005 between the "Methodist Church of France" and the "Union of Methodist Churches". , the UEEM has around 1,200 members and 30 ministers.
Germany
![Evangelisch-methodistische Kirche Eningen unter Achalm](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4e/Evangelisch-methodistische_Kirche_Eningen_unter_Achalm.jpg)
In Germany, Switzerland and Austria, ''Evangelisch-methodistische Kirche'' is the name of the
United Methodist Church
The United Methodist Church (UMC) is a worldwide mainline Protestant denomination based in the United States, and a major part of Methodism. In the 19th century, its main predecessor, the Methodist Episcopal Church, was a leader in evangelical ...
. The German part of the church had about 52,031 members .
Members are organized into three annual conferences: north, east and south.
All three annual conferences belong to the ''Germany Central Conference''.
Methodism is most prevalent in southern
Saxony
Saxony (german: Sachsen ; Upper Saxon: ''Saggsn''; hsb, Sakska), officially the Free State of Saxony (german: Freistaat Sachsen, links=no ; Upper Saxon: ''Freischdaad Saggsn''; hsb, Swobodny stat Sakska, links=no), is a landlocked state of ...
and around
Stuttgart
Stuttgart (; Swabian: ; ) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Baden-Württemberg. It is located on the Neckar river in a fertile valley known as the ''Stuttgarter Kessel'' (Stuttgart Cauldron) and lies an hour from the ...
.
A Methodist missionary returning from Britain introduced (British) Methodism to Germany in 1830, initially in the region of
Württemberg
Württemberg ( ; ) is a historical German territory roughly corresponding to the cultural and linguistic region of Swabia. The main town of the region is Stuttgart.
Together with Baden and Hohenzollern, two other historical territories, Würt ...
. Methodism was also spread in Germany through the missionary work of the
Methodist Episcopal Church
The Methodist Episcopal Church (MEC) was the oldest and largest Methodist denomination in the United States from its founding in 1784 until 1939. It was also the first religious denomination in the US to organize itself on a national basis. In ...
which began in 1849 in
Bremen
Bremen (Low German also: ''Breem'' or ''Bräm''), officially the City Municipality of Bremen (german: Stadtgemeinde Bremen, ), is the capital of the German state Free Hanseatic City of Bremen (''Freie Hansestadt Bremen''), a two-city-state consis ...
, soon spreading to
Saxony
Saxony (german: Sachsen ; Upper Saxon: ''Saggsn''; hsb, Sakska), officially the Free State of Saxony (german: Freistaat Sachsen, links=no ; Upper Saxon: ''Freischdaad Saggsn''; hsb, Swobodny stat Sakska, links=no), is a landlocked state of ...
and other parts of Germany. Other Methodist missionaries of the
Evangelical Association went near Stuttgart (Württemberg) in 1850.
Further Methodist missionaries of the
Church of the United Brethren in Christ
The Church of the United Brethren in Christ is an evangelical Christian denomination with churches in 17 countries. It is Protestant, with an episcopal structure and Arminian theology, with roots in the Mennonite and German Reformed communiti ...
worked in
Franconia
Franconia (german: Franken, ; Franconian dialect: ''Franggn'' ; bar, Frankn) is a region of Germany, characterised by its culture and Franconian dialect (German: ''Fränkisch'').
The three administrative regions of Lower, Middle and Upper Fr ...
and other parts of Germany from 1869 until 1905. So Methodism has four roots in Germany.
Early opposition towards Methodism was partly rooted in theological differences — northern and eastern regions of Germany were predominantly Lutheran and Reformed, and Methodists were dismissed as fanatics. Methodism was also hindered by its unfamiliar church structure (Connectionalism), which was more centralised than the hierarchical polity in the Lutheran and Reformed churches. After
World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
, the 1919
Weimar Constitution
The Constitution of the German Reich (german: Die Verfassung des Deutschen Reichs), usually known as the Weimar Constitution (''Weimarer Verfassung''), was the constitution that governed Germany during the Weimar Republic era (1919–1933). The c ...
allowed Methodists to worship freely and many new chapels were established. In 1936, German Methodists elected their first bishop.
Hungary
The first Methodist mission in Hungary was established in 1898 in
Bácska, in a then mostly German-speaking town of
Verbász
Vrbas ( sr-Cyrl, Врбас; hu, Verbász) is a town and municipality located in the South Bačka District of the autonomous province of Vojvodina, Serbia. As of 2011, the town had a population of 24,112, while the municipality had 42,092 inhabita ...
(since 1918 part of the Serbian province of
Vojvodina). In 1905 a Methodist mission was established also in
Budapest
Budapest (, ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Hungary. It is the ninth-largest city in the European Union by population within city limits and the second-largest city on the Danube river; the city has an estimated population ...
. In 1974, a group later known as the
Hungarian Evangelical Fellowship
The Hungarian Evangelical Fellowship (HEF=''Magyarországi Evangéliumi Testvérközösség – MET'') is a Christian church of the Methodist confession. The Hungarian Evangelical Fellowship accepts spiritual affinity with the Methodists of the 1 ...
seceded from the Hungarian Methodist Church over the question of interference by the communist state.
, the United Methodist Church in Hungary, known locally as the Hungarian Methodist Church ( hu,
Magyarországi Metodista Egyház), has 453 professing members in 30 congregations. It runs two student homes, two homes for the elderly, the Forray Methodist High School, the Wesley Scouts and the Methodist Library and Archives. The church has a special ministry among the
Roma
Roma or ROMA may refer to:
Places Australia
* Roma, Queensland, a town
** Roma Airport
** Roma Courthouse
** Electoral district of Roma, defunct
** Town of Roma, defunct town, now part of the Maranoa Regional Council
*Roma Street, Brisbane, a ...
.
The seceding Hungarian Evangelical Fellowship () also remains Methodist in its organisation and theology. It has eight full congregations and several mission groups, and runs a range of charitable organisations: hostels and soup kitchens for the homeless, a non-denominational theological college, a dozen schools of various kinds, and four old people's homes.
Today there are a dozen Methodist/Wesleyan churches and mission organisations in Hungary, but all Methodist churches lost official church status under new legislation passed in 2011, when the number of officially recognized churches in the country fell to 14. However, the list of recognized churches was lengthened to 32 at the end of February 2012. This gave recognition to Hungarian Methodist Church and the
Salvation Army
Salvation (from Latin: ''salvatio'', from ''salva'', 'safe, saved') is the state of being saved or protected from harm or a dire situation. In religion and theology, ''salvation'' generally refers to the deliverance of the soul from sin and its c ...
, which was banned in Hungary in 1949 but had returned in 1990, but not to the Hungarian Evangelical Fellowship. The legislation has been strongly criticised by the
Venice Commission of the
Council of Europe
The Council of Europe (CoE; french: Conseil de l'Europe, ) is an international organisation founded in the wake of World War II to uphold European Convention on Human Rights, human rights, democracy and the Law in Europe, rule of law in Europe. ...
as discriminatory.
The Hungarian Methodist Church, the Salvation Army and the Church of the Nazarene and other Wesleyan groups formed the Wesley Theological Alliance for theological and publishing purposes in 1998. Today the Alliance has 10 Wesleyan member churches and organisations. The Hungarian Evangelical Fellowship does not belong to it and has its own publishing arm.
Russia
The Methodist Church established several strongholds in Russia—
Saint Petersburg
Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...
in the west and the
Vladivostok
Vladivostok ( rus, Владивосто́к, a=Владивосток.ogg, p=vɫədʲɪvɐˈstok) is the largest city and the administrative center of Primorsky Krai, Russia. The city is located around the Zolotoy Rog, Golden Horn Bay on the Sea ...
region in the east, with big Methodist centres right in the middle, in
Moscow
Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...
and
Ekaterinburg (former Sverdlovsk). Methodists began their work in the west among Swedish immigrants in 1881 and started their work in the east in 1910.
On 26 June 2009, Methodists celebrated the 120th year since Methodism arrived in Czarist Russia by erecting a new Methodist centre in Saint Petersburg.
A Methodist presence was continued in Russia for 14 years after the
Russian Revolution of 1917 through the efforts of
Deaconess Anna Eklund
The ministry of a deaconess is, in modern times, a usually non-ordained ministry for women in some Protestant, Oriental Orthodox, and Eastern Orthodox churches to provide pastoral care, especially for other women, and which may carry a limited ...
.
In 1939, political antagonism stymied the work of the Church and Deaconess Anna Eklund was coerced to return to her native Finland.
After 1989, the Soviet Union allowed greatly increased religious freedoms
and this continued after the USSR's collapse in 1991. During the 1990s, Methodism experienced a powerful wave of revival in the nation.
Three sites in particular carried the torch—Samara, Moscow and Ekaterinburg. , the United Methodist Church in Eurasia comprised 116 congregations, each with a native pastor. There are currently 48 students enrolled in residential and extension degree programs at the United Methodist Seminary in Moscow.
Caribbean
Methodism came to the Caribbean in 1760 when the planter, lawyer and Speaker of the Antiguan House of Assembly,
Nathaniel Gilbert
, nickname =
{{Plainlist,
* Nat
* Nate
, footnotes =
Nathaniel is an English variant of the biblical Greek name Nathanael.
People with the name Nathaniel
* Nathaniel Archibald (1952–2018), American basketball player
* Nate A ...
(c. 1719–1774), returned to his sugar estate home in Antigua.
[Blackman, Francis 'Woodie' ''John Wesley 300: Pioneers, Preachers and Practitioners'' (Barbados: Dalkeith Methodist Church, 2003, 89 pp, )] A Methodist revival spread in the
British West Indies due to the work of British missionaries.
Missionaries established societies which would later become the
Methodist Church in the Caribbean and the Americas The Methodist Church in the Caribbean and Americas is a Methodist denomination in Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, Aruba, the Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Bonaire, the British & the US Virgin Islands, the Cayman Islands, Costa Rica, Curaçao, Dominica, ...
(MCCA). The MCCA has about 62,000 members in over 700 congregations, ministered by 168 pastors.
There are smaller Methodist denominations that have seceded from the parent church.
Antigua
The story is often told that in 1755, Nathaniel Gilbert, while convalescing, read a treatise of John Wesley, ''An Appeal to Men of Reason and Religion'' sent to him by his brother Francis. As a result of having read this book Gilbert, two years later, journeyed to England with three of his slaves and there in a drawing room meeting arranged in Wandsworth on 15 January 1759, met the preacher John Wesley. He returned to the Caribbean that same year and on his subsequent return began to preach to his slaves in Antigua.
When Gilbert died in 1774 his work in Antigua was continued by his brother Francis Gilbert to approximately 200 Methodists. However, within a year Francis took ill and had to return to Britain and the work was carried on by Sophia Campbell ("a Negress") and Mary Alley ("a Mulatto"), two devoted women who kept the flock together with class and
prayer meetings as best as they could.
