ICO 



METHODISTS 



that 'I'liri-tian pcifection docs nut ini|>ly an 

 exemption fruiu ignoiance or mistake, infirmities 

 or temptations ; lint il implies tin- lieing so crucified 

 with Christ a* l<> In- able to testify, " I live not. Imt 

 Christ livclh in UK-."' He regatds tin- sin- "I a 

 |M-if.i-t ' Christian as involuntary trmtMRTCnionS, 1 

 anil does not think they should l- rail --d '.-in- at 

 nil, though lie admit- thai they need the atoning 

 hh><>d of Christ. The iiioili* of worship is clastic, 

 ranging from the full ami stately Ktorgitwl service 

 uf the < 'liun-h of England, inn! Wesley's abridgment, 

 i" free, spontaneous utterance uf extcmpoie 

 nrayer, the singing of four liyinns. nml a sermon. 

 I'lie more elaborate services arc fmiiiil principally 

 in the large cities, tlie inure simple in tlie country 

 towns anil villages. The ' love-feast ' is for Benban 

 only, anil is held in each society once a quarter; 

 a narration of vivid ami inspiring experience, 

 mingle I with praise ami prayer. The Covenant 

 Service U held on tlie first Sabbath of the New 

 Year. In this service the membenof the church 

 solemnly reconsecrate themselves to (Jml, ' heartily 

 content^! that He nppuint them their work ami 

 Million;' covenanting to endeavour to order and 

 govern their whole life Mending to the divine 

 direction, and not to allow themselves ill the 

 neglect of anything they know to lie their July. 

 The service concludes with the Lord's Supper. 



(3) Hi*t try. The history of Methodism is for 

 many years the history of Christian ell'ort to evan- 

 gelise the neglected masses ' of England. The 

 utbours uf Wesley, and of those whom he inspired 

 to imitate his example, were of the noblest descrip- 

 tion, and met with remarkable success. The refor- 

 mation of life which his preaching produced, for 

 example, among tin' Kin^-\\o,l colliers and the 

 Cornwall wieckei-. is a testimony to the power of 

 religion which cannot lie too highly estimated. The 

 leal whirh had inspired the IKM|\ in regard to foreign 

 missions, although in the highest decree honouralile, 

 i- uiily the logical development of their elloii- :il 

 home -fur they originally regarded theii society in 



England as simply a vast 'ho mission.' and 



neither Wesley ifor his followers desired to consider 

 themselves a 'sect, 'a new church, in tlie common 

 mage uf the term, I. nt were warmly attached to the 

 old national church, and considered themselves 

 among her true childien. When Wesley died 

 ( IT'.'I i his societies' had spread over the I ' Ilited 



Kingdom, the continent of Europe, the States of 

 America, and the West Indies, and numl-ered 

 80,01)1) miMiilMTs. Since then they have largely 

 increased (see lielow |. 



The Wi-sleyan Methodists have four theological 

 colleges for the training of ministers -at Richmond 

 Hill, Snircv; Hidslitny, South Lancashire: llead- 

 inglcy.in Yorkshire; ajid llandsworth, Hirmingham. 

 They have. In-ides. numerous secondary schools, 

 and also I in Iss'.i, Ml day sdiiHils, with ITfl.r.TS 

 scholar* ; the total income of the schools lieing 

 The M.-ii,.,.:. ; I'.., ok room is situated 

 in the City Kimd, London, and issues hnndieils uf 

 thousand.-! of religions puhlicatiuns (i, 

 monthly. The newspapers and other |H-riodieals 

 profewdly in connection with the body include four 

 quaitetfj,-, and about I, V) journals in English and 

 other language. Among the nioic eminent Metho- 

 di-t authors may IN- named the two We-le\ s, 



I''lctdier, l!<'M-oli, Claike, Muiile, Watson, I>lew, 



Kdinonilsun, Siildille, .lackson, Trell'ry, Knle, 

 ids. Smith, Ktheiid^e, l!i^, l'o|ie, Gregory, 

 '. and I 'cane. 



