Wesleyan Methodist Church (Great Britain)
Encyclopedia
The Wesleyan Methodist Church was the name used by the major Methodist movement in Great Britain following its split from the Church of England
after the death of John Wesley
and the appearance of parallel Methodist movements. "Wesleyan" was added to the title to differentiate it from the Welsh Calvinistic Methodists, founded by George Whitefield
who like Wesley and his brother Charles
had been a member of the Holy Club
in Oxford to which the (originally derogatory) epithet "Methodist" was first applied, and from the Primitive Methodist movement which separated from the Wesleyans in 1807. The Wesleyan Methodist Church followed the Wesleys in holding to an Arminian theology, as against Whitefield's Calvinism; its Conference was also the legal successor to John Wesley as holders of the property of the original Methodist Societies.
The title "Wesleyan Methodist Church" remained in use until the Methodist Union
of 1932, when the church re-united with the Primitive Methodist Church and the United Methodist Church
to form the current Methodist Church of Great Britain
.
Church of England
The Church of England is the officially established Christian church in England and the Mother Church of the worldwide Anglican Communion. The church considers itself within the tradition of Western Christianity and dates its formal establishment principally to the mission to England by St...
after the death of John Wesley
John Wesley
John Wesley was a Church of England cleric and Christian theologian. Wesley is largely credited, along with his brother Charles Wesley, as founding the Methodist movement which began when he took to open-air preaching in a similar manner to George Whitefield...
and the appearance of parallel Methodist movements. "Wesleyan" was added to the title to differentiate it from the Welsh Calvinistic Methodists, founded by George Whitefield
George Whitefield
George Whitefield , also known as George Whitfield, was an English Anglican priest who helped spread the Great Awakening in Britain, and especially in the British North American colonies. He was one of the founders of Methodism and of the evangelical movement generally...
who like Wesley and his brother Charles
Charles Wesley
Charles Wesley was an English leader of the Methodist movement, son of Anglican clergyman and poet Samuel Wesley, the younger brother of Anglican clergyman John Wesley and Anglican clergyman Samuel Wesley , and father of musician Samuel Wesley, and grandfather of musician Samuel Sebastian Wesley...
had been a member of the Holy Club
Holy Club
The Holy Club was an organisation at Christ Church, Oxford, set up by brothers John and Charles Wesley in 1729, who later contributed to the formation of the Methodist Church....
in Oxford to which the (originally derogatory) epithet "Methodist" was first applied, and from the Primitive Methodist movement which separated from the Wesleyans in 1807. The Wesleyan Methodist Church followed the Wesleys in holding to an Arminian theology, as against Whitefield's Calvinism; its Conference was also the legal successor to John Wesley as holders of the property of the original Methodist Societies.
The title "Wesleyan Methodist Church" remained in use until the Methodist Union
Methodist Union
For English Methodists, Methodist Union refers to the joining together, in 1932, of several of the larger groups of English Methodists. These were the Wesleyan Methodists, the Primitive Methodists, and the United Methodists.-Methodist Union:...
of 1932, when the church re-united with the Primitive Methodist Church and the United Methodist Church
United Methodist Church (Great Britain)
There are other bodies that have been called the United Methodist Church----The United Methodist Church in Great Britain was a Protestant denomination that existed in the early twentieth century...
to form the current Methodist Church of Great Britain
Methodist Church of Great Britain
The Methodist Church of Great Britain is the largest Wesleyan Methodist body in the United Kingdom, with congregations across Great Britain . It is the United Kingdom's fourth largest Christian denomination, with around 300,000 members and 6,000 churches...
.