Wesley with the assistance of Dr. Coke, and Mr. Creighