METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH (31=oursTs, ante) is the name assumed by the Wesleyan Methodists in this country when, after the attainment of national indepen dence, they were organized as a denomination, under rules proposed by John Wesley and adopted by themselves. I. Their doctrine is set forth in 25 articles, formed from the 39 of the church of England by omitting some of them entirely and modifying several of the others, with the design to offer a broad and liberal basis on which the general body -of evangelical Christians might unite together in brotherly love. Since 1834 a restrictive Tule has removed from the authorities of the church all power to revoke, alter, or -change these articles of religion; or to establish any new standards or rules of doc trine contrary to the existing and established doctrinal standards. Their theolog,y is styled by themselves " Arminian," according to what they consider the true import -of the name as exhibited in Wesley's doctrinal sermons, Notes 07L the New Testament, .and other writings. They adopt his doctrine concerning the "witness of the Spirit" —called by many " assurance' —which he defines as " an inward impression on the .soul, whereby the spirit of God immediately and directly witnesses to my spirit that I am a child of God; that Jesus Christ hath loved me and given himself for me; -that all my sins are blotted out, and I, even' I, am reconciled to God;" and in mak ing this impression Wesley supposes that the Holy Spirit "works upon the soul by his irnmediate influence, and by a strong, though inexplicable, operation." They gener ally hold, also, the doctrine which many call "sanctification," or, as Wesley preferred to say, "Christian perfection," and which, as the intelligent among them affirm, negatively " teac,hes no state, attainable in this life, like that of the angels, or of Adam in paradise, or in which there is an exemption from mistakes, ignorance, infirmities, or temptations;" but positively, "that all saints may, by faith, be so filled with the love of God that all the powgrs of the soul shall be recovered from the abnormal, perverted, sinful condition, -and, together with the outward conduct, be controlled in entire harmony with love." II. The government of the Methodist church is administered in a series of 5 conferences ,(see CONFERENCES ON THE METHODIST EP/SCOPAL CHURCH), in addition to which the leaders' and stewards' meeting. presided over by the pastor and consisting of all the class leaders and stewards of his charge, has important functions connected with the well being and efficiency of each particular church. Evangelization, to extend the work, and :supervision, to secure firmly all advantages gained, were at the beginning the two funda mental principles adopted, and they are still diligently maintained. The bishops preside ?in the conferences; form the districts according to their judgment; appoint the preachers to their fields, permitting none to continue more than three successive years in the same •charge, except the presiding elders, whose term may ext,end to four years, and a few others by special appointment; ordain deacons, elders, and bishops newly elected; .travel through the denomination at large, and oversee, in accordance with the rules of the -general conference, the spiritual and temporal affairs of the church. They have no par ticular dioceses, but exercise a joint jurisdiction over the whole church as an itinerant •general superintendency. They annually arrange and divide the work among themselves, 'being responsible for its performance to the general conference, by which they are elected and have their respective residences assigned. As an elder was originally put in charge •of a district containing several circuits, he was practically a presiding officer over thern. -Thus the office of presiding elder was gradually established, and became very useful. It is a sub-episcopate, charged with the duties of oversight and administration in a limited .sphere, and makes the ecclesiastical system complete and strong. Their intimate acquaintance in their districts with both pastors and people, and their presidency in the quarterly conferences, enable the presiding elders to give valuable information and coun sel to the bishop in arranging the appointments. In doing this, usage makes them the -bishop's advisers, but with no actual authority, as the church considers it wise to put the whole responsibility of the appointments on the bishop. Candidates for admission to an annual conference are put on probation for two years in the itinerant work, and are sub jected to a thorough examination in prescribed studies; and all who are approved in -these trials are ordained deacons; and ir. two years more, if they complete the required -studies, they are ordained as elders. The former adininister baptism, solemnize mar riage, assist elders in administering the Lord's-supper, and perform all the duties of a traveling preacher; and the latter, in addition to these, administer the Lord's-supper. An elder, deacon, or preacher, may be in charge of a circuit or station with similar func tions, except as to the administration of the sacrament. He is the chief executive officer of the local church, charged with the care of its interests according to the requirements ,,of the discipline; and is responsible to the annual conference for his fidelity in perform ing all his ministerial duties, and for his moral deportment. In subordination to him, Aclass leaders, or sub-pastors, have the Ppeciatoversight of Wall bortions