![Baxter Memorial Methodist Church - panoramio](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b6/Baxter_Memorial_Methodist_Church_-_panoramio.jpg)
On 2 April 1778, John Baxter, a local preacher and skilled shipwright from
Chatham
Chatham may refer to:
Places and jurisdictions Canada
* Chatham Islands (British Columbia)
* Chatham Sound, British Columbia
* Chatham, New Brunswick, a former town, now a neighbourhood of Miramichi
* Chatham (electoral district), New Brunswic ...
in
Kent
Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...
, England, landed at
English Harbour
English Harbour is a natural harbour and settlement on the island of Antigua in the Caribbean, in the extreme south of the island. The settlement takes its name from the nearby harbour in which the Royal Navy established its base of operations ...
in Antigua (now called Nelson's Dockyard) where he was offered a post at the naval dockyard. Baxter was a Methodist and had heard of the work of the Gilberts and their need for a new preacher. He began preaching and meeting with the Methodist leaders, and within a year the Methodist community had grown to 600 persons. By 1783, the first Methodist chapel was built in Antigua, with John Baxter as the local preacher, its wooden structure seating some 2,000 people.
St. Bart's
In 1785, William Turton (1761–1817) a Barbadian son of a planter, met John Baxter in Antigua, and later, as layman, assisted in the Methodist work in the Swedish colony of St. Bartholomew from 1796.
In 1786, the missionary endeavour in the Caribbean was officially recognized by the Methodist Conference in England, and that same year
Thomas Coke, having been made Superintendent of the church two years previously in America by Wesley, was travelling to
Nova Scotia
Nova Scotia ( ; ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. Nova Scotia is Latin for "New Scotland".
Most of the population are native Eng ...
, but weather forced his ship to Antigua.
Jamaica
In 1818 Edward Fraser (1798 – Aft. 1850), a privileged Barbadian slave, moved to Bermuda and subsequently met the new minister James Dunbar. The Nova Scotia Methodist Minister noted young Fraser's sincerity and commitment to his congregation and encouraged him by appointing him as assistant. By 1827 Fraser assisted in building a new chapel. He was later freed and admitted to the Methodist Ministry to serve in Antigua and Jamaica.
Barbados
Following
William J. Shrewsbury's preaching in the 1820s,
Sarah Ann Gill
Sarah Ann Gill (probably 1780 – 25 February 1866) was a social and religious leader in Barbados during the era of slavery. By an act of the Barbadian Parliament in 1998, she was named a National Hero of Barbados.
Biography
She was born of a b ...
(1779–1866), a free-born black woman, used
civil disobedience
Civil disobedience is the active, professed refusal of a citizen to obey certain laws, demands, orders or commands of a government (or any other authority). By some definitions, civil disobedience has to be nonviolent to be called "civil". Hen ...
in an attempt to thwart magistrate rulings that prevented parishioners holding prayer meetings. In hopes of building a new chapel, she paid an extraordinary £1,700-0s–0d and ended up having militia appointed by the Governor to protect her home from demolition.
[Blackman, Francis, ''National heroine of Barbados: Sarah Ann Gill'' (Barbados: Methodist Church, 1998, 27 pp)]
In 1884 an attempt was made at autonomy with the formation of two West Indian Conferences, however by 1903 the venture had failed. It was not until the 1960s that another attempt was made at autonomy. This second attempt resulted in the emergence of the Methodist Church in the Caribbean and the Americas in May 1967.
Francis Godson (1864–1953), a Methodist minister, who having served briefly in several of the Caribbean islands, eventually immersed himself in helping those in hardship of the
First World War
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
in Barbados. He was later appointed to the
Legislative Council of Barbados
The Senate of Barbados is the upper house of the bicameral Parliament of Barbados. The Senate is accorded legitimacy by Chapter V of the Constitution of Barbados. It is the smaller of the two chambers. The Senate was established in 1964 to repl ...
, and fought for the rights of
pensioners. He was later followed by renowned Barbadian
Augustus Rawle Parkinson
Caesar Augustus (born Gaius Octavius; 23 September 63 BC – 19 August AD 14), also known as Octavian, was the first Roman emperor; he reigned from 27 BC until his death in AD 14. He is known for being the founder of the Roman Pri ...
(1864–1932), who also was the first principal of the Wesley Hall School,
Bridgetown
Bridgetown (UN/LOCODE: BB BGI) is the capital and largest city of Barbados
Barbados is an island country in the Lesser Antilles of the West Indies, in the Caribbean region of the Americas, and the most easterly of the Caribbean Island ...
in Barbados (which celebrated its 125th anniversary in September 2009).
In more recent times in Barbados, Victor Alphonso Cooke (born 1930) and Lawrence Vernon Harcourt Lewis (born 1932) are strong influences on the Methodist Church on the island.
Their contemporary and late member of the Dalkeith Methodist Church, was the former secretary of the
University of the West Indies
The University of the West Indies (UWI), originally University College of the West Indies, is a public university system established to serve the higher education needs of the residents of 17 English-speaking countries and territories in th ...
, consultant of the ''Canadian Training Aid Programme'' and a man of letters –
Francis Woodbine Blackman
Francis Woodbine Blackman (21 September 1922 – 6 July 2010) was a Caribbean author, former secretary of the University of the West Indies Cave Hill Campus, a member of the Dalkeith Methodist Church, and a retired consultant of the Canadian T ...
(1922–2010). It was his research and published works that enlightened much of this information on Caribbean Methodism.
Africa
Most Methodist denominations in Africa follow the British Methodist tradition and see the
Methodist Church of Great Britain as their mother church. Originally modelled on the British structure, since independence most of these churches have adopted an
episcopal model.
Nigeria
The Nigerian Methodist Church is one of the largest Methodist denominations in the world and one of the largest Christian churches in Nigeria, with around two million members in 2000 congregations.
It has seen exponential growth since the turn of the millennium.
Christianity was established in Nigeria with the arrival in 1842 of a
Wesleyan Methodist missionary.
He had come in response to the request for missionaries by the
ex-slaves who returned to Nigeria from Sierra Leone. From the mission stations established in
Badagry
Badagry (traditionally Gbagli) also spelled Badagri, is a coastal town and Local Government Area (LGA) in Lagos State, Nigeria. It is quite close to the city of Lagos, and located on the north bank of Porto Novo Creek, an inland waterway that con ...
and
Abeokuta, the Methodist church spread to various parts of the country west of the River Niger and part of the north. In 1893 missionaries of the
Primitive Methodist Church
The Primitive Methodist Church is a Methodist Christian denomination with the holiness movement. It began in England in the early 19th century, with the influence of American evangelist Lorenzo Dow (1777–1834).
In the United States, the Primiti ...
arrived from Fernando Po, an island off the southern coast of Nigeria. From there the Methodist Church spread to other parts of the country, east of the River Niger and also to parts of the north. The church west of the River Niger and part of the north was known as the Western Nigeria District and east of the Niger and another part of the north as the Eastern Nigeria District. Both existed independently of each other until 1962 when they constituted the Conference of Methodist Church Nigeria. The conference is composed of seven districts. The church has continued to spread into new areas and has established a department for evangelism and appointed a director of evangelism. An
episcopal system adopted in 1976 was not fully accepted by all sections of the church until the two sides came together and resolved to end the disagreement. A new constitution was ratified in 1990. The system is still episcopal but the points which caused discontent were amended to be acceptable to both sides. Today, the Nigerian Methodist Church has a prelate, eight archbishops and 44 bishops.
Ghana
Methodist Church Ghana is one of the largest Methodist denominations, with around 800,000 members in 2,905 congregations, ministered by 700 pastors.
It has fraternal links with the British Methodist and United Methodist churches worldwide.
Methodism in Ghana came into existence as a result of the missionary activities of the
Wesleyan Methodist Church, inaugurated with the arrival of Joseph Rhodes Dunwell to the
Gold Coast
Gold Coast may refer to:
Places Africa
* Gold Coast (region), in West Africa, which was made up of the following colonies, before being established as the independent nation of Ghana:
** Portuguese Gold Coast (Portuguese, 1482–1642)
** Dutch G ...
in 1835. Like the mother church, the Methodist Church in Ghana was established by people of Protestant background. Roman Catholic and Anglican missionaries came to the Gold Coast from the 15th century. A school was established in Cape Coast by the Anglicans during the time of Philip Quaque, a Ghanaian priest. Those who came out of this school had Bible copies and study supplied by the
Society for the Propagation of Christian Knowledge. A member of the resulting Bible study groups, William De-Graft, requested Bibles through Captain Potter of the ship ''Congo''. Not only were Bibles sent, but also a Methodist missionary. In the first eight years of the Church's life, 11 out of 21 missionaries who worked in the Gold Coast died.
Thomas Birch Freeman
Thomas Birch Freeman (6 December 1809 in Twyford, Hampshire – 12 August 1890 in Accra) was an Anglo-African Wesleyan minister, missionary, botanist and colonial official in West Africa. He is widely regarded as a pioneer of the Methodist Chur ...
, who arrived at the Gold Coast in 1838 was a pioneer of missionary expansion. Between 1838 and 1857 he carried Methodism from the coastal areas to
Kumasi
Kumasi (historically spelled Comassie or Coomassie, usually spelled Kumase in Twi) is a city in the Ashanti Region, and is among the largest metropolitan areas in Ghana. Kumasi is located in a rain forest region near Lake Bosomtwe, and is the ...
in the
Asante hinterland of the Gold Coast. He also established Methodist Societies in Badagry and AbeoKuta in Nigeria with the assistance of William De-Graft.
By 1854, the church was organized into circuits constituting a district with T. B. Freeman as chairman. Freeman was replaced in 1856 by William West. The district was divided and extended to include areas in the then Gold Coast and Nigeria by the synod in 1878, a move confirmed at the British Conference. The district were Gold Coast District, with T.R. Picot as chairman and Yoruba and Popo District, with John Milum as chairman. Methodist evangelisation of northern Gold Coast began in 1910. After a long period of conflict with the colonial government, missionary work was established in 1955. Paul Adu was the first indigenous missionary to northern Gold Coast.
In July 1961, the Methodist Church in Ghana became autonomous, and was called the Methodist Church Ghana, based on a deed of foundation, part of the church's ''Constitution and Standing Orders''.
Southern Africa
![Methodist Mission Church, Leliefontein](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f6/Methodist_Mission_Church%2C_Leliefontein.jpg)
The
Methodist Church
Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a group of historically related Christian denomination, denominations of Protestantism, Protestant Christianity whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John W ...
operates across South Africa, Namibia, Botswana, Lesotho and Swaziland, with a limited presence in Zimbabwe and Mozambique. It is a member church of the
World Methodist Council.
