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.
James Harrison Rigg was an English nonconformist minister and Methodist educator.
The Methodist Episcopal Church (MEC) was the oldest and largest Methodist denomination in the United States from its founding in 1784 until 1939. It was also the first religious denomination in the US to organize itself nationally. In 1939, the MEC reunited with two breakaway Methodist denominations to form the Methodist Church. In 1968, the Methodist Church merged with the Evangelical United Brethren Church to form the United Methodist Church.
The Holiness movement is a Christian movement that emerged chiefly within 19th-century Methodism, and to a lesser extent influenced other traditions such as Quakerism, Anabaptism, and Restorationism. The movement is historically distinguished by its emphasis on the doctrine of a second work of grace, generally called entire sanctification or Christian perfection and by the belief that the Christian life should be free of sin. For the Holiness movement, "the term 'perfection' signifies completeness of Christian character; its freedom from all sin, and possession of all the graces of the Spirit, complete in kind." A number of evangelical Christian denominations, parachurch organizations, and movements emphasize those beliefs as central doctrine.
The Church of God (Holiness) is an association of autonomous holiness Christian congregations. Originating in the 19th century, it is aligned with conservative holiness movement of Methodism. With respect to ecumenism, the Church of God is a member of the Global Wesleyan Alliance and Interchurch Holiness Convention.
The Wesleyan Church, also known as the Wesleyan Methodist Church and Wesleyan Holiness Church depending on the region, is a Methodist Christian denomination in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, South Africa, Namibia, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Indonesia, and Australia. The church is aligned with the Wesleyan-Holiness movement and has roots in the teachings of John Wesley. It adheres to Wesleyan-Arminian doctrine and is a member of the World Methodist Council.
Sanctification literally means "to set apart for special use or purpose", that is, to make holy or sacred. Therefore, sanctification refers to the state or process of being set apart, i.e. "made holy", as a vessel, full of the Holy Spirit of God. The concept of sanctification is widespread among religions, including Judaism and especially Christianity. The term can be used to refer to objects which are set apart for special purposes, but the most common use within Christian theology is in reference to the change brought about by God in a believer, begun at the point of salvation and continuing throughout the life of the believer. Many forms of Christianity believe that this process will only be completed in Heaven, but some believe that complete holiness is possible in this life.
The Christian Methodist Episcopal (C.M.E.) Church is a historically black denomination that branched from earlier Methodist groups in the United States. It is considered to be a mainline denomination. The CME Church was organized on December 16, 1870, in Jackson, Tennessee, by 41 former enslaved congregants with the full support of their white sponsors in their former Methodist Episcopal Church, South who met to form an organization that would allow them to establish and maintain their own polity. They ordained their own bishops and ministers without their being officially endorsed or appointed by the white-dominated body. They called this fellowship the Colored Methodist Episcopal Church in America, which it remained until their successors adopted the current name in 1954. The Christian Methodist Episcopal today has a church membership of people from all racial backgrounds. It adheres to Wesleyan-Arminian theology.
The African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church, or the AME Zion Church (AMEZ) is a historically African-American Christian denomination based in the United States. It was officially formed in 1821 in New York City, but operated for a number of years before then. The African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church adheres to Wesleyan-Arminian theology.
The Primitive Methodist Church is a Methodist Christian denomination within the holiness movement. It began in England in the early 19th century, with the influence of American evangelist Lorenzo Dow (1777–1834).
James Mudge (1844–1918) was an American Methodist Episcopal clergyman and writer, nephew of Zachariah Mudge. He was born at West Springfield, Mass., and graduated from Wesleyan University in 1865 and from Boston University School of Theology in 1868. The same year he entered the ministry, joining the New England conference. While a missionary in India from 1873 to 1883 he edited the Lucknow Witness. After his return he was pastor of churches in Massachusetts until 1908, serving also as lecturer on missions at the Boston University School of Theology. In 1889 he became secretary of the New England conference. For many years he was book editor of Zion's Herald. He wrote:
Newspapers and news magazines have always been an important source of information for Methodist churches and their members and constituents. In the US, there have been a variety of instruments published over the years, some by General Conferences, others by annual conferences, others by individuals.
The Christian Advocate was a weekly newspaper published in New York City by the Methodist Episcopal Church. It began publication in 1826 and by the mid-1830s had become the largest circulating weekly in the United States, with more than 30,000 subscribers and an estimated 150,000 readers. After changes of name and a split into two publications, publication ceased in 1975.
Wesleyan theology, otherwise known as Wesleyan–Arminian theology, or Methodist theology, is a theological tradition in Protestant Christianity based upon the ministry of the 18th-century evangelical reformer brothers John Wesley and Charles Wesley. More broadly it refers to the theological system inferred from the various sermons, theological treatises, letters, journals, diaries, hymns, and other spiritual writings of the Wesleys and their contemporary coadjutors such as John William Fletcher.
Peter Percival was a British born missionary and educator who opened religious schools in Sri Lanka and South India during the British colonial era.) During his stay in Jaffna, he led the effort to translate the Authorized King James Version of Bible into the Tamil language, working with the Tamil scholar Arumuka Navalar – a Shaiva Hindu. Percival's work influenced Robert Bruce Foote. Percival began his career in British held Sri Lanka and Bengal as a Wesleyan Methodist missionary. He was instrumental in starting and upgrading a number of Christian schools within the Jaffna peninsula. After returning to England, he converted to Anglicanism. Subsequent to his posting in South India, he severed his association with the Anglican Missionary Society that had sent him to India and worked as an educator in Presidency College in Madras Presidency. He published English-Tamil and English-Telugu dictionaries as well as a number of books on Indian culture and religion. He died in 1882 in Yercaud in present-day Tamil Nadu.
The history of Methodism in the United States dates back to the mid-18th century with the ministries of early Methodist preachers such as Laurence Coughlan and Robert Strawbridge. Following the American Revolution most of the Anglican clergy who had been in America came back to England. John Wesley, the founder of Methodism, sent Thomas Coke to America where he and Francis Asbury founded the Methodist Episcopal Church, which was to later establish itself as the largest denomination in America during the 19th century.
Thomas OsmondSummers was an English-born American Methodist theologian, clergyman, hymnist, editor, liturgist and university professor. He is considered one of the most prominent Methodist theologians of the nineteenth century.
The Evangelical Wesleyan Church, formerly known as the Evangelical Wesleyan Church of North America, is a Methodist denomination in the conservative holiness movement.
The Global Methodist Church is a Methodist denomination of Protestant Christianity subscribing to views consistent with the conservative Confessing Movement. The denomination is headquartered in the United States and has a presence internationally. The Global Methodist Church was created as a result of a schism with the United Methodist Church, after members departed to erect a denomination seeking to uphold "theological and ethical Christian orthodoxy." Congregations that left the UMC to form the Global Methodist Church opposed recognition of same-sex marriage and the ordination of non-celibate gay clergy. Its doctrines, which are aligned with Wesleyan-Arminian theology, are contained in the Transitional Book of Doctrines and Discipline, its Book of Discipline, and in The Catechism of the Global Methodist Church. As of 2023, the church says it is composed of nearly 3,000 congregations and over 3,200 clergy members.
