And these men were right; for Wesley did break the law of the Church. "Wesley, dit-on, ne possedant pas la charge épiscopale, ne pouvait pas la conferer. En droit canonique strict, céla était incontestable."216 Legally, therefore, Wesley was in error; but again let it be asserted, Wesley was not concerned with Church legalism so much as he was concerned with saving men. "Whether one condemns Wesley's action depends upon the fact as to whether one believes in episcopacy jure divino as does the High Church, or whether one rejects this view as did Wesley. It seems as though the evidence is against the High Church theory."217 The need of getting a certain work done, was the deciding factor with Wesley; and not an abstract High Church theory. This was a very radical departure, and cannot be thought of as making for concord between the Methodists and the Churchmen. No presbyter could usurp the office of a bishop, and continue a member of the Church of England; for the assuming of such an office, in itself, was an offense against the primary and most distinguishing institution in the Church, and therefore an actual renunciation of the Church.218 Wesley had struck a blow at that part of the Church which all Churchmen held most dear-the episcopacy. In spirit, at least, this made him no longer a member of the Established Church. It was not his words of loyalty, but his deeds that counted. Mason said: "It was one of the extraordinary features in the character of that great man, that he was able to persuade himself that he was a loyal and consistent Churchman throughout his long life."219 And yet, though Wesley was quite inconsistent in his conduct, when one considers the high religious values that were at stake, and the fallacy of the doctrine of the apostolic succession, he cannot term Wesley's procedure other than "an act of as high propriety and dignity as it was of urgent necessity. Thus have we reviewed the steps taken by the Methodists "220 to carry out the convictions that came from their doctrine. They were willing to preach out of doors; to preach indoors in places other than the Established Church; to travel all over England, so that their circuit riders knew no parish bounds; to use lay preachers; and later to ordain these lay preachers. They resorted to these practices, that vital religion might be brought to every individual in England. And still, they did not resort to a single practice to which there was not a stiff opposition from the clergy and the Churchmen. With this friction and unfriendliness constantly upon the increase, one cannot say that unity of action or spirit between the Methodists and the Churchmen was increasing. The practices of the Methodists încreased the tension between the Methodists and the Established Church. CHAPTER V THE GROWTH OF THE EARLY METHODIST METHODISM Could not exist merely in the form of religious convictions and beliefs. It necessarily assumed a corporate form and developed institutions of its own. These contributed to keep together its adherents and to conserve its peculiar doctrines. SECTION I. METHODIST SOCIETIES To gain added strength in their activities of saving men, the Methodists organized themselves into religious societies. Religious societies were nothing new to England; for Josiah Woodward in his book entitled The Account of the Rise, and Progress of Religious Societies in England, published in 1698, tells of the work of Dr. Horneck and Mr. Smithies. These two men converted several young men and united them into societies pledged to lead holy lives. These societies ministered to the wants of the poor, tried to get positions of labor for others, and brought debtors out of prison. They also had two stewards to manage their money. Woodward testified of these societies: "It has scarce ever happened that any person who could truly be said to be of these societies hath fallen from the public communion to any sect or separation." 1 Wesley's societies were doubtless based upon these societies which had existed in the time of William and Mary, and like them, were to be strictly in communion with the Church of England. When the society at Fetter Lane was first founded, it was the custom for its members to go to St. Paul's for communion, headed by Whitefield and Charles Wesley; and when two members refused to go with the others, they were disowned by the society and classed as non-members.3 1 The first society was founded in 1739, and it was called the Quoted in Simon, pp. 128-130. 2 Jour., vol. ii, p. 71, note. 3 Ibid., vol. i, p. 458, note ii. United Society. In 1741, the United Bristol Society was formed, and was perhaps the third so organized.5 These societies. were very humble affairs in their beginnings: the society at Oxford was started in June, 1741, at the home of a Mrs. Mears, while at Sykehouse the society began at the house of a farmer, William Holme, but later the people met in his farmyard. Near Brussels in an English army camp, John Haime, William Clements, and later John Evans started a society, to which officers came to listen to the preaching and two hundred soldiers joined its membership. When the camp moved to Bruges, a small hall was hired for worship. At Newcastle, Charles Wesley organized a "wild, staring, loving, society." The number of little societies was not limited; there could be more than one in a place.9 7 8 Once begun, however, these societies rapidly increased both in extent and in membership. By 1745 Wesley comments upon the strength of the several societies at Bristol and Kingswood, for the movement was well under way.10 At Keighly ten persons soon increased to a hundred.11 At Colchester, within three months, a hundred and twenty persons were joined together in a society.12 In Dublin there were about two hundred and eighty members who were very teachable.13 While in London there were 1,950 members of the societies in the year 1743, and over 2,700 members by the year 1762.14 Sixty Irish soldiers stillspoke of God and were not ashamed, in the society at Limerick.15 When Wesley visited Saint Ives and most of the western societies, though many statements had previously been made that Methodism was on the decline, he noted that he heard nothing of a decrease, but much of an increase.16 At Newcastle-on-Tyne, Ibid., vol. iv., p. 289. 13 Ibid., vol. iii, p. 314. 14 Ibid., vol. ii, p. 79, and vol. iv. p. 489. 15 Ibid., vol. iii, p. 477. he had occasion to reject about fifty from the society, and yet after he had done this, there were about 800 left.17 19 So large was the attendance of the members upon the meetings of the societies, that the society rooms were scarcely ever commodious enough for the people. At Dublin many hundred attended service in the morning; but in the evening, there were far more hearers than the room could hold.18 At Hinxworth, Wesley never saw a house so full, and the people began to understand and relish what they heard.1 At Stanhope, so many crowded in, that the beams cracked, and the floor began to sink. One man jumped out of the window. But the sermon was preached out of doors to two or three times as many people as could be gathered in the house. As late as 1790, Wesley recorded of this same place, “no house could contain the congregation, so I stood in a broad place near the Church." 20 Again, Wesley recorded, "I could not preach abroad because of the storms; and the house would not near contain the people. However, as many crowded in as could; the rest got near the doors or windows." 21 These large gatherings made it a real burden for Wesley to serve the communion, and at Bath he was glad when Mr. Shepherd offered assistance; because the number of communicants was doubled.22 This condition of affairs was continuous, so that in his old age after making a regular visit, Wesley said, "the concourse at Birstall, about four, was greater than ever was seen there before."23 The people were evidently very glad to join themselves together in societies to promote their practices for saving men. These people who met in these societies had to be housed. This was a real problem; yet Wesley set about the task of obtaining rooms or houses wherein his societies could meet regularly. At York a new meeting house was built in 1759.24 In 1752, a |