Methodism in
Southern Africa
Southern Africa is the southernmost subregion of the African continent, south of the Congo and Tanzania. The physical location is the large part of Africa to the south of the extensive Congo River basin. Southern Africa is home to a number of ...
began as a result of lay Christian work by an Irish soldier of the English Regiment, John Irwin, who was stationed at the Cape and began to hold prayer meetings as early as 1795. The first Methodist lay preacher at the Cape, George Middlemiss, was a soldier of the 72nd regiment of the British Army stationed at the Cape in 1805. This foundation paved the way for missionary work by Methodist missionary societies from Great Britain, many of whom sent missionaries with the 1820 English settlers to the Western and Eastern Cape. Among the most notable of the early missionaries were Barnabas Shaw and William Shaw. The largest group was the Wesleyan Methodist Church, but there were a number of others that joined to form the Methodist Church of South Africa, later known as the Methodist Church of Southern Africa.
The Methodist Church of Southern Africa is the largest
mainline Protestant
The mainline Protestant churches (also called mainstream Protestant and sometimes oldline Protestant) are a group of Protestant denominations in the United States that contrast in history and practice with evangelical, fundamentalist, and charis ...
denomination in South Africa—7.3% of the South African population recorded their religious affiliation as 'Methodist' in the last national census.
Asia
China
![Flower lane church 2010](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/96/Flower_lane_church_2010.jpg)
Methodism was brought to China in the autumn of 1847 by the
Methodist Episcopal Church
The Methodist Episcopal Church (MEC) was the oldest and largest Methodist denomination in the United States from its founding in 1784 until 1939. It was also the first religious denomination in the US to organize itself on a national basis. In ...
. The first missionaries sent out were
Judson Dwight Collins and
Moses Clark White, who sailed from
Boston
Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...
15 April 1847, and reached
Foochow 6 September. They were followed by Henry Hickok and
Robert Samuel Maclay, who arrived 15 April 1848. In 1857, it baptised the first convert in connection with its labours. In August 1856, a brick built church, called the "Church of the True God" (真神堂), the first substantial church building erected at Foochow by Protestant Missions, was dedicated to the worship of God. In the winter of the same year another brick built church, located on the hill in the suburbs on the south bank of the
Min
Min or MIN may refer to:
Places
* Fujian, also called Mǐn, a province of China
** Min Kingdom (909–945), a state in Fujian
* Min County, a county of Dingxi, Gansu province, China
* Min River (Fujian)
* Min River (Sichuan)
* Mineola (Amtrak ...
, was finished and dedicated, called the "
Church of Heavenly Peace" (天安堂). In 1862, the number of members was 87. The Foochow Conference was organized by
Isaac W. Wiley
Isaac William Wiley (; Pinyin: ''Huáilǐ''; Foochow Romanized: ''Huài-lā̤''; 29 March 1825 – 22 November 1884) was an American who distinguished himself as a physician, a Methodist missionary to China, a pastor, as the president of a se ...
on 6 December 1867, by which time the number of members and probationers had reached 2,011.
Hok Chau 周學 (also known as Lai-Tong Chau, 周勵堂) was the first Chinese ordained minister of the South China District of the Methodist Church (incumbent 1877–1916).
Benjamin Hobson
Benjamin Hobson (1816–1873) (Chinese:合信) was a Protestantism in China, Protestant Medical missions in China, medical missionary who served with the London Missionary Society in imperial China during its Qing Dynasty, Qing list of Chinese dy ...
(1816–1873), a medical missionary sent by the
London Missionary Society in 1839, set up a highly successful Wai Ai Clinic (惠愛醫館)
Liang Fa (Leung Fat in Cantonese, 梁發, 1789–1855, ordained by the
London Missionary Society), Hok Chau and others worked there. Liang (age 63) baptized Chau (quite young) in 1852. The Methodist Church based in Britain sent missionary
George Piercy
George may refer to:
People
* George (given name)
* George (surname)
* George (singer), American-Canadian singer George Nozuka, known by the mononym George
* George Washington, First President of the United States
* George W. Bush, 43rd President ...
to China. In 1851, Piercy went to Guangzhou (Canton), where he worked in a trading company. In 1853, he started a church in Guangzhou. In 1877, Chau was ordained by the Methodist Church, where he pastored for 39 years.
![Wuhan - former Methodist School - P1050047](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/7b/Wuhan_-_former_Methodist_School_-_P1050047.JPG)
In 1867, the mission sent out the first missionaries to Central China, who began work at
Kiukiang. In 1869, missionaries were also sent to the
capital city
A capital city or capital is the municipality holding primary status in a country, state, province, Department (country subdivision), department, or other subnational entity, usually as its seat of the government. A capital is typically a city ...
Peking, where they laid the foundations of the work of the North China Mission. In November 1880, the
West China Mission was established in
Sichuan Province. In 1896, the work in the Hinghua prefecture (modern-day
Putian
Putian or Putien (, Putian dialect: ''Pó-chéng''), also known as Puyang (莆阳) and Puxian (莆仙), historically known as Xinghua or Hing Hwa (), is a prefecture-level city in eastern Fujian province, China. It borders Fuzhou City to the nor ...
) and surrounding regions was also organized as a Mission Conference.
In 1947, the Methodist Church in the Republic of China celebrated its centenary. In 1949, however, the Methodist Church moved to Taiwan with the
Kuomintang
The Kuomintang (KMT), also referred to as the Guomindang (GMD), the Nationalist Party of China (NPC) or the Chinese Nationalist Party (CNP), is a major political party in the Republic of China, initially on the Chinese mainland and in Tai ...
government.
Hong Kong
India
![Wesleyan Church, Broadway](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/32/Wesleyan_Church%2C_Broadway.JPG)
Methodism came to India twice, in 1817 and in 1856, according to P. Dayanandan who has done extensive research on the subject. Thomas Coke and six other missionaries set sail for India on New Year's Day in 1814. Coke, then 66, died en route. Rev. James Lynch was the one who finally arrived in
Madras
Chennai (, ), formerly known as Madras ( the official name until 1996), is the capital city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost Indian state. The largest city of the state in area and population, Chennai is located on the Coromandel Coast of th ...
in 1817 at a place called Black Town (Broadway), later known as George Town. Lynch conducted the first Methodist missionary service on 2 March 1817, in a stable.
The first Methodist church was dedicated in 1819 at
Royapettah. A chapel at Broadway (Black Town) was later built and dedicated on 25 April 1822.
[Mount Wesley Church, Accessed December 6, 2022
https://mountwesleychurch.org/pastorate/] This church was rebuilt in 1844 since the earlier structure was collapsing.
At this time there were about 100 Methodist members in all of Madras, and they were either Europeans or Eurasians (European and Indian descent). Among names associated with the founding period of Methodism in India are
Elijah Hoole
Elijah Hoole (1798–1872) was an English orientalist and Wesleyan Methodist missionary.
Life
The son of Holland Hoole, a Manchester shoemaker, he was born there; he entered Manchester grammar school 6 April 1809, leaving in 1813 to help in h ...
and Thomas Cryer, who came as missionaries to Madras.
In 1857, the Methodist Episcopal Church started its work in India, and with prominent evangelists like William Taylor the Emmanuel Methodist Church,
Vepery
Vepery is a suburb in the north of Chennai, India. Abutting the transportation hub of Park Town, the neighbourhood covers a rectangular area north of the Poonamallee High Road.
History
Vepery is among those oldest neighbourhoods developed duri ...
, was born in 1874. The evangelist
James Mills Thoburn
James Mills Thoburn (March 7, 1836 – November 28, 1922) was an American bishop of the Methodist Episcopal Church as well as an author. He did missionary work in India.
Thoburn was born on March 7, 1836 in St. Clairsville, Ohio and graduated fr ...
established the Thoburn Memorial Church in Calcutta in 1873 and the Calcutta Boys' School in 1877.
In 1947, the Wesleyan Methodist Church in India merged with Presbyterians, Anglicans and other Protestant churches to form the Church of South India while the American Methodist Church remained affiliated as the
Methodist Church in Southern Asia
Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a group of historically related denominations of Protestant Christianity whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's b ...
(MCSA) to the mother church in USA- the United Methodist Church until 1981, when by an enabling act the Methodist Church in India (MCI) became an autonomous church in India. Today, the Methodist Church in India is governed by the General Conference of the Methodist Church of India headed by six bishops, with headquarters at Methodist Centre, 21 YMCA Road, Mumbai, India.
Malaysia and Singapore
Missionaries from Britain, North America, and Australia founded Methodist churches in many
Commonwealth
A commonwealth is a traditional English term for a political community founded for the common good. Historically, it has been synonymous with "republic". The noun "commonwealth", meaning "public welfare, general good or advantage", dates from the ...
countries. These are now independent and many of them are stronger than the former "mother" churches. In addition to the churches, these missionaries often also founded schools to serve the local community. A good example of such schools are the
Methodist Boys' School in Kuala Lumpur,
Methodist Girls' School and Methodist Boys' School in
George Town, and
Anglo-Chinese School,
Methodist Girls' School
Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a group of historically related denominations of Protestant Christianity whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's br ...
,
Paya Lebar Methodist Girls School and
Fairfield Methodist Schools
Fairfield Methodist School (Primary) and Fairfield Methodist School (Secondary) are two schools located on Dover Road. Founded in 1888 as the Anglo-Chinese Girls School, they are among the oldest primary and secondary schools in Singapore. Th ...
in Singapore.
Philippines
Methodism in the Philippines began shortly after the United States acquired the Philippines in 1898 as a result the
Spanish–American War
, partof = the Philippine Revolution, the decolonization of the Americas, and the Cuban War of Independence
, image = Collage infobox for Spanish-American War.jpg
, image_size = 300px
, caption = (clock ...
. On 21 June 1898, after the
Battle of Manila Bay but before the
Treaty of Paris Treaty of Paris may refer to one of many treaties signed in Paris, France:
Treaties
1200s and 1300s
* Treaty of Paris (1229), which ended the Albigensian Crusade
* Treaty of Paris (1259), between Henry III of England and Louis IX of France
* Trea ...
, executives of the American Mission Society of the Methodist Episcopal Church expressed their desire to join other
Protestant
Protestantism is a Christian denomination, branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Reformation, Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century agai ...
denominations in starting mission work in the islands and to enter into a
Comity Agreement
Protestant denominations arrived in the Philippines in 1898, after the United States took control of the Philippines from Spain, first with United States Army chaplains and then within months civilian missionaries.
Protestants makes up nearly ...
that would facilitate the establishment of such missions. The first Protestant worship service was conducted on 28 August 1898 by an American military chaplain named George C. Stull. Stull was an ordained Methodist minister from the Montana Annual Conference of The Methodist Episcopal Church (later part of the United Methodist Church after 1968).
![AIM Pilipinas First Bishop](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/42/AIM_Pilipinas_First_Bishop.jpeg)
Methodist and Wesleyan traditions in the Philippines are shared by three of the largest mainline Protestant churches in the country:
The United Methodist Church in the Philippines, ''
Iglesia Evangelica Metodista En Las Islas Filipinas
The Evangelical Methodist Church in the Philippine Islands ( es, Iglesia Evangelica Metodista en las Islas Filipinas) is a Methodist Christian denomination. Founded on 28 February 1909 by Bishop Nicolás Zamora, it is recognised in the Philippine ...
'' ("Evangelical Methodist Church in the Philippine Islands", abbreviated IEMELIF), and The
United Church of Christ in the Philippines. There are also evangelical Protestant churches in the country of the Methodist tradition like the Wesleyan Church of the Philippines, the
Free Methodist Church of the Philippines, and 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 ...
. There are also the IEMELIF Reform Movement (IRM), The Wesleyan (Pilgrim Holiness) Church of the Philippines, the Philippine Bible Methodist Church, Inc., the Pentecostal Free Methodist Church, Inc., the Fundamental Christian Methodist Church, The Reformed Methodist Church, Inc., The Methodist Church of the Living Bread, Inc., and the Wesley Evangelical Methodist Church & Mission, Inc.
There are three
episcopal areas of the United Methodist Church in the Philippines: the Baguio Episcopal Area, Davao Episcopal Area and Manila Episcopal Area.
A call for autonomy from groups within the United Methodist Church in the Philippines was discussed at several conferences led mostly by episcopal candidates. This led to the establishment of the ''
Ang Iglesia Metodista sa Pilipinas'' ("The Methodist Church in the Philippines") in 2010, led by Bishop
Lito C. Tangonan
Ang Iglesia Metodista sa Pilipinas ( Tagalog for The Methodist Church in the Philippines, also known as AIM Pilipinas) is an indigenous autonomous Methodist church in the Philippines. The founders of the church, led by Presiding Bishop Rev. Li ...
, George Buenaventura, Chita Milan and Atty. Joe Frank E. Zuñiga. The group finally declared full autonomy and legal incorporation with the
Securities and Exchange Commission
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is an independent agency of the United States federal government, created in the aftermath of the Wall Street Crash of 1929. The primary purpose of the SEC is to enforce the law against market ...
was approved on 7 December 2011 with papers held by present procurators. It now has 126 local churches in
Metro Manila
Metropolitan Manila (often shortened as Metro Manila; fil, Kalakhang Maynila), officially the National Capital Region (NCR; fil, link=no, Pambansang Punong Rehiyon), is the capital region, seat of government and one of three List of metrop ...
,
Palawan
Palawan (), officially the Province of Palawan ( cyo, Probinsya i'ang Palawan; tl, Lalawigan ng Palawan), is an archipelagic province of the Philippines that is located in the region of Mimaropa. It is the largest province in the country in ...
,
Bataan
Bataan (), officially the Province of Bataan ( fil, Lalawigan ng Bataan ), is a province in the Central Luzon region of the Philippines. Its capital is the city of Balanga while Mariveles is the largest town in the province. Occupying the entir ...
,
Zambales
Zambales, officially the Province of Zambales ( fil, Lalawigan ng Zambales; ilo, Probinsia ti Zambales; Pangasinan: ''Luyag/Probinsia na Zambales''; xsb, Probinsya nin Zambales), is a province in the Philippines located in the Central Luzon re ...
,
Pangasinan
Pangasinan, officially the Province of Pangasinan ( pag, Luyag/Probinsia na Pangasinan, ; ilo, Probinsia ti Pangasinan; tl, Lalawigan ng Pangasinan), is a coastal province in the Philippines located in the Ilocos Region of Luzon. Its capit ...
,
Bulacan
Bulacan, officially the Province of Bulacan ( tl, Lalawigan ng Bulacan), is a province in the Philippines located in the Central Luzon region. Its capital is the city of Malolos. Bulacan was established on August 15, 1578, and part of the Metr ...
,
Aurora,
Nueva Ecija
Nueva Ecija, officially the Province of Nueva Ecija ( tgl, Lalawigan ng Nueva Ecija , also ; ilo, Probinsia ti Nueva Ecija; pag, Luyag/Probinsia na Nueva Ecija; Kapampangan: ''Lalawigan/Probinsia ning Nueva Ecija''), is a landlocked province i ...
, as well as parts of
Pampanga
Pampanga, officially the Province of Pampanga ( pam, Lalawigan ning Pampanga; tl, Lalawigan ng Pampanga ), is a province in the Central Luzon region of the Philippines. Lying on the northern shore of Manila Bay, Pampanga is bordered by Tarlac ...
and
Cavite
Cavite, officially the Province of Cavite ( tl, Lalawigan ng Kabite; Chavacano: ''Provincia de Cavite''), is a province in the Philippines located in the Calabarzon region in Luzon. Located on the southern shores of Manila Bay and southwest ...
. Tangonan was consecrated as the denomination's first Presiding Bishop on 17 March 2012.
South Korea
The Korean Methodist Church (KMC) is one of the largest churches in South Korea with around 1.5 million members and 8,306 ministers.
Methodism in Korea grew out of British and American mission work which began in the late 19th century. The first missionary sent out was
Robert Samuel Maclay of the
Methodist Episcopal Church
The Methodist Episcopal Church (MEC) was the oldest and largest Methodist denomination in the United States from its founding in 1784 until 1939. It was also the first religious denomination in the US to organize itself on a national basis. In ...
, who sailed from Japan in 1884 and was given the authority of medical and schooling permission from emperor
Gojong. The Korean church became fully autonomous in 1930, retaining affiliation with Methodist churches in America and later the United Methodist Church.
The church experienced rapid growth in membership throughout most of the 20th century—in spite of the
Korean War
, date = {{Ubl, 25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953 (''de facto'')({{Age in years, months, weeks and days, month1=6, day1=25, year1=1950, month2=7, day2=27, year2=1953), 25 June 1950 – present (''de jure'')({{Age in years, months, weeks a ...
—before stabilizing in the 1990s.
The KMC is a member of the World Methodist Council and hosted the first Asia Methodist Convention in 2001.
There are many
Korean-language
Korean (South Korean: , ''hangugeo''; North Korean: , ''chosŏnmal'') is the native language for about 80 million people, mostly of Korean descent. It is the official and national language of both North Korea and South Korea (geographically Ko ...
Methodist churches in North America catering to Korean-speaking immigrants, not all of which are named as Methodist.
Taiwan
In 1947, the Methodist Church in the Republic of China celebrated its centenary. In 1949, however, the Methodist Church moved to Taiwan with the
Kuomintang
The Kuomintang (KMT), also referred to as the Guomindang (GMD), the Nationalist Party of China (NPC) or the Chinese Nationalist Party (CNP), is a major political party in the Republic of China, initially on the Chinese mainland and in Tai ...
government. On 21 June 1953, Taipei Methodist Church was erected, then local churches and chapels with a baptized membership numbering over 2,500. Various types of educational, medical and social services are provided (including
Tunghai University
Tunghai University (THU; ) is the oldest private university in Taiwan, established in 1955. It was founded by the United Board for Christian Higher Education in Asia (UBCHEA). It is located in Xitun District, Taichung, Taiwan. According to ''Tim ...
). In 1972, the Methodist Church in the Republic of China became autonomous, and the first bishop was installed in 1986.
Americas
Brazil
The
Methodist Church in Brazil
The Methodist Church in Brazil was founded by American missionaries in 1867 after an initial unsuccessful founding in 1835. It has grown steadily since, becoming autonomous in 1930. In the 1970s it ordained its first woman minister. In 2006, it had ...
was founded by American missionaries in 1867 after an initial unsuccessful founding in 1835. It has grown steadily since, becoming autonomous in 1930. In the 1970s it ordained its first woman minister. In 1975 it also founded the first Methodist university in Latin America, the
Methodist University of Piracicaba
The Methodist University of Piracicaba (Portuguese: ''Universidade Metodista de Piracicaba''), also known as Unimep, is a Brazilian private higher education institution located in the state of São Paulo.
The university offers teaching, research ...
. , the Brazilian Methodist Church is divided into eight annual conferences with 162,000 members.
Canada
![Metropolitan United](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/9e/Metropolitan_United.JPG)
The father of Methodism in Canada was rev Coughlan who arrived in Newfoundland in 1763,. Where he opened a school and travelled widely.
.
The second was
William Black
William is a masculine given name of Norman French origin.Hanks, Hardcastle and Hodges, ''Oxford Dictionary of First Names'', Oxford University Press, 2nd edition, , p. 276. It became very popular in the English language after the Norman conques ...
(1760–1834) who began preaching in settlements along the
Petitcodiac River
The Petitcodiac River is a river in south-eastern New Brunswick, Canada. Referred to as the "chocolate river" by local tourist businesses, it is characterized by its brown mud floor and brown waters. The river has a meander length of and is lo ...
of
New Brunswick
New Brunswick (french: Nouveau-Brunswick, , locally ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. It is the only province with both English and ...
in 1781. A few years afterwards, Methodist Episcopal circuit riders from the
U.S. state of
New York
New York most commonly refers to:
* New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York
* New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States
New York may also refer to:
Film and television
* '' ...
began to arrive in
Canada West at Niagara, and the north shore of
Lake Erie
Lake Erie ( "eerie") is the fourth largest lake by surface area of the five Great Lakes in North America and the eleventh-largest globally. It is the southernmost, shallowest, and smallest by volume of the Great Lakes and therefore also has t ...
in 1786, and at the
Kingston
Kingston may refer to:
Places
* List of places called Kingston, including the five most populated:
** Kingston, Jamaica
** Kingston upon Hull, England
** City of Kingston, Victoria, Australia
** Kingston, Ontario, Canada
** Kingston upon Thames, ...
region on the northeast shore of
Lake Ontario
Lake Ontario is one of the five Great Lakes of North America. It is bounded on the north, west, and southwest by the Canadian province of Ontario, and on the south and east by the U.S. state of New York. The Canada–United States border sp ...
in the early 1790s. At the time the region was part of
British North America and became part of Upper Canada after the
Constitutional Act of 1791
The Clergy Endowments (Canada) Act 1791, commonly known as the Constitutional Act 1791 (), was an Act of the Parliament of Great Britain which passed under George III. The current short title has been in use since 1896.
History
The act refor ...
.
