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METHODISM

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Originally appearing in Volume V18, Page 294 of the 1911 Encyclopedia Britannica.
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METHODISM , a See also:

term' denoting the religious organizations which trace their origin to the evangelistic teaching of See also:John See also:Wesley. The name " Methodist " was given in derision to those See also:Oxford students who in See also:company with the Wesleys used to meet together for spiritual fellowship; and later on when John Wesley had organized his followers into " See also:societies " the name was applied to them in the same spirit.- It was however accepted by him, and in See also:official documents he usually styles them " the See also:people called Methodists." The fact that See also:standards of Methodist See also:doctrine are laid down as consisting of " Mr Wesley's Notes on the New Testament and the 1st See also:Series of his Sermons " (fifty-three in number), might seem to indicate a departure from existing systems, but it was not so. He fully accepted the recognized teaching of the See also:Church of See also:England, and publicly appealed to the See also:Prayer See also:Book and the See also:Thirty-nine Articles in See also:justification of the doctrines he preached. Methodism began in a revival of See also:personal See also:religion, and it professed to have but one aim, viz. " to spread Scriptural holiness over the See also:land." Its doctrines were in no sense new. It was the zeal with which they were taught, the clear distinction which they See also:drew between the profession of godliness and the enjoyment of its See also:power—added to the emphasis they laid upon the immediate See also:influence of the See also:Holy Spirit on the consciousness ' " Methodism " is derived from " method " (Gr. z 8oSos), a See also:rule. A " methodist " is one who follows a " method," the term being applied not only to the Wesleyan See also:body, but earlier to the Amvraldists, and in the 17th See also:century to certain See also:Roman See also:Catholic apologists.of the See also:Christian—which attracted See also:attention, gave them distinction, and even aroused ridicule and opposition. Wesley and his helpers, finding the See also:Anglican churches closed against them, took to See also:preaching in the open See also:air; and this method is still followed, more or less, in the aggressive evangelistic See also:work of all the Methodist Churches. As followers rapidly increased they were compelled to hold their own See also:Sunday services, and this naturally led them to appoint as preachers godly laymen possessing the See also:gift of exhortation. These followed their See also:ordinary avocations on See also:week-days, but on Sundays preached to congregations in their own immediate neighbourhood, and hence were called See also:local preachers as distinguished from travelling preachers. The extent to which the employment of the local preacher is characteristic of Methodism may be seen from the fact that in the See also:United See also:Kingdom while there are only about 5000 Methodist ministers, there are more than 18,000 congregations; some 13,000 congregations, chiefly in the villages, are dependent on local preachers. In the organization adopted to See also:foster spiritual See also:life the very characteristic " Class-meetings for Christian fellowship" take a prominent See also:place.

Membership in the church depends solely upon being enrolled as a member of one of these meetings for Christian fellowship, and thus placing oneself under See also:

pastoral oversight. The Wesleyan Methodists now represent the See also:original body as founded by John Wesley in See also:Great See also:Britain and See also:Ireland; but in See also:America those who looked upon him as their founder adopted the episcopal mode of Church See also:government after the See also:War of See also:Independence, and have since that See also:time been known as Episcopal Methodists (see below). It should be noted that the Welsh Calvinistic Methodists are only slightly connected with the original body. They were indirectly the outcome of the evangelistic efforts of See also:Howell See also:Harris and See also:Rowlands. Their work received the sympathy of Wesley and liberal See also:financial help from the Countess of See also:Huntingdon (see CALVINISTIC METHODISTS). For a time See also:Whitefield was See also:leader, and we find a reference to the " Whitefieldian and Wesleyan Methodists " in the Supplement to the See also:Gentleman's See also:Magazine for 1747, p. 619. The theological views of these teachers proved quite incompatible with the Arminianism of Wesley, and a definite See also:breach between them and him took place in 1770. The Welsh Calvinistic Methodists are now a See also:branch of the Presbyterian Church. Other divisions have been formed at various times by secessions from the Wesleyan Methodists (see See also:separate articles). They are: Methodist New Connexion (founded 1797–1798); See also:Bible Christians (1815) ; United Methodist See also:Free Churches2 (about 1836); See also:Primitive Methodists (founded 1807–1810); See also:Independent Methodist Churches (about r8ob); Wesleyan Reform See also:Union (185o, reorganized 1859). These bodies have separated solely on matters of Church government and not on points of doctrine.

