The Wesleyan movement was met by the same spirit of persecution that attended the leaders of the Reformation. Wesley and all associated with him were opposed, misrepresented, and maligned. They were bitterly persecuted in many ways. They were brought before magistrates, fined and imprisoned on various pretenses. They suffered physical violence and took "joyfully the spoiling of their goods." The mobs that opposed them were often led by the gentry, sometimes by the parish clergyman. But the most distressing persecution to bear was the misrepresentation of character, of motive, and of doctrine, not only by the people, but by clergymen of every grade from parish curate to bishop. They were labeled a people "of sanctified singularities, low fooleries, and high pretensions." Their preachers were pointed to as "strolling predicants of affected phrases, fantastic and unintelligible notions, whimsical strictnesses, and loud exclamations." They were called "papists," "innocent madmen," or "infamous cheats." They were charged with "the black art of calumny, with excessive pride and vanity, with skepticisms and disbeliefs of God and Christ, with disorderly practices and inveterate broils among themselves, and with a coolness for good works and an uncommon warmth for some that are very bad." The spirit of persecution and misrepresentation followed them everywhere in England and also in the colonies.

The English Methodists, however, during Wesley's life, made no declaration of separation. They were regarded as in close affiliation with, if not members of,

general, the members of such leading sects or foreign establishments as threatened to overthrow our own.

"Whoever finds himself comprehended within these descriptions ought not to subscribe. Nor can a subscriber to the Articles take advantage of any latitude which our rule may seem to allow, who is not first convinced that he is truly and substantially satisfying the intention of the legislature."-Principles of Philosophy, chap. xxii.

1See Tyerman, Life of Wesley, vol. ii, p. 150.

the Church of England. They were not then organized into an independent denomination or recognized as such, but were societies formed within the sphere of the English Church. The Thirty-nine Articles were still the symbols of their faith. The Methodists of the American colonies also stood in this relation, under the authority of John Wesley, and the rules of the English Methodists governed also the societies in America.

But when the colonies became independent states, and the English government and Church had no further jurisdiction over them, the American societies organized themselves into an independent Church under the advice and direction of Wesley, who prepared for it by the ordination of deacons, elders, and a superintendent or bishop. The organization was effected at a Conference held in Lovely Lane Chapel, Baltimore, Maryland, from December 24, 1784, to January 2, 1785. The Minutes of the Conference of 1785 says, "We formed ourselves into an independent Church; and following the advice of Mr. John Wesley, who recommended the episcopal mode of Church government, we thought it best to become an episcopal Church making the episcopal office elective, and the elected superintendent, or bishop, amenable to the body of ministers and preachers." It then became necessary to formulate some symbols of their faith, or to adopt some already formed, and thus show to the world the tenets to which they adhered. Mr. Wesley had anticipated this by the preparation of an abridgment of the Thirty-nine Articles of the Church of England. These he reduced to twenty-four and sent them by Dr. Coke, whom he had consecrated as superintendent of the societies in America. To these the Conference added one, "Of the Rulers of the United States of America." The whole was then adopted by the newly

formed Church at the time of its organization. These

are

THE TWENTY-FIVE ARTICLES

They are not to be considered a formal creed. Wesley evidently designed them to be the barest possible symbol of expedient doctrine, and not even a requisite condition of Church membership. "There is only one condition previously required of those who desire admission into these societies, 'a desire to flee from the wrath to come, and to be saved from their sins.' "1

The Notes on the New Testament, and the first fiftythree2 sermons in Volume II of Wesley's Works published in New York, and the Minutes, were the doctrinal standards of English and American Methodism.

In addition to these the Twenty-five Articles of Religion were accepted as one of the standards of doctrine; and belief in them was a prerequisite qualification for the ministry. They were originally printed in the Sunday Service with a liturgy and a collection of psalms and hymns. They were published in the Discipline of 1788, immediately following the General Rules; so also in 1789. In 1790 they were numbered as section XXXV; in 1792 they were section II, immediately following the statement of the origin of the Methodist Episcopal Church; they now stand as the first division of the Constitution of the Church.

The bishops, Coke and Asbury, in the address prefixed to the Discipline of 1789, said: "We wish to see this little publication in the house of every Methodist, and the more so as it contains . . the Articles of Religion, maintained, more or less, in part or in the whole, by every reformed Church in the world."

1 General Rules of 1788.

2 This number has been challenged. See Christian Advocate, April 18, 1907, article by Dr. R. J. Cooke.

They have been kept without change by the Restrictive Rule adopted in 1808: "The General Conference shall not revoke, alter, nor change our Articles of Religion, nor establish any new standards or rules of doctrine contrary to our present existing and established standards of doctrine."

From 1808 to 1832 this rule was subject to change by the same method as the others, but the General Conference of the latter year made it unchangeable by any method. In this form it passed into the new Constitution adopted by the General Conference of 1900, and came into force May 6, 1902, by proclamation of the bishops.

Prior to 1864, candidates for full membership in the Church were examined by the pastor, and were required to give satisfactory assurances both of the correctness of their faith and their willingness to observe and keep the rules of the Church. The method of examination was discretionary with the pastor, and the declaration of faith was general rather than specific.

In 1864 a "Form for Receiving Persons into the Church" was adopted. Then for the first time in the history of the Methodist Episcopal Church a formal declaration of faith was required:

"Do you believe in the doctrines of the Holy Scriptures as set forth in the Articles of Religion of the Methodist Episcopal Church?

"Ans. I do."

This answer implies more than a superficial knowledge of the Articles. They should be read with close attention. They are not obsolete, they emphasize truths that are unchangeable and eternal; they protest against errors that are as prevalent to-day as they ever have been— errors that curse the earth and darken the homes of

millions of our fellow men; errors that bewilder the intellects and burden the consciences of vast multitudes. They were prepared by men who had lived under the power of the Roman hierarchy, but had broken from the tyranny and found liberty in the truth of God.

Whatever restatement of our faith may be made, it cannot set aside the Twenty-five Articles. They are the result of mighty conflicts of the Church with gigantic systems of error, the growth of many centuries, intrenched in the minds and hearts of men through many generations. They are monuments that mark the place of battle, and the principles contended for. They contain statements of truth that crystallized amid the fires of bitter persecution. Some of the men who gave utterance to them won the crown of martyrdom, and the hand that wrote them perished in the flames. The Articles of Religion and our Ritual are two important links in the chain that binds the Methodist Episcopal Church to the great historic Church of past ages.

The concise and simple character of our Articles of Religion has contributed to the stability of Methodism and to its freedom from theological heresy. Divisions have come from various causes, but none from theological disturbances. Methodism has proclaimed the most liberal offers of mercy, while it has faithfully denounced the wrath of God against all unrighteousness. It has been composed largely of the common people, and has preserved them from theological aberrations. Its ministry has had fewer advantages of scholarly culture than any other, and yet no other has brought less heretical scandal upon the faith delivered to the saints.

These and kindred facts have been pointed out by Dr. Abel Stevens, who assigns two reasons for them:

"One is the character of our theological standards-in