Upper and
Lower Canada
The Province of Lower Canada (french: province du Bas-Canada) was a British colony on the lower Saint Lawrence River and the shores of the Gulf of Saint Lawrence (1791–1841). It covered the southern portion of the current Province of Quebec an ...
were both parts of the New York Episcopal Methodist Conference until 1810 when they were transferred to the newly formed Genesee Conference. Reverend Major George Neal began to preach in Niagara in October 1786 and was ordained in 1810 by Bishop Philip Asbury, at the Lyons, New York Methodist Conference. He was Canada's first saddlebag preacher and travelled from Lake Ontario to Detroit for 50 years preaching the gospel.
The spread of Methodism in the Canadas was seriously disrupted by the
War of 1812
The War of 1812 (18 June 1812 – 17 February 1815) was fought by the United States of America and its indigenous allies against the United Kingdom and its allies in British North America, with limited participation by Spain in Florida. It bega ...
but quickly gained lost ground after the
Treaty of Ghent
The Treaty of Ghent () was the peace treaty that ended the War of 1812 between the United States and the United Kingdom. It took effect in February 1815. Both sides signed it on December 24, 1814, in the city of Ghent, United Netherlands (now in ...
was signed in 1815. In 1817, the British Wesleyans arrived in the Canadas from the Maritimes but by 1820 had agreed, with the Episcopal Methodists, to confine their work to Lower Canada (present-day
Quebec
Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...
) while the latter would confine themselves to Upper Canada (present-day
Ontario
Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...
). In the summer of 1818, the first place of public worship was erected for the Wesleyan Methodists in
York
York is a cathedral city with Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. It is the historic county town of Yorkshire. The city has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a ...
, later Toronto. The chapel for the First Methodist Church was built on the corner of King Street and Jordan Street, the entire cost of the building was $250, an amount that took the congregation three years to raise. In 1828, Upper Canadian Methodists were permitted by the General Conference in the United States to form an independent Canadian Conference and, in 1833, the Canadian Conference merged with the British Wesleyans to form the Wesleyan Methodist Church in Canada. In 1884, most Canadian Methodists were brought under the umbrella of the
Methodist Church, Canada
The Methodist Church was the major Methodist denomination in Canada from its founding in 1884 until it merged with two other denominations to form the United Church of Canada in 1925. The Methodist Church was itself formed from the merger of four ...
.
In 1925, the Methodist Church, Canada and most
Presbyterian
Presbyterianism is a part of the Reformed tradition within Protestantism that broke from the Roman Catholic Church in Scotland by John Knox, who was a priest at St. Giles Cathedral (Church of Scotland). Presbyterian churches derive their nam ...
congregations (then by far the largest Protestant communion in Canada), most Congregational Union of Ontario and Quebec congregations, Union Churches in Western Canada, and the American Presbyterian Church in
Montreal
Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...
merged to form the
United Church of Canada
The United Church of Canada (french: link=no, Église unie du Canada) is a mainline Protestant denomination that is the largest Protestant Christian denomination in Canada and the second largest Canadian Christian denomination after the Catholi ...
. In 1968, the
Evangelical United Brethren Church's Canadian congregations joined after their American counterparts joined the United Methodist Church.
Mexico
![MetodistaEpiscopalApizaco](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/28/MetodistaEpiscopalApizaco.JPG)
The Methodist Church came to
Mexico
Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...
in 1872, with the arrival of two Methodist commissioners from the United States to observe the possibilities of evangelistic work in México. In December 1872, Bishop Gilbert Haven arrived to
Mexico City
Mexico City ( es, link=no, Ciudad de México, ; abbr.: CDMX; Nahuatl: ''Altepetl Mexico'') is the capital and largest city of Mexico, and the most populous city in North America. One of the world's alpha cities, it is located in the Valley o ...
, and he was ordered by M. D. William Butler to go to México. Bishop John C. Keener arrived from the
Methodist Episcopal Church, South
The Methodist Episcopal Church, South (MEC, S; also Methodist Episcopal Church South) was the American Methodist denomination resulting from the 19th-century split over the issue of slavery in the Methodist Episcopal Church (MEC). Disagreement ...
in January 1873.
In 1874, M. D. William Butler established the first Protestant Methodist school of México, in
Puebla
Puebla ( en, colony, settlement), officially Free and Sovereign State of Puebla ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Puebla), is one of the 32 states which comprise the Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided into 217 municipalities and its cap ...
. The school was founded under the name "Instituto Metodista Mexicano". Today the school is called "Instituto Mexicano Madero". It is still a Methodist school, and it is one of the most elite, selective, expensive and prestigious private schools in the country, with two campuses in Puebla State, and one in
Oaxaca
Oaxaca ( , also , , from nci, Huāxyacac ), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Oaxaca ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Oaxaca), is one of the 32 states that compose the political divisions of Mexico, Federative Entities of Mexico. It is ...
. A few years later the principal of the school created a Methodist university.
On 18 January 1885, the first Annual Conference of the United Episcopal Church of México was established.
United States
![Old Barratt's Chapel (Methodist), Route 113, Frederica vicinity (Kent County, Delaware)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4d/Old_Barratt%27s_Chapel_%28Methodist%29%2C_Route_113%2C_Frederica_vicinity_%28Kent_County%2C_Delaware%29.jpg)
Wesley came to believe that the New Testament evidence did not leave the power of ordination to the priesthood in the hands of
bishops
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 ca ...
but that other priests could ordain. In 1784, he ordained preachers for Scotland, England, and America, with power to administer the sacraments (this was a major reason for Methodism's final split from the Church of England after Wesley's death). At that time, Wesley sent
Thomas Coke to America.
Francis Asbury founded the
Methodist Episcopal Church
The Methodist Episcopal Church (MEC) was the oldest and largest Methodist denomination in the United States from its founding in 1784 until 1939. It was also the first religious denomination in the US to organize itself on a national basis. In ...
at the Baltimore Christmas Conference in 1784; Coke (already ordained in the Church of England) ordained Asbury deacon, elder, and bishop each on three successive days. Circuit riders, many of whom were laymen, travelled by horseback to preach the gospel and establish churches in many places. One of the most famous circuit riders was Robert Strawbridge who lived in the vicinity of Carroll County, Maryland, soon after arriving in the Colonies around 1760.
The
First Great Awakening was a religious movement in the 1730s and 1740s, beginning in
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...
, then spreading to
New England
New England is a region comprising six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York to the west and by the Canadian provinces ...
, and eventually south into
Virginia
Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...
and
North Carolina
North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and So ...
. George Whitefield played a major role, traveling across the colonies and preaching in a dramatic and emotional style, accepting everyone as his audience.
The new style of sermons and the way people practiced their faith breathed new life into religion in America. People became passionately and emotionally involved in their religion, rather than passively listening to intellectual discourse in a detached manner. People began to study the Bible at home. The effect was akin to the individualistic trends present in Europe during the Protestant Reformation.
![Growth of Denominations in America 1780 to 1860](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/52/Growth_of_Denominations_in_America_1780_to_1860.jpg)
The
Second Great Awakening
The Second Great Awakening was a Protestant religious revival during the early 19th century in the United States. The Second Great Awakening, which spread religion through revivals and emotional preaching, sparked a number of reform movements. R ...
was a nationwide wave of revivals, from 1790 to 1840. In
New England
New England is a region comprising six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York to the west and by the Canadian provinces ...
, the renewed interest in religion inspired a wave of social activism among Yankees; Methodism grew and established several colleges, notably
Boston University
Boston University (BU) is a private research university in Boston, Massachusetts. The university is nonsectarian, but has a historical affiliation with the United Methodist Church. It was founded in 1839 by Methodists with its original campu ...
. In the "burned over district" of western New York, the spirit of revival burned brightly. Methodism saw the emergence of a
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 ...
. In the west, especially at
Cane Ridge, Kentucky, and in
Tennessee
Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked state in the Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the 36th-largest by area and the 15th-most populous of the 50 states. It is bordered by Kentucky to th ...
, the revival strengthened the Methodists and the
Baptists
Baptists form a major branch of Protestantism distinguished by baptizing professing Christian believers only ( believer's baptism), and doing so by complete immersion. Baptist churches also generally subscribe to the doctrines of soul compe ...
. Methodism grew rapidly in the
Second Great Awakening
The Second Great Awakening was a Protestant religious revival during the early 19th century in the United States. The Second Great Awakening, which spread religion through revivals and emotional preaching, sparked a number of reform movements. R ...
, becoming the nation's largest denomination by 1820. From 58,000 members in 1790, it reached 258,000 in 1820 and 1,661,000 in 1860, growing by a factor of 28.6 in 70 years, while the total American population grew by a factor of eight. Other denominations also used revivals, but the Methodists grew fastest of all because "they combined popular appeal with efficient organization under the command of missionary bishops." Methodism attracted German immigrants, and the first
German Methodist Church was erected in
Cincinnati, Ohio
Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line wit ...
.
![Grace Wesleyan Methodist Church](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e0/Grace_Wesleyan_Methodist_Church.jpg)
Disputes over slavery placed the church in difficulty in the first half of the 19th century, with the northern church leaders fearful of a split with the South, and reluctant to take a stand. The
Wesleyan Methodist Connexion (later renamed the Wesleyan Methodist Church) and the
Free Methodist Churches were formed by staunch abolitionists, and the Free Methodists were especially active in the
Underground Railroad
The Underground Railroad was a network of clandestine routes and safe houses established in the United States during the early- to mid-19th century. It was used by enslaved African Americans primarily to escape into free states and Canada. T ...
, which helped to free the slaves. In 1962, the
Evangelical Wesleyan Church
The Evangelical Wesleyan Church, formerly known as the Evangelical Wesleyan Church of North America, is a Methodist denomination in the conservative holiness movement.
The formation of the Evangelical Wesleyan Church is a part of the history of ...
separated from the Free Methodist Church.
In 1968 the Wesleyan Methodist Church and
Pilgrim Holiness Church
Pilgrim Holiness Church (PHC) or International Apostolic Holiness Church (IAHC) is a Christian denomination associated with the holiness movement that split from the Methodist Episcopal Church through the efforts of Martin Wells Knapp in 1897. It ...
merged to form the
Wesleyan Church; a significant amount dissented from this decision resulting in the independence of the
Allegheny Wesleyan Methodist Connection and the formation of the
Bible Methodist Connection of Churches, both of which fall within the
conservative holiness movement
The conservative holiness movement is a loosely defined group of theologically conservative Christian denominations with the majority being Methodists whose teachings are rooted in the theology of John Wesley, and a minority being Quakers (Frie ...
.
