High Anglican Church Research Paper

In the eighteenth century, English Christianity was experiencing a new phenomenon which would impact the future of Christian practice. The High Anglican Church was episcopal, led by bishops, who ordained priests to perform sacraments and lead parish churches throughout the country. However, some had begun to question this status quo and look for a way to find a religion which was deeper and in greater accordance with the ancient church established shortly after Christ. Many charismatic preachers began to call the people of England to this new movement called popular evangelicalism, which had several significant differences from Anglicanism. First, members of this movement had intense, personal conversion experiences where they realized their

This replaced his previous London base and was the first Methodist Church built not only for preaching, but also for the celebration of Holy Communion (Website). This reflects a shift in Methodism itself, moving away from being a supplement to the Church of England into becoming a Church in its own right. Eventually, Wesley would ordain preachers to go to America and Scotland, where the Church of England did not have jurisdiction (Oxford). Wesley continued to preach and travel until his death in 1791, but never formally broke with the Church of England. One century later, Methodists decided to refurbish the Chapel to commemorate his death. Pillars originally made from wooden ship’s masts were replaced with marble pillars donated from Methodist churches around the world, new pews were installed and stain glass was added (Website). As Methodists began to grow and flourish and establish themselves as their own church, their buildings and art reflected the ideas of their time. Art, such as The Rescue of John Wesley, had begun to reflect nineteenth century thought, including ‘the idea of the self-made-man, and Enlightenment-informed ideology which held individuals responsible for their own economic success or failure.’ (Green 58) This could explain the move away from early Methodist simplicity into this new style of building, which embraced finery and decoration. The Wesley Chapel is

In the early twentieth century, Methodists believed their homes were different than non-Methodists and cited factors on which their religion had a significant impact, like discipline, Religious exercises and Sabbatarianism. (Field 73). They went to services on Sundays, sometimes twice, and would avoid worldly distractions like dancing, drinking and smoking (Field 74). The majority of Methodists were skilled workers and members of the lower middle class (Field 79). Additionally, the majority of Methodists had been born and raised into the Society (Field 78) However, the Methodist Church soon underwent some dramatic changes which would also have significant impacts on Wesley’s Chapel. In 1932, the three main Methodist branches reunited after splits in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. After this reunion, Methodism began to experience secularization. It was hurt by disputes over the roles of priesthood and laypeople which had never been fully resolved since the time of John Wesley (Ward 322). After the Methodist Union, there was a renewed conflict concerning clericalism and attempting to determine how to best spread the Gospel. This union also lead to the closure of rural Methodist church which could not be financially supported but also of chapels in inconvenient locations for traveling preachers (Ward 322). The idea of a United Free Church was proposed, and eventually discarded in