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Encyclopedia Britannica - Main :: MEC-MIC |
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METHODISM , a term' denoting the religious organizations which trace their origin to the evangelistic teaching of John Wesley. The name " Methodist " was given in derision to those Oxford students who in company with the Wesleys used to meet together for spiritual fellowship; and later on when John Wesley had organized his followers into " societies " the name was applied to them in the same spirit.- It was however accepted by him, and in official documents he usually styles them " the people called Methodists." The fact that standards of Methodist doctrine are laid down as consisting of " Mr Wesley's Notes on the New Testament and the 1st 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 Church of England, and publicly appealed to the Prayer Book and the Thirty-nine Articles in justification
' " Methodism " is derived from " method " (Gr. z 8oSos), a rule. A " methodist " is one who follows a " method," the term being applied not only to the Wesleyan body
gift of exhortation. These followed their ordinary avocations on week -days, but on Sundays preached to congregations in their own immediate neighbourhood, and hence were called 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 United 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 foster spiritual life the very characteristic " Class-meetings for Christian fellowship" take a prominent 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 pastoral
The Wesleyan Methodists now represent the original
body
original
Gentleman 's Magazine for 1747, p. 619. The theological views of these teachers proved quite incompatible with the Arminianism of Wesley, and a definite breach between them and him took place in 1770. The Welsh Calvinistic Methodists are now a branch of the Presbyterian Church. Other divisions have been formed at various times by secessions from the Wesleyan Methodists (see separate articles). They are: Methodist New Connexion (founded 17971798); Bible Christians (1815) ; United Methodist Free Churches2 (about 1836); Primitive Methodists (founded 18071810); Independent Methodist Churches (about r8ob); Wesleyan Reform 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 close connexion with the Church of England which existed at the time of Wesley's death, but in 1878 they rejoined the parent body. Methodism has always been aggressive, and her children on emigrating have taken with them their evangelistic methods. (For the American branches see below.)The statistics given in the following table (not including Junior Society Classes) are from the Minutes of the Conference of the Wesleyan Methodist Church for 1909. At the death of Wesley the figures were: 313 preachers, 119 circuits and 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 foreign mission stations, 66,007; in Upper Canada, 14,000; while the American Conferences had charge of 650,678 members. Total for the world: 1,049,401, with 4478 ministers. Three Oecumenical Conferences have been heldtwo at City Road, London, in 1881 and 1901, and one at Washington in 1891. The statistics presented at the last showed that the Church during the preceding 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 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 History of Methodism, ed. W. J. Townsend, H. B. Workman, 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 British Conference-a society and not a Church. Pilmoor and others objected to Asbury's strict Denomination. Ministers. Lay Church Sunday Officers Sunday Churches, preacers. Members and Schools. and 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 Missions 617 4,965 143,467 1,754 7,651 91,113 3,502 French Conference 35 89 1,675 703 142 1,996 127 South 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 Protestant 200 750 4,000 350 9O0 2,770 125 African Methodist Episcopal 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 Canadian Methodist Church. . . 2,384 3,809 329,904 3,556 35,323 305,649 3,789 Japan Methodist Church' . . . 47 35 4,083 121 544 11,136 28 Totals . . . . 52,978 105,669 8,715,434 84,781 833,409 7,089,023 98,820 End of Article: METHODISM If you wish, you can link directly to this article.
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