Walter Ashbel Sellew (born 27 February 1844—16 January 1929) was a Methodist

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

, holding that office in the

Free Methodist Church The Free Methodist Church (FMC) is a Methodist Christian denomination within the holiness movement, based in the United States. It is evangelical in nature and is Wesleyan–Arminian in theology. The Free Methodist Church has members in over 100 ...

. Sellew was a prominent figure in the Wesleyan—holiness movement, writing on the topics of the importance of a woman's headcovering, the

ordination of women in Methodism Methodist views on the ordination of women in the rite of holy orders are diverse. Historically, as in other Christian denominations, many Methodist churches did not typically allow women to preach or exercise authority over men. However, in ...

, and missions.

Early life and career

Walter Ashbel Sellew was born in

Gowanda, New York Gowanda is a village in western New York, United States. It lies partly in Erie County and partly in Cattaraugus County. The population was 2,512 at the 2020 census. The name is derived from a local Seneca language term meaning "almost surr ...

on 27 February 1844 to Ashbel R. Sellew and Jane M. Sellew née Tucker. In 1866, Sellew graduated from

Dartmouth College Dartmouth College (; ) is a private research university in Hanover, New Hampshire. Established in 1769 by Eleazar Wheelock, it is one of the nine colonial colleges chartered before the American Revolution. Although founded to educate Native A ...

with a

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...

and in 1869, he earned a

Master of Arts A Master of Arts ( la, Magister Artium or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA, M.A., AM, or A.M.) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Tho ...

from the same institution; he was a member of

Zeta Zeta (, ; uppercase Ζ, lowercase ζ; grc, ζῆτα, el, ζήτα, label= Demotic Greek, classical or ''zē̂ta''; ''zíta'') is the sixth letter of the Greek alphabet. In the system of Greek numerals, it has a value of 7. It was derived f ...

chapter of

Psi Upsilon Psi Upsilon (), commonly known as Psi U, is a North American fraternity,''Psi Upsilon Tablet'' founded at Union College on November 24, 1833. The fraternity reports 50 chapters at colleges and universities throughout North America, some of which ...

. With respect to academics, he "maintained a high rank in scholarship" and was elected a

Phi Beta Kappa The Phi Beta Kappa Society () is the oldest academic honor society in the United States, and the most prestigious, due in part to its long history and academic selectivity. Phi Beta Kappa aims to promote and advocate excellence in the liberal a ...

. In 1872, Sellew was

ordained Ordination is the process by which individuals are consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorized (usually by the denominational hierarchy composed of other clergy) to perform va ...

in the

. He held pastorates successively at Tonawanda,

Rochester Rochester may refer to: Places Australia * Rochester, Victoria Canada * Rochester, Alberta United Kingdom *Rochester, Kent ** City of Rochester-upon-Medway (1982–1998), district council area ** History of Rochester, Kent ** HM Prison ...

Spring Arbor Spring Arbor is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Jackson County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population of the CDP was 2,881 at the 2010 census, up from 2,188 at the 2000 census. The CDP is located withi ...

Dunkirk Dunkirk (french: Dunkerque ; vls, label=French Flemish, Duunkerke; nl, Duinkerke(n) ; , ;) is a commune in the department of Nord in northern France.Gerry Gerry is both a surname and a masculine or feminine given name. As a given name, it is often a short form (hypocorism) of Gerard, Gerald or Geraldine. Notable people with the name include: Surname *Elbridge Gerry (1744–1814), fifth US vice presi ...

, Allegany, and Buffalo. Between 1887—1898, Walter Ashbel Sellew was the presiding elder of the Chautauqua, Allegany, Buffalo, Oil City, Bradford and Pittsburgh districts of the Free Methodist Church. He was consecrated a bishop of the Free Methodist Church on 15 October 1898. Sellew served as a

missionary 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 ...

for the Free Methodist Church in 1906, and was known for his service in China and Japan.

Academia and philanthropy

Sellew served as the president of the A. M. Chesebrough Seminary in North Chili, New York. Sellew served as the treasurer for the Gerry Home for Aged Persons and the Gerry Orphanage.

Writings

Sellew published ''Clara Leffingwell, a Missionary'', among other Christian religious publications. He championed the

. In 1894, Sellew published ''Why Not?: A Plea for the Ordination of Those Women Whom God Has Called to Preach the Gospel''. Sellew was the primary architect of the resolution in the Free Methodist Church that led to the ordination of women as

deacon A deacon is a member of the diaconate, an office in Christian churches that is generally associated with service of some kind, but which varies among theological and denominational traditions. Major Christian churches, such as the Catholic Churc ...

s in 1911, which read: "Whenever any annual conference, shall be satisfied that any woman is called of God to preach the gospel, that annual conference may be permitted to receive her on trial, and into full connection, and ordain her as a deacon, all on the same conditions as we receive men into the same relations." Sellew wrote on the ordinance of headcovering among Christian women in an article titled "Woman in the Public Service"; in this, he stated:

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sellew, Walter Ashbel Free Methodist bishops People from New York (state) Dartmouth College alumni Psi Upsilon 1844 births 1929 deaths