The Primitive Methodists in Ireland were a small body who in 1817 seceded because they wished to maintain that See also:

close connexion with the Church of England which existed at the time of Wesley's See also:death, but in 1878 they rejoined the See also:parent body. Methodism has always been aggressive, and her See also:children on emigrating have taken with them their evangelistic methods. (For the See also:American branches see below.) The See also:statistics given in the following table (not including Junior Society Classes) are from the Minutes of the See also:Conference of the Wesleyan Methodist Church for 1909. At the death of Wesley the figures were: 313 preachers, 119 circuits and See also:mission stations, and 76,968 members. In the United States: 97 circuits, 198 preachers and 43,265 members. .. . In 1837 the membership in Great Britain and Ireland was 318,716; in See also:foreign mission stations, 66,007; in Upper See also:Canada, 14,000; while the American Conferences had See also:charge of 650,678 members. See also:Total for the See also:world: 1,049,401, with 4478 ministers. Three See also:Oecumenical Conferences have been held—two at See also:City Road, See also:London, in 1881 and 1901, and one at See also:Washington in 1891. The statistics presented at the last showed that the Church during the preceding See also:decade had gained about a million members and three million adherents. At the same time there has been a steadily 2 .These first three were joined in 1907 under the name of the United Methodist Church. growing feeling in favour of union.

Canada and See also:

Australasia led the way, for in these countries the Methodist Church was undivided, and the sentiment was greatly strengthened by the formation in the United Kingdom of the United Methodist Church in 1907. See A New See also:History of Methodism, ed. W. J. Townsend, H. B. Workman, See also:George Eayrs (2 vols., London, 1909). (J. A. V.)local and travelling preachers, and the organization of local societies with class leaders, stewards and trustees. The intention was to make American Methodism a facsimile of that in England, subject to Wesley and the See also:British Conference-a society and not a Church. Pilmoor and others objected to See also:Asbury's strict See also:Denomination.

Ministers. See also:

Lay Church Sunday See also:Officers Sunday Churches, preacers. Members and See also:Schools. and See also:Scholar. &c. Probationers. Teachers. Wesleyan Methodists: 2,454 19,826 520,868 7,589 132,186 987,953 8,606' Great Britain Ireland 246 621 29,531 353 2,557 25,969 4142 Foreign See also:Missions 617 4,965 143,467 1,754 7,651 91,113 3,502 See also:French Conference 35 89 1,675 703 142 1,996 127 See also:South See also:African Conference . . 253 5,797 117,146 788 2,893 39,329 3,930 Primitive Methodists . . . . 1,178 16,158 212,168 4,155 59,557 465,531 5,148 United Methodist Church . . 891 6,183 186,905 2,404 43,169 323,675 3,188 Wesleyan Reform Union 21 527 8,489 181 2,762 22,312 196 Independent Methodist Churches 424 - 9,442 153 3,041 27,219 156 Australasian Methodist Church . 975 4,576 150,751 3,973 24,322 231,553 6,418 United States:- 19,421 14,743 3,376,888 34,619 361,667 3,068,248 29,765 Methodist Episcopal' .

Union American Methodist Episcopal 138 - 18,500 - - - 255 African Methodist Episcopal . 6,070 15,885 850,000 - - 6,815 African Union Methodist See also:

Protestant 200 750 4,000 350 9O0 2,770 125 African Methodist Episcopal See also:Zion. 3,912 1,520 578,310 2,034 14,404 122,467 3,241 Methodist Protestant . . . 1,551 1,135 183,894 2,034 16,68o 126,031 2,242 Wesleyan Methodist 524 - 19,064 465 - 18,344 598 Methodist Episcopal (South) . 6,978 4,800 1,673,892 14,892 111,137 1,084,238 15,496 Congregational Methodist . . 415 - 24,000 - - - 425 Congregational Methodist(coloured) 5 - 319 - - - 5 New Congregational Methodist . 238 - 4,022 - - - 417 Zion Union Apostolic . 30 - 2,346 - - - 32 Coloured Methodist Episcopal 2,673 2,786 219,739 4,007 7,098 79,876 2,619 Primitive Methodist . . . 72 138 7,013 Io8 - 11,754 104 Free Methodist . . .

. 1,126 1,299 31,435 1,175 7,376 40,660 1,117 Independent Methodist . . . 8 - 2,569 - - - 15 Evangelistic Missionary . . . 92 27 5,014 1,200 47 See also:

Canadian Methodist Church. . . 2,384 3,809 329,904 3,556 35,323 305,649 3,789 See also:Japan Methodist Church' . . . 47 35 4,083 121 544 11,136 28 Totals . . .

End of Article: METHODISM

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