In a much larger split, in 1845 at Louisville, the churches of the slaveholding states left the Methodist Episcopal Church and formed The
Methodist Episcopal Church, South
The Methodist Episcopal Church, South (MEC, S; also Methodist Episcopal Church South) was the American Methodist denomination resulting from the 19th-century split over the issue of slavery in the Methodist Episcopal Church (MEC). Disagreement ...
. The northern and southern branches were reunited in 1939, when slavery was no longer an issue. In this merger also joined the
Methodist Protestant Church. Some southerners, conservative in theology, opposed the merger, and formed the
Southern Methodist Church
The Southern Methodist Church is a conservative Protestant Christian denomination with churches located in the southern part of the United States. The church maintains headquarters in Orangeburg, South Carolina.
The church was formed in 1940 by ...
in 1940.
The
Third Great Awakening
The Third Great Awakening refers to a historical period proposed by William G. McLoughlin that was marked by religious activism in American history and spans the late 1850s to the early 20th century. It influenced pietistic Protestant denomin ...
from 1858 to 1908 saw enormous growth in Methodist membership, and a proliferation of institutions such as colleges (e.g.,
Morningside College). Methodists were often involved in the ''Missionary Awakening'' and the
Social Gospel
The Social Gospel is a social movement within Protestantism that aims to apply Christian ethics to social problems, especially issues of social justice such as economic inequality, poverty, alcoholism, crime, racial tensions, slums, unclean envir ...
Movement. The awakening in so many cities in 1858 started the movement, but in the North it was interrupted by the Civil War. In the South, on the other hand, the Civil War stimulated revivals, especially in Lee's army.
In 1914–1917 many Methodist ministers made strong pleas for world peace. President
Woodrow Wilson
Thomas Woodrow Wilson (December 28, 1856February 3, 1924) was an American politician and academic who served as the 28th president of the United States from 1913 to 1921. A member of the Democratic Party, Wilson served as the president of ...
(a Presbyterian), promised "a war to end all wars," using language of a future peace that had been a watchword for the postmillennial movement. In the 1930s many Methodists favored isolationist policies. Thus in 1936, Methodist Bishop James Baker, of the San Francisco Conference, released a poll of ministers showing 56% opposed warfare. However, the Methodist Federation did call for a boycott of Japan, which had invaded China and was disrupting missionary activity there. In Chicago, 62 local African Methodist Episcopal churches voted their support for the Roosevelt administration's policy, while opposing any plan to send American troops overseas to fight. When war came in 1941, the vast majority of Methodists strongly supported the national war effort, but there were also a few (673)
conscientious objectors.
![Logo of the United Methodist Church](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/dd/Logo_of_the_United_Methodist_Church.svg)
The
United Methodist Church
The United Methodist Church (UMC) is a worldwide mainline Protestant denomination based in the United States, and a major part of Methodism. In the 19th century, its main predecessor, the Methodist Episcopal Church, was a leader in evangelical ...
(UMC) was formed in 1968 as a result of a merger between the
Evangelical United Brethren Church
The Evangelical United Brethren Church (EUB) was a North American Protestant church from 1946 to 1968. It was formed by the merger of the Evangelical Church (formerly the Evangelical Association, founded by Jacob Albright) and the Church of the ...
(EUB) and
The Methodist Church. The former church had resulted from mergers of several groups of German Methodist heritage; however, there was no longer any need or desire to worship in the German language. The latter church was a result of union between the Methodist Protestant Church and the northern and southern factions of the Methodist Episcopal Church. The merged church had approximately nine million members as of the late 1990s. While United Methodist Church in America membership has been declining, associated groups in developing countries are growing rapidly. Prior to the merge that led to the formation of the United Methodist Church, the
Evangelical Methodist Church entered into a
schism
A schism ( , , or, less commonly, ) is a division between people, usually belonging to an organization, movement, or religious denomination. The word is most frequently applied to a split in what had previously been a single religious body, suc ...
with the Methodist Church, citing modernism in its parent body as the reason for the departure in 1946.
![Glide Memorial Church](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e9/Glide_Memorial_Church.jpg)
American Methodist churches are generally organized on a
''connectional'' model, related, but not identical to that used in Britain. Pastors are assigned to congregations by
bishops
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 ca ...
, distinguishing it from
presbyterian
Presbyterianism is a part of the Reformed tradition within Protestantism that broke from the Roman Catholic Church in Scotland by John Knox, who was a priest at St. Giles Cathedral (Church of Scotland). Presbyterian churches derive their nam ...
government. Methodist denominations typically give lay members representation at regional and national Conferences at which the business of the church is conducted, making it different from most
episcopal government. This connectional organizational model differs further from the
congregational model, for example of
Baptist
Baptists form a major branch of Protestantism distinguished by baptizing professing Christian believers only (believer's baptism), and doing so by complete immersion. Baptist churches also generally subscribe to the doctrines of soul compete ...
, and
Congregationalist Churches, among others.
In addition to the United Methodist Church, there are over 40 other denominations that descend from John Wesley's Methodist movement. Some, such as the
African Methodist Episcopal Church
The African Methodist Episcopal Church, usually called the AME Church or AME, is a Black church, predominantly African American Methodist Religious denomination, denomination. It adheres to Wesleyan-Arminian theology and has a connexionalism, c ...
, the Free Methodists and the Wesleyan Church (formerly Wesleyan Methodist), are explicitly Methodist. There are also independent Methodist churches, many of which are affiliated with the
Association of Independent Methodists.
Others do not call themselves Methodist, but grew out of the Methodist movement: for example, The Salvation Army and the Church of the Nazarene. Some of the charismatic or Pentecostal churches such as the
Pentecostal Holiness Church and the
Assemblies of God USA also have roots in or draw from Wesleyan thought.
The
Holiness Revival was primarily among people of Methodist persuasion, who felt that the church had once again become apathetic, losing the Wesleyan zeal. Some important events of this revival were the writings of
Phoebe Palmer during the mid-1800s, the establishment of the first of many holiness
camp meeting
The camp meeting is a form of Protestant Christian religious service originating in England and Scotland as an evangelical event in association with the communion season. It was held for worship, preaching and communion on the American frontier d ...
s at Vineland, New Jersey in 1867, and the founding of Asbury College, (1890), and other similar institutions in the U.S. around the turn of the 20th century.
In 2020, United Methodists announced a plan to
split the denomination over the issue of same-sex marriage. The
Global Methodist Church, a conservative denomination that opposes same-sex marriage, was launched on May 1, 2022.
In 2022, Texas megachurch White’s Chapel United Methodist Church, voted to disaffiliate with the United Methodist Church. As a result, White’s Chapel hopes to create what they call a Methodist Collegiate College, which has a vision to create a new form of connectionalism which is on the standard of "one of shared ministry, equal accountability, and practical governance.”
Oceania
Methodism is particularly widespread in some
Pacific Island nations, such as
Fiji
Fiji ( , ,; fj, Viti, ; Fiji Hindi: फ़िजी, ''Fijī''), officially the Republic of Fiji, is an island country in Melanesia, part of Oceania in the South Pacific Ocean. It lies about north-northeast of New Zealand. Fiji consists ...
,
Samoa
Samoa, officially the Independent State of Samoa; sm, Sāmoa, and until 1997 known as Western Samoa, is a Polynesian island country consisting of two main islands (Savai'i and Upolu); two smaller, inhabited islands (Manono Island, Manono an ...
and
Tonga
Tonga (, ; ), officially the Kingdom of Tonga ( to, Puleʻanga Fakatuʻi ʻo Tonga), is a Polynesian country and archipelago. The country has 171 islands – of which 45 are inhabited. Its total surface area is about , scattered over in ...
.
Australia
In the 19th century there were annual conferences in each Australasian colony (including New Zealand). Various branches of Methodism in Australia merged during the 20 years from 1881. The
Methodist Church of Australasia was formed on 1 January 1902 when five Methodist denominations in Australia – the
Wesleyan Methodist Church, the
Primitive Methodist
The Primitive Methodist Church is a Methodist Christian denomination with the holiness movement. It began in England in the early 19th century, with the influence of American evangelist Lorenzo Dow (1777–1834).
In the United States, the Primiti ...
s, the
Bible Christian Church, the
United Methodist Free and the
Methodist New Connexion Churches came together. In polity it largely followed the Wesleyan Methodist Church.
In 1945 Kingsley Ridgway offered himself as a Melbourne-based "field representative" for a possible Australian branch of the Wesleyan Methodist Church of America, after meeting an American serviceman who was a member of that denomination. The
Wesleyan Methodist Church of Australia was founded on his work.
![Wesleystatue](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/00/Wesleystatue.JPG)
The Methodist Church of Australasia merged with the majority of the
Presbyterian Church of Australia
The Presbyterian Church of Australia (PCA) is the largest Presbyterian denomination in Australia. (The larger Uniting Church in Australia incorporated about two-thirds of the PCA in 1977.)
History
Beginnings
When captain James Cook lande ...
and the
Congregational Union of Australia in 1977, becoming the
Uniting Church
The Uniting Church in Australia (UCA) was founded on 22 June 1977, when most congregations of the Methodist Church of Australasia, about two-thirds of the Presbyterian Church of Australia and almost all the churches of the Congregational Union ...
. The Wesleyan Methodist Church of Australia and some independent congregations chose not to join the union.
Wesley Mission
Wesley Mission is a name used by three independent Uniting Church groups which are a part of the Uniting Missions Network of UnitingCare Australia. These predominantly grew out of inner city ''Central Methodist Missions'' of the Methodist Church ...
in Pitt Street,
Sydney
Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...
, the largest parish in the Uniting Church, remains strongly in the Wesleyan tradition. There are many local churches named after John Wesley.
From the mid-1980s a number of independent Methodist churches were founded by missionaries and other members from the Methodist Churches of Malaysia and Singapore. Some of these came together to form what is now known as the
Chinese Methodist Church in Australia
The Chinese Methodist Church in Australia is based in Melbourne.
The theology of the Church is in line with Methodism worldwide. It is Wesleyan in theology and its liturgy contains both traditional and contemporary services.
The Church was star ...
in 1993, and it held its first full Annual Conference in 2002. Since the 2000s many independent Methodist churches have also been established or grown by
Tongan immigrants.
Fiji
As a result of the early efforts of missionaries, most of the natives of the Fiji Islands were converted to Methodism in the 1840s and 1850s. According to the 2007 census, 34.6% of the population (including almost two-thirds of
ethnic Fijians), are adherents of Methodism, making Fiji one of the most Methodist nations. The
Methodist Church of Fiji and Rotuma, the largest religious denomination, is an important social force along with the traditional
chiefly system. In the past, the church once called for a
theocracy
Theocracy is a form of government in which one or more deity, deities are recognized as supreme ruling authorities, giving divine guidance to human intermediaries who manage the government's daily affairs.
