The Holy Club was an organization at Christ Church, Oxford, formed in 1729 by brothers John and Charles Wesley, who later contributed to the formation of the Methodist Church. [1] [2] [3] The brothers and associates, including George Whitefield, met for prayer, Bible study, and pious discipline.
The "Holy Club" started in November 1729 when John Wesley went to live at the University of Oxford. When he came to reside there, three of his friends along with himself agreed to spend three or four evenings together, every week. Their intention was to "read over" (skim through and discuss) the classics together, which they had already read before privately and to read a book about divinity on Sundays. Charles Wesley, John's brother, was one of the four individuals making up this small cell group. [4]
The actual title of "The Holy Club" was not a name which any of the members came up with, but rather was a title bestowed upon them (most likely as an insult by those trying to mock them). [4]
As many of the Holy Club's members went on to lead the Evangelical Revival within the Church of England, this organisation is often said to be the root of Methodism. [1]
Jeering college students scoffed at these "Methodists" who tried to systematically serve God every hour of the day. [3] The club members set aside time for praying, examining their spiritual lives, studying the Bible, and meeting together. [3] In addition, they took food to poor families, visited lonely people in prison, and taught orphans how to read. [3] Members of the organization celebrated Holy Communion frequently and fasted on Wednesdays and Fridays until 3 pm. [1] [2] Fellows of the Holy Club also studied and discussed the Greek New Testament as well as the Classics. [1]
University wits styled them the "Holy Club" or "Methodists", a title of derision. They were dismissed as "enthusiasts" (indicating excessive religious behaviour, or fanaticism). [5] Critics of the Holy Club recited a popular ditty:
Currents of opposition became a furor following the mental breakdown and death of a group member, William Morgan. [6] In response to the charge that "rigorous fasting" had hastened his death, Wesley noted that Morgan had left off fasting a year and a half since. In the same letter, which was widely circulated, Wesley referred to the name "Methodist" which "some of our neighbors are pleased to compliment us." [7] That name was used by an anonymous author in a published pamphlet (1733) describing Wesley and his group, "The Oxford Methodists". [8]
The individuals listed below are notable members of the Holy Club who distinguished themselves later in life.
Evangelicalism, also called evangelical Christianity or evangelical Protestantism, is a worldwide interdenominational movement within Protestant Christianity that emphasizes the centrality of sharing the "good news" of Christianity, being "born again" in which an individual experiences personal conversion, as authoritatively guided by the Bible, God's revelation to humanity. The word evangelic comes from the Greek word for 'good news'.
Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a Protestant Christian tradition whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's brother Charles Wesley were also significant early leaders in the movement. They were named Methodists for "the methodical way in which they carried out their Christian faith". Methodism originated as a revival movement within Anglicanism with roots in the Church of England in the 18th century and became a separate denomination after Wesley's death. The movement spread throughout the British Empire, the United States and beyond because of vigorous missionary work, and today has about 80 million adherents worldwide.
George Whitefield, also known as George Whitfield, was an English Anglican minister and preacher who was one of the founders of Methodism and the evangelical movement. Born in Gloucester, he matriculated at Pembroke College, Oxford in 1732. There, he joined the "Holy Club" and was introduced to John and Charles Wesley, with whom he would work closely in his later ministry. Unlike the Wesleys, he embraced Calvinism.
John Wesley was an English cleric, theologian, and evangelist who was a leader of a revival movement within the Church of England known as Methodism. The societies he founded became the dominant form of the independent Methodist movement that continues to this day.
Charles Wesley was an English Anglican cleric and a principal leader of the Methodist movement. Wesley was a prolific hymnwriter who wrote over 6,500 hymns during his lifetime. His works include "And Can It Be", "O for a Thousand Tongues to Sing", "Christ the Lord Is Risen Today", "Love Divine, All Loves Excelling", the carol "Hark! The Herald Angels Sing", and "Lo! He Comes With Clouds Descending".
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Richard Graves was an English cleric, poet, and novelist. He is remembered especially for his picaresque novel The Spiritual Quixote (1773).
The First Great Awakening, sometimes Great Awakening or the Evangelical Revival, was a series of Christian revivals that swept Britain and its thirteen North American colonies in the 1730s and 1740s. The revival movement permanently affected Protestantism as adherents strove to renew individual piety and religious devotion. The Great Awakening marked the emergence of Anglo-American evangelicalism as a trans-denominational movement within the Protestant churches. In the United States, the term Great Awakening is most often used, while in the United Kingdom, the movement is referred to as the Evangelical Revival.
The Presbyterian Church of Wales, also known as the Calvinistic Methodist Church, is a denomination of Protestant Christianity based in Wales.
The Methodist Church of Great Britain is a Protestant Christian denomination in Britain, and the mother church to Methodists worldwide. It participates in the World Methodist Council, and the World Council of Churches among other ecumenical associations.
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The cell group is a form of church organization that is used in many Christian churches. Cell groups are generally intended to teach the Bible and personalize Christian fellowship. They are always used in cell churches, but also occur in parachurch organizations and other interdenominational settings, where they are usually referred to as Bible study groups. In Methodism, they are known as class meetings and are a means of grace; in Catholicism, they are known as basic ecclesial communities.
John William Fletcher was a Swiss-born English divine and Methodist leader. Of French Huguenot stock, he was born in Nyon in Vaud, Switzerland. Fletcher emigrated to England in 1750 and there he became an Anglican vicar. He began to work with John Wesley, becoming a key interpreter of Wesleyan theology in the 18th century and one of Methodism's first great theologians. Fletcher was renowned in Britain for his piety and generosity; when asked if he had any needs, he responded, "...I want nothing but more grace."
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, Methodism's systematic theologian.
Christian revivalism is increased spiritual interest or renewal in the life of a Christian church, congregation or society with a local, national or global effect. This should be distinguished from the use of the term "revival" to refer to an evangelistic meeting or series of meetings. Proponents view revivals as the restoration of the church to a vital and fervent relationship with God after a period of moral decline.
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.
Sarah Wesley, née Gwynne, also known as Sally Wesley was the wife of itinerant Methodist Charles Wesley, brother of John Wesley, the main founder of Methodism. The daughter of a wealthy family, Wesley once performed musically for George III and passed this talent onto two of her sons, both of whom were musical prodigies.
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