of the church oinembers whom they meet weekly for " social religious worship, and for instruction, encouragement, and admonition." Local preachers have a share in the acts of tbe Cis trict and quarterly conferences; and as a lay ministry form a body of self-supporting evangelists more numerous than " the itineracy," which, in many sections of the church and various phases of society, has been very useful. All church buildings and parson ages belong to the local society, and are held by trustees chosen according to the law of the state or territory wherever a particular mode is prescribed, and in other cases by the quarterly conference. Admission to membership in the church is preceded by a proba tion of six months or longer, as may be determined in particular cases, after which the probationer may be admitted to full membership by complying with the rules prescribed. 3lembers of other evangelical churches, coming with proper testimonials, are received into fellowship without probation. PROGRESS or TIIE CHURCH. 1. Pioneer Work. Methodism, says the historian of the church, presented itself to the net, nation as an Epis copal church with all the necessary functions and functionaries of such a body; the only one of Protestant denomination, for the colonial fragments of the English establishment had not yet been reorganized. Led by their bishops, the itinerants went forward in their work, convinced, as they said, " that they were raised up to reform the continent, and to spread scriptural holiness over these lands." Thus, " feeling that their one great work was to save souls," they retained and built up what had already been gained, and, pressing on into new fields, preached wherever hearers could be found. Crossing the Alleghanies they were always with the advance, and were soon found also in New Eng land, Canada, and Nova Scotia. Gowns and prayer-books obstructed their progress and were therefore abandoned. Their system was, in a great deg' ee, constructed to meet the exigencies of the work. Their "class and prayer meetings trained most, if not all, the laity to practical missionary labor, and three or four of them, meeting in any distant part of the earth by the emigrations of these times, were prepared immediately to become the nucleus of a church. The lay or local ministry, borne on by the tide of population, were found almost everywhere, prior to the arrival of regular preachers ready to sustain religious services—the pioneers of the church in every new field." At the end of the century they had increased their 15,000 members to 65,000 and their 80 itinerants to 280, besides many who, physically unequal to the strain of the advance, still did their utmost in easier fields. Bishop Coke's stay in the country was only for limited periods, and after 1787 some of the more arduous portions of the episcopal labors devolved on bishop
. Asbury alone, who was the chief apostle of the church, consecrating to the work all his powers, making himself an example to all in self-denying toil, giving personal attention ' to minute details, and visiting much from house to house. One of the first Sunday schools in America was organized by him in 1786, and four years after the conferenc,e ordered Sunday-schools to be generally established for the instruction of "poor children, white and black, in learning and piety." 2. Denominational Institutions. (1.) " The Book Concern." In 1788 a " book steward" WaS appointed, and a borrowed capital of $600 obtained. In 1804 the concern was removed from Philadelphia to New York, and subse quently enlarged the number of its publications, scattering them through the circuits by making all the preachers agents, who, although too busy to write books, could sell them and thus greatly increase the efficiency of their work. In 1818 the Methodist Magazine was commenced, and, now called the Methodist Quarterly Review, Us attained a high rank among religious journals, and has a considerable circula tion. In 1820 Zion's Herald was commenced by the New England Methodists, and was followed, four years after, by the Christian Advocate, the first weekly religious paper published by the book concern. A second publishing house was opened at Cincinnati in 1820; and in 1833 the New York house was removed to larger quarters in 3lulberry street, which, in 1836, were consumed by fire at a loss of $250,000. New and better buildings were soon erected on the site, which, having been subsequently enlarged to meet the constantly increasing business, are now used only in the manufacturing of books. The principal office is in the building provided for it and the missionary society, at an expense of a million dollars. (2.) "The Preacher's Fund." From the beginning of their history Methodists have had regard to the wants of their sick and superannuated ministers, and of decea.sed ministers' destitute families. Funds for their relief have been raised in various ways and have been designated by different names. At present the principal dependence for this purpose is on the contributions of the congregations, which now yield annually $150,000. (3.) " The Missionary Society." The Methodist church itself is justly regarded by its members as one of " the great home-mission enterprises of the North American continent," and for a long time it called for all their resources of men and money. The conference of 1784 ordered a collection to be taken annually in all the principal congregations. While the constant extension of the church was thus a mis - sionary movement, further progress was marked in 1819 by the organization