Etymology
The word theocracy origina ...
and fueled
anti-Hindu sentiment.
New Zealand
In June 1823 Wesleydale, the first
Wesleyan Methodist mission in New Zealand, was established at
Kaeo. The
Methodist Church of New Zealand, which is directly descended from the 19th-century missionaries, was the fourth-most common Christian denomination recorded in the 2018 New Zealand census.
Since the early 1990s, missionaries and other Methodists from Malaysia and Singapore established Methodist churches around major urban areas in New Zealand. These congregations came together to form the Chinese Methodist Church in New Zealand (CMCNZ) in 2003.
Samoan Islands
The Methodist Church is the third largest denomination throughout the Samoan Islands, in both Samoa and American Samoa. In 1868,
Piula Theological College
Piula Theological College is a Methodist training institution in Samoa. It was established in 1868 in Lufilufi on the north coast of Upolu island after its initial beginnings in 1859 at Satupa'itea on the south coast of Savai'i island. The Meth ...
was established in
Lufilufi on the north coast of
Upolu
Upolu is an island in Samoa, formed by a massive basaltic shield volcano which rises from the seafloor of the western Pacific Ocean. The island is long and in area, making it the second largest of the Samoan Islands by area. With approximatel ...
island in Samoa and serves as the main headquarters of the Methodist church in the country.
The college includes the historic Piula Monastery as well as
Piula Cave Pool, a natural spring situated beneath the church by the sea.
Tonga
![Saione](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/81/Saione.jpg)
Methodism had a particular resonance with the inhabitants of Tonga. In the 1830s Wesleyan missionaries converted paramount chief
Taufa'ahau Tupou who in turn converted fellow islanders. Today, Methodism is represented on the islands by the
Free Church of Tonga and the
Free Wesleyan Church
The Free Wesleyan Church of Tonga (FWCT; Tongan: ''Siasi Uēsiliana Tau‘atāina ‘o Tonga'') is a Methodist denomination in Tonga. It is the largest Christian denomination in the nation and is often mistaken to be its state church. It has it ...
, which is the largest church in Tonga. 48% of Tongans adhered to Methodist churches. The royal family of the country are prominent members of the Free Wesleyan Church, and the late king was a lay preacher. Tongan Methodist minister
Sione 'Amanaki Havea developed
coconut theology Coconut theology was an attempt by the Tongan Methodism, Methodist minister Sione 'Amanaki Havea to create a contextual theology that spoke to the specific experience and context of Pacific Island or Oceania, Oceanic culture. Havea used the coconut ...
, which tailors theology to a Pacific Islands context.
Ecumenical relations
Many Methodists have been involved in the
ecumenical movement, which has sought to unite the fractured denominations of Christianity. Because Methodism grew out of the Church of England, a denomination from which neither of the Wesley brothers seceded, some Methodist scholars and historians, such as Rupert E. Davies, have regarded their 'movement' more as a preaching order within wider Christian life than as a church, comparing them with the
Franciscan
The Franciscans are a group of related Mendicant orders, mendicant Christianity, Christian Catholic religious order, religious orders within the Catholic Church. Founded in 1209 by Italian Catholic friar Francis of Assisi, these orders include t ...
s, who formed a religious order within the medieval European church and not a separate denomination. Certainly, Methodists have been deeply involved in early examples of
church union
Church union is the name given to a merger of two or more Christian denominations. Such unions may take on many forms, including a united church and a federation.
United churches
{{main, United and uniting churches
A united church is the resu ...
, especially the
United Church of Canada
The United Church of Canada (french: link=no, Église unie du Canada) is a mainline Protestant denomination that is the largest Protestant Christian denomination in Canada and the second largest Canadian Christian denomination after the Catholi ...
and the
Church of South India
The Church of South India (CSI) is a united Protestant Church in India. It is the result of union of a number of mainline Protestant denominations in South India after independence.
The Church of South India is the successor of a number of Pr ...
.
Also, a disproportionate number of Methodists take part in inter-faith dialogue. For example,
Wesley Ariarajah
Seevaratham Wesley Ariarajah is a theologian, professor, and former director of inter-religions relations at the World Council of Churches (WCC).
Career
Ariarajah studied Theology at King's College London. A Methodist minister from Sri Lanka, he ...
, a long-serving director of the
World Council of Churches
The World Council of Churches (WCC) is a worldwide Christian inter-church organization founded in 1948 to work for the cause of ecumenism. Its full members today include the Assyrian Church of the East, the Oriental Orthodox Churches, most juri ...
' sub-unit on "Dialogue with People of Living Faiths and Ideologies" is a Methodist.
In October 1999, an executive committee of the World Methodist Council resolved to explore the possibility of its member churches becoming associated with the
doctrinal agreement which had been reached by the
Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
and
Lutheran World Federation
The Lutheran World Federation (LWF; german: Lutherischer Weltbund) is a global communion of national and regional Lutheran denominations headquartered in the Ecumenical Centre in Geneva, Switzerland. The federation was founded in the Swedish ...
(LWF). In May 2006, the International Methodist–Catholic Dialogue Commission completed its most recent report, entitled "The
Grace
Grace may refer to:
Places United States
* Grace, Idaho, a city
* Grace (CTA station), Chicago Transit Authority's Howard Line, Illinois
* Little Goose Creek (Kentucky), location of Grace post office
* Grace, Carroll County, Missouri, an uninco ...
Given You in Christ: Catholics and Methodists Reflect Further on the Church," and submitted the text to Methodist and Catholic authorities. In July of the same year, in
Seoul
Seoul (; ; ), officially known as the Seoul Special City, is the capital and largest metropolis of South Korea.Before 1972, Seoul was the ''de jure'' capital of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea) as stated iArticle 103 ...
, South Korea, the Member Churches of the World Methodist Council (WMC) voted to approve and sign a "Methodist Statement of Association" with the
Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification
The ''Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification'' (JDDJ) is a document created and agreed to by the Catholic Church's Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity (PCPCU) and the Lutheran World Federation in 1999 as a result of exte ...
, the agreement which was reached and officially accepted in 1999 by the Catholic Church and the Lutheran World Federation and which proclaimed that:
"Together we confess: By grace alone
''Sola gratia'', meaning by grace alone, is one of the five ''solae'' and consists in the belief that salvation comes by divine grace or "unmerited favor" only, not as something earned or deserved by the sinner. It is a Christian theologica ...
, in faith
Faith, derived from Latin ''fides'' and Old French ''feid'', is confidence or trust in a person, thing, or In the context of religion, one can define faith as "belief in God or in the doctrines or teachings of religion".
Religious people often ...
in Christ's saving work and not because of any merit
Merit may refer to:
Religion
* Merit (Christianity)
* Merit (Buddhism)
* Punya (Hinduism)
* Imputed righteousness in Reformed Christianity
Companies and brands
* Merit (cigarette), a brand of cigarettes made by Altria
* Merit Energy Company, a ...
on our part, we are accepted by God and receive the Holy Spirit
In Judaism, the Holy Spirit is the divine force, quality, and influence of God over the Universe or over his creatures. In Nicene Christianity, the Holy Spirit or Holy Ghost is the third person of the Trinity. In Islam, the Holy Spirit acts as ...
, who renews our hearts while equipping and calling us to good works... as sinners
In a religious context, sin is a transgression against divine law. Each culture has its own interpretation of what it means to commit a sin. While sins are generally considered actions, any thought, word, or act considered immoral, selfish, s ...
our new life is solely due to the forgiving and renewing mercy that God imparts as a gift and that we receive in faith, and never can merit in any way," affirming "fundamental doctrinal agreement" concerning justification between the Catholic Church, the LWF, and the World Methodist Council.
This is not to say there is perfect agreement between the three denominational traditions; while Catholics and Methodists believe that
salvation
Salvation (from Latin: ''salvatio'', from ''salva'', 'safe, saved') is the state of being saved or protected from harm or a dire situation. In religion and theology, ''salvation'' generally refers to the deliverance of the soul from sin and its c ...
involves
cooperation between God and man, Lutherans believe that God
brings about the salvation of individuals
without any cooperation on their part.
Commenting on the ongoing dialogues with Catholic Church
leaders, Ken Howcroft, Methodist minister and the Ecumenical Officer for the Methodist Church of Great Britain, noted that "these conversations have been immensely fruitful." Methodists are increasingly recognizing that the 15 centuries prior to the
Reformation
The Reformation (alternatively named the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation) was a major movement within Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the Catholic Church and in ...
constitute a
shared history with Catholics, and are gaining new appreciation for neglected aspects of the Catholic tradition. There are, however, important unresolved doctrinal differences
separating Roman Catholicism and Methodism, which include "the nature and validity of the
ministry
Ministry may refer to:
Government
* Ministry (collective executive), the complete body of government ministers under the leadership of a prime minister
* Ministry (government department), a department of a government
Religion
* Christian ...
of those who preside at the Eucharist
oly Communion
Oly may refer to:
* Oly, informal name for Olympia, Washington, United States
* OLY (: ), postnominals granted to participants in the Olympics
People with the name
* Oly (born 1992), American singer-songwriter and musician
* Oly Hicks (born 1968 ...
the
precise meaning of the Eucharist as the sacramental 'memorial' of Christ's saving death and resurrection, the particular way in which
Christ is present in Holy Communion, and the link between eucharistic communion and
ecclesial communion.
In the 1960s, the Methodist Church of Great Britain made ecumenical overtures to the Church of England, aimed at denominational union. Formally, these failed when they were rejected by the Church of England's
General Synod in 1972; conversations and co-operation continued, however, leading in 2003 to the signing of a covenant between the two churches. From the 1970s onward, the Methodist Church also started several
Local Ecumenical Project
In England and Wales, a local ecumenical partnership (or project) is a partnership between churches of different denominations. First piloted in 1964, over 850 now exist to promote unity between different Christian denominations.
The missiologi ...
s (LEPs, later renamed Local Ecumenical Partnerships) with local neighbouring denominations, which involved sharing churches, schools and in some cases ministers. In many towns and villages Methodists are involved in LEPs which are sometimes with Anglican or Baptist churches, but most commonly Methodist and
United Reformed Church. In terms of belief, practice and churchmanship, many Methodists see themselves as closer to the United Reformed Church (another
Nonconformist
Nonconformity or nonconformism may refer to:
Culture and society
* Insubordination, the act of willfully disobeying an order of one's superior
*Dissent, a sentiment or philosophy of non-agreement or opposition to a prevailing idea or entity
** ...
church) than to the Church of England. In the 1990s and early 21st century, the British Methodist Church was involved in the Scottish Church Initiative for Union, seeking greater unity with the established and Presbyterian
Church of Scotland
The Church of Scotland ( sco, The Kirk o Scotland; gd, Eaglais na h-Alba) is the national church in Scotland.