Tin: MM iimnsT Krisn,r\i, C'lifiirii is the 

 society of We]e\all Methodists in the I'nited 

 States of Aim-lira, where the lust meml>en< of that 

 l.dy immigrants from Ireland established them- 

 elves nil a religions society in New V'ork in the 

 yew 1700. In the course' uf a year or two their 



mnnlier* had cunsidcrnlily incre:i-ed, and they wrote 



to .l.ilm Wesley to send them out s competent 



pieachers. Two immediately oll'ered themselves l"..r 



the work, Itichanl lloanlman and ,loseph I'iln i, 



who were followed in 1771 hv Francis Ashniy and 

 Itichnrd Wright. The agitations preceding the war 

 of independence, which soon afterwards hioke out, 

 interrupted the hiliouix of the 7:/i///.7i Methodi-t 

 ]ireachers in America, all of whom, with the excep- 

 tion of Asl.nry, returned home In-fore the dose of 

 the year 1777 : hut their place appears to have In .-n 

 supplied hy others of native origin, and they con- 

 tinued to prosper, so that at the teiminati if the 



revolutionary simple they numlx-rcd 4.'t preachers 

 and ),'t,740 memhers. V]> to this lime the American 

 Wesleyan MethiMlists had hiiil no claim to In-inj; a 

 distinct religions organisation. Like Wesley him- 

 self, they regarded themselves as memliers of the 

 English Episcopal Church, or rather that hrandi of 

 it then existing in America, and their preachers 'as 

 a luidy of irregular auxiliaries to the ordained clergy. 

 'Episcopal churches.' \\ e arc informed, 'are slill 

 standing in New York and elsewhere, at whose 

 altars Emhury, I'ilmoor, ISoardman. Stravvln, 

 Aslniry. and liankin, the earliest Methodist 

 preachers, received the holy communion.' Hut the 

 recognition of the I'nited Stales as an independent 

 country, and the dill'ereiice of feelings and intciesls 

 that necessarily spran;; up hetween the cunj;rcj;a- 

 tions at home and those in Anieiica, rendered the 

 formation of an independent -oeiety incvitalile. 

 \\ esle\ hecame consciuus <if this, and met the emer- 

 gency in a manner as bold ns it was uncxpei ted. 

 He himself was only a presbyter of the Church of 

 England, lint having convinced himself that in the 



plimitive church a presbyter and a bishop were one 

 and the same order, dillei inj; only as to their ollicial 



functions, he assumed tl (lice of the latter, and, 



in September 17M, with the assistance of some other 

 presbyteis who had joined his movement, lie set 

 apart and ordained tin' Itev. Thomas Coke (q.r.), 

 of Oxford I'niveisity. bishop of the infant church. 

 Coke immediately sailed for Anieiica. and appeared 

 with his credentials at the Conference held at 

 lialiimoie ill DeeemU'r of the same year. He 

 was unanimously rcco^i.i-cd by the assembly of 

 preachers, appointed Asbnry coadjutor bishuii, and 

 ordained several preachers to the ullices of deacon 

 and elder. Wesley also <; ran ted the preai'hcrs per- 

 iiii~sioii (which shows the extensive ei'desiastical 

 power he wielded) to organise a separate and 

 independent chinch under the Episcopal form of 

 government. Nevertheless, there were not a few 

 who were dissatisfied with the Episcopal foini 

 of government. This feeling grew stronger and 

 stronger, until in ls:) a scces-ion took place, 

 aid a new ecclesiastical uiganisatiun was formed, 

 called the ' Methodist Protestant Church.' In 

 IMJ a second secession took place, chiefly on 

 the question of slaveiv the seeedcrn lirononnc- 

 ing all slave-holding sinful, ami e.xdmhng si. 

 holder* from church membership and Christian 

 fellowship: and in 1843 a meeting was held at 

 . New York, where a new society was con- 

 stituted and named the ' Wcs!c\ an ' Methodist 

 Connection of America.' It has continued up to 

 the present a small and unimportant body. Hut in 

 ls| I a far larger and more ini]xirtant -ccr-sion took 



place on the sal jucstion, when the w hole of the 



Slethodist soci.iics in the then slave holdings! 

 concciv ing themselves aggrieved by the inner. .; 

 instituted at the gencial Conference of New York 

 (1N44) apinst the liev. .lames O. Andrew. I). !>., 

 one of tlie bishops, and a cili/en of (ieoigia, who 

 had manied a lady possessed of .slaves, resolved to 

 break oil connection with their northern brethren. 



Hence nli-inated t he .Mel hod isl Episcopal < 'Illllch, 



Ninth. In 1809 a movement (unsuccessful) began 