of the mis sionary society, which. having primary reference to home work, joined with that also the foreign field; in this last its operations, having been gradually extended, now embrace missions in Africa, China, India, Japan, Germany, Switzerland, Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Bulgaria, Italy, Mexico, and South America. Its work is aided by the woman's foreig-n missionary society, Sunday-school union, tract, freedman's aid, and church-extension societies. (4.) " The educational work began with the church itself." The plan for an academic institute was forined in 1780, the foundation of a building for it being laid at Abington, Md.; and in 1787 Cokesbury college was opened. Its curricm lum included " English, Latin, Greek, logic, rhetoric, history, geography, natu-..al philos-: ophy, astronomy, and, when the finances admit of it, Hebrew, French, and German." This building having been burned in 1795, a new one was provided in Baltimore; but in a year, this also was lost in the same way. This repeated calamity led bishop Asbury to think that the attention of Methodists should be given to the general establishment of schools from which the high-sounding name of colleges might be withheld. One such school he wished to see in every conference. In 1820 the general conference recommended that each annual conference should establish a school for itself. Several conference schools were soon started, and within 12 years five colleges were founded. These were followed by theological seminaries which, at first, were called biblical institutes. Tho first pro: jected was located at Concord, N. H., in 1847; and, li:nring been afterwards removed to Boston. became, in 1871, the theological department in the university there. The Gar rett biblical institute at Evanston, Ill., founded in 1855, received its name and an endow ment of $300,000 from a lady of Chicago. The Drew theological seminary at Madison, N. J. (see MAnisox), was established by the gift of Daniel Drew of New York. There are also schools at several points in the Southern states, in Germany, at Frankfort on the Main, and in India. At the close of the centennial year of American Methodism the church reported 25 colleges and theological schools, having 158 instruetms, 5,350 students, about $4,000,000 in endowments and other property, and more than 105,000 volumes in their libraries; and also 77 academies, with 556 instructors and nearly 18,000 students of both sexes. 3. Divisions. (1.) In 1792 James O'Kelly and some other ministers, with a considerable number of members, dissatisfied with the appointing power being ve,sted in the bishop, without appeal, and unable to effect any modification of a system which the great mass of the church cordially approved, withdrew froin the denomina tion and formed themselves ihto " The Christian Church." (2.) In 1816 the colored mem bers in and around Philadelphia organized themselves into the African Methodist Epis copal church. (3.) In 1820 a similar movement in and around New York resulted in the formation of the African Methodist Episcopal Zion church. (4.) In 1828 the Canada con ference withdrew and became a distinct church. This separation was regarded by both sections as a matter of necessity, and was effected without any interruption of fraternal relations between them. (5.) In 1830 the Methodist Protestant church was formed, having at the outset 83 preachers and 5,000 members. (6.) In 1845, at a convention held in Louisville, Ky., impelled by differences of opinion, feeling, and policy on the subject of slavery, the Methodist Episcopal church, South. was formed by the withdrawal of the southern conferences, embracing about 1350 traveling and 3,160 local preachers, with 49'5,000 members. Through all these divisions and troubles the church pressed on vig orously with its work. During. the war of the rebellion it stood with all its moral power on the side of the union, and more than 100,000 of its members entered the armies of their country. Before and after the close of the war it made preparations for celebrating the centenary of American Methodism by all its churches and people " with devout thanksgiving, by special religious services, and liberal thank-offerings," for which the month of Oct., 1866, was set apart. As at the end of the century, notwithstanding its losses, it contained more than a million of members, the hope was cherished that not less than twice that number of dollars would be given to promote its future work. The expected services were held throughout the church, and at the close of the month the total amount contributed was found to be $8,709,500. 4. Admission of lay delegates into the general conference. This important change was inaugurated in 1872, after long consideration throughout the church. The plan adopted provides that " the ministerial and lay delegates shall sit and deliberate together as one body, but they shall vote sepa rately whenever such separate vote shall be demanded by one-third of either order; and in such cases the concurrent vote of both orders shall be necessary to complete an action." According to official reports for 1880 there are 95 annual conferences; 13 bish ops; 11,798 itinerant and 12,620 local preachers, making with the bishops a total of 24,431; churches, 17,111, containing 1,723,147 lay members, on probation and in full connection; 20,754 Sunday-schools, containing 1,793,763 officers and scholars; amount contributed during the year for tile support and extension of the gospel, at home and in other lands, not less than $14,500,000.