The Church of Scotland was principally shaped by John Knox, in the Scottish Reformation, Reformation of 1560, when it split from t ...
, the
Scottish Episcopal Church
The Scottish Episcopal Church ( gd, Eaglais Easbaigeach na h-Alba; sco, Scots Episcopal(ian) Kirk) is the ecclesiastical province of the Anglican Communion in Scotland.
A continuation of the Church of Scotland as intended by King James VI, and ...
and the United Reformed Church in Scotland.
The Methodist Church in Britain , The Scottish Church Initiative For Union (SCIFU)
Methodist.org.uk. Retrieved on 11 December 2011.
The Methodist Church of Great Britain is a member of several ecumenical organisations, including the World Council of Churches
The World Council of Churches (WCC) is a worldwide Christian inter-church organization founded in 1948 to work for the cause of ecumenism. Its full members today include the Assyrian Church of the East, the Oriental Orthodox Churches, most juri ...
, the Conference of European Churches, the Community of Protestant Churches in Europe, Churches Together in Britain and Ireland
Churches Together in Britain and Ireland (CTBI) is an ecumenical organisation. The members include most of the major churches in England, Scotland, Wales and Ireland. CTBI is registered at Companies House with number 05661787. Its office is in Cen ...
, Churches Together in England, Action of Churches Together in Scotland and Cytûn
Cytûn: Churches Together in Wales (, "agreed"; ) is a national ecumenical organisation of churches in Wales, formed in 1990. It is the successor to the former Council of Churches for Wales. Cytûn's offices are located in Richmond Road, Cardiff.
...
(Wales).
Methodist denominations in the United States have also strengthened ties with other Christian traditions. In April 2005, bishops in the United Methodist Church
The United Methodist Church (UMC) is a worldwide mainline Protestant denomination based in the United States, and a major part of Methodism. In the 19th century, its main predecessor, the Methodist Episcopal Church, was a leader in evangelical ...
approved ''A Proposal for Interim Eucharistic Sharing.'' This document was the first step toward full communion
Full communion is a communion or relationship of full agreement among different Christian denominations that share certain essential principles of Christian theology. Views vary among denominations on exactly what constitutes full communion, but ...
with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America
The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) is a mainline Protestant Lutheran church headquartered in Chicago, Illinois. The ELCA was officially formed on January 1, 1988, by the merging of three Lutheran church bodies. , it has approxim ...
(ELCA). The ELCA approved this same document in August 2005. At the 2008 General Conference, the United Methodist Church approved full communion with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. The UMC is also in dialogue with the Episcopal Church for full communion. The two denominations are working on a document called "Confessing Our Faith Together".
See also
* List of Methodists
This list deals with those who are notable in the history or culture of all Methodist churches. For other Methodists who are not notable in Methodist history or culture, see :Methodists.
Early leaders
*John Wesley
*Charles Wesley
*George White ...
** List of Methodist theologians
* List of Methodist churches
This is a list of notable Methodist churches, either of notable congregations or of notable buildings or other places of worship. This very limited list reflects historically interesting sites, and omits most of the very largest Methodist congreg ...
* List of Methodist denominations
* Saints in Methodism
Methodism has historically followed the Protestant tradition of referring to sanctified members of the universal church as '' saints''. However, as a title, ''Saint'' is typically prefixed to the names of biblical figures, and pre-Reformation Chri ...
Notes
References
Further reading
* Abraham, William J. and James E. Kirby (eds.) (2009) ''The Oxford Handbook of Methodist Studies''. 780pp; historiography
excerpt
World
* Borgen, Ole E. (1985) ''John Wesley on the Sacraments: a Theological Study''. Grand Rapids, Mich.: Francis Asbury Press, cop. 1972. 307 p.
* Copplestone, J. Tremayne. (1973) ''History of Methodist Missions, vol. 4: Twentieth-Century Perspectives''. 1288 pp
comprehensive world coverage for US Methodist missions – online
* Cracknell, Kenneth and White, Susan J. (2005) ''An Introduction to World Methodism'', Cambridge University Press, .
* Forster, DA and Bentley, W (eds.) (2008) ''What are we thinking? Reflections on Church and Society from Southern African Methodists.'' Methodist Publishing House, Cape Town.
* Forster, DA and Bentley, W (eds.) (2008)'' Methodism in Southern Africa: A celebration of Wesleyan Mission'' AcadSA Publishers, Kempton Park.
* Harmon, Nolan B. (ed.) (2 vol. 1974) ''The Encyclopedia of World Methodism'', Nashville: Abingdon Press, . 2640pp
* Heitzenrater, Richard P. (1994) ''Wesley and the People Called Methodists'', Nashville: Abingdon Press,
* Hempton, David (2005) ''Methodism: Empire of the Spirit'', Yale University Press,
* Wilson, Kenneth. ''Methodist Theology''. London: T & T Clark International, 2011 (Doing Theology).
* Yrigoyen Jr, Charles, and Susan E. Warrick. ''Historical dictionary of Methodism'' (2nd ed. Scarecrow Press, 2013)
Great Britain
* Brooks, Alan. (2010) ''West End Methodism: The Story of Hinde Street'', London: Northway Publications, 400pp.
* Davies, Rupert & Rupp, Gordon. (1965) ''A History of the Methodist Church in Great Britain'': Vol 1, Epworth Press
* Davies, Rupert & George, A. Raymond & Rupp, Gordon. (1978) ''A History of the Methodist Church in Great Britain'': Vol 2, Epworth Press
* Davies, Rupert & George, A. Raymond & Rupp, Gordon. (1983) ''A History of the Methodist Church in Great Britain'': Vol 3, Epworth Press
* Davies, Rupert & George, A. Raymond & Rupp, Gordon. (1988) ''A History of the Methodist Church in Great Britain'': Vol 4, Epworth Press
* Dowson, Jean and Hutchinson, John. (2003) ''John Wesley: His Life, Times and Legacy'' D-ROM Methodist Publishing House, TB214
* Edwards, Maldwyn. (1944) ''Methodism and England: A study of Methodism in its social and political aspects during the period 1850–1932''
* Halevy, Elie, and Bernard Semmel. (1971) ''The Birth of Methodism in England''
* Hempton, David. (1984) ''Methodism and Politics in British Society, 1750–1850'', Stanford University Press,
* Jones, David Ceri et al. (2012) ''The Elect Methodists: Calvinistic Methodism in England and Wales, 1735–1811''
* Kent, John. (2002) ''Wesley and the Wesleyans'', Cambridge University Press,
* Madden, Lionel. (2003) ''Methodism in Wales: A Short History of the Wesley Tradition'', Gomer Press.
* Milburn, Geoffrey & Batty, Margaret (eds.) (1995) ''Workaday Preachers: The Story of Methodist Local Preaching'', Methodist Publishing House
* Stigant, P. (1971) "Wesleyan Methodism and working-class radicalism in the north, 1792–1821." ''Northern History'', Vol 6 (1) pp: 98–116.
* Thompson, Edward Palmer. (1963) ''The making of the English working class'' – a famous classic stressing the role of Methodism.
* Turner, John Munsey. (2003) ''John Wesley: The Evangelical Revival and the Rise of Methodism in England''
* Turner, John M. (1997) ''Modern Methodism in England, 1932–1996''
* Warner, Wellman J. (1930) ''The Wesleyan Movement in the Industrial Revolution'', London: Longmans, Green.
* Vickers, John A, ed. (2000) ''A Dictionary of Methodism in Britain and Ireland'', Epworth Press.
African Americans
* Campbell, James T. (1995
''Songs of Zion: The African Methodist Episcopal Church in the United States and South Africa''
Oxford University Press,
* George, Carol V.R. (1973) ''Segregated Sabbaths: Richard Allen and the Rise of Independent Black Churches, 1760–1840'', New York: Oxford University Press, LCCN
The Library of Congress Control Number (LCCN) is a serially based system of numbering cataloged records in the Library of Congress, in the United States. It is not related to the contents of any book, and should not be confused with Library of ...
73076908
* Montgomery, William G. (1993) ''Under Their Own Vine and Fig Tree: The African-American Church in the South, 1865–1900'', Louisiana State University Press,
* Walker, Clarence E. (1982) ''A Rock in a Weary Land: The African Methodist Episcopal Church During the Civil War and Reconstruction'', Louisiana State University Press,
* Wills, David W. and Newman, Richard (eds.) (1982) ''Black Apostles at Home and Abroad: Afro-American and the Christian Mission from the Revolution to Reconstruction'', Boston, MA: G. K. Hall,
United States
* Cameron, Richard M. (ed.) (1961) ''Methodism and Society in Historical Perspective'', 4 vol., New York: Abingdon Press
* Lyerly, Cynthia Lynn (1998) ''Methodism and the Southern Mind, 1770–1810'', Religion in America Series, Oxford University Press,
* Meyer, Donald (1988) ''The Protestant Search for Political Realism, 1919–1941'', Wesleyan University Press,
* Schmidt, Jean Miller (1999) ''Grace Sufficient: A History of Women in American Methodism, 1760–1939'', Nashville, TN: Abingdon Press
* Sweet, William Warren (1954) ''Methodism in American History'', Revision of 1953, Nashville: Abingdon Press, 472 p.
* Wigger, John H. (1998) ''Taking Heaven by Storm: Methodism and the Rise of Popular Christianity in America'', Oxford University Press, – pp. ix & 269 focus on 1770–1910
Canada
* Rawlyk, G.A. (1994) ''The Canada Fire: Radical Evangelicalism in British North America, 1775–1812'', Kingston: McGill-Queen's University Press,
* Semple, Neil (1996) ''The Lord's Dominion: The History of Canadian Methodism'', Buffalo: McGill-Queen's University Press,
Primary sources
* Richey, Russell E., Rowe, Kenneth E. and Schmidt, Jean Miller (eds.) (2000) ''The Methodist Experience in America: a sourcebook'', Nashville: Abingdon Press, . 756 p. of original documents
* Sweet, William Warren (ed.) (1946) ''Religion on the American Frontier: Vol. 4, The Methodists,1783–1840: A Collection of Source Materials'', New York: H. Holt & Co., – 800 p. of documents regarding the American frontier
* The Archive of the Methodist Missionary Society is held at the School of Oriental and African Studies
SOAS University of London (; the School of Oriental and African Studies) is a public research university in London, England, and a member institution of the federal University of London. Founded in 1916, SOAS is located in the Bloomsbury ar ...
, London
Special Collections , SOAS Library , SOAS University of London
External links
World Methodist Council (Official Website)
*
List of Member Churches
World Methodist Evangelical Institute (Official Website)
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