I were so one order that the 7)o«e/- constituting an F^pisco-
i ])al order inhered in the eldership; but he did not be- lieve that there lay in the eldership a 7-ir//it to exercise that power without a true providential and divine call. Hence, in his Episcopal diploma given to Coke, he an-
[ iiouiices, ' I, John Wesley, t/iiiik myself proridtniiaUy
\ CAi.i.Ki) at this time to set apart,' etc." (U. D. Whe- don, Meth. Quar. Rer. Oct. 1871, p. G7G.)
H. Doctrines. — 1. The "-1 r//V/es of ReUf/ion"' prep.ared by Wesley for the new Church, twenty-four in number, are an abridgment of the Thirty-nine Articles of the Church of England. Fifteen of the latter are entirely omitted, and several others considerably amended.
j While all traces of Calvinism, as well as of Komish leanings, are carefully eliminated, there is no insertion of Wesley's Arminianism, or of his doctrines of the "Witness of the Spirit" and "Christian Perfcclion." Several important protests against Pelagian, Koinish, and other errors, are retained, as are also, in substance, those articles which are in accordance with the senti- ments of the universal Church. Cn the Triiiily, the person and work of Christ, the Holy Spirit, the Script- ure canon, original sin, free will, justilicaiiim by faith, vicarious atonement, and good works, they sjjcak clearly and in the most ()rthodox language. The design was to provide a broad and liberal plaiform upon which the great body of Christians who hold the essentials of
j Christianity might stand together in love and charity.
j With a few verbal changes, and the inserfi4>n of one new article (the twenty-third), they stand as they were adopted in 1781; and from the year 18:)'2 it has been
i placed beyond the power of the Church to "revoke, al- ter, or change" them. See Ahtici.ks, Twi;nty-fivk,
I of the Methodist Episcopal Church.
I 2. The theolofiii of the'Ciiurch is thoroughly Armin- ian, as it has been from the beHnning. In this it agrees with iniiversal Wesleyan Methodism. It has
j been stoutly and bitterly accused of rdagianism by
I those who formed their estimate of Arminianism from the writings of men who received a part only of that
METHODIST EPISC. CHURCH 171 METHODIST EPISC. CHURCH
system, and incorporated with it other and objectiona- ble principles, rather than from a familiarity with the views of Arminius himself. The articles on •' Original Sin" and " Free Will" should forever have saved it from that reproach. Wesley's doctrinal sermons, Notes on the New Testament, and other writings, have been its standards of Arminian orthodoxy, while the rigid exam- ination to which all candidates for the ministry are sub- jected is its chief security that only what is deemed correct and sound in doctrine shall be preached in its pulpits.
3. Wesley's doctrine of the " Witness of the Spirit," known to many by the term "Assurance," holds an im- portant place in the system of the Church. He defines it 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 Goil ; that Jesus Christ hatli loved me, and given himself for me ; that all my sins are blotted out, and I, even I, am reconciled to (iod;" and to effect this persuasion, he supposes that the Holy Spirit " works upon the soul by his immediate influence, and by a strong though inexplicable operation." The possession of this assurance is taught to be the privilege of all believers, and penitents are diligently instructed not to rest until it is received; while it is a constant theme in the pulpit and the social meeting. Such is the emphasis practically placed upon it.
4. Sanctilication, or " Christian Perfection," as Wes- ley preferred to style it, is a doctrine of all Methodism, and is firmly held by the Church. It teaches 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, intirmities, or temptations; and, positively, that all saints may by faith be so filled with the love of (Jod that all the powers of the soul shall be recovered from the abnormal, perverted, sinful condi- tion, and, together with the outward conduct, be con- trolled in entire harmony with love. See Misthodisji.
IH. Government. — 1. The General Conference, the highest of the five judicatories of the Church, assembles on the first day of May in every fourth year, and is the only legislative body of the denomination. As in the Christmas Conference, it was for many years, construc- tively at least, an assembly of the whole ministry; but their increasing number, the impossibility of a general attendance from the constantly-extending field, and the felt necessity of settling the doctrinal and ecclesiastical systems upon a basis less easily changed, led to the ar- rangement, in 1808, that thenceforth it should be com- posed of ministerial delegates from the several Annual Conferences, acting under certain clearly-defined restric- tions. These restrictive rules, or articles, as they are termed, have been modified from time to time, though the most important change was effected in 1872, pro- viding for the introduction of laymen into the body, with equal powers with the clergy. The General Con- ference now (1873) consists of one minister for every forty-five members of each Annual Conference, chosen by the clergy, and two laymen, chosen by lay electors from the several Quarterly Conferences within the same territor3\ The regulations defining its functions are as follows : " Tlie General Conference shall have full pow- ers to make rules and regulations for our Church, under the following limitations and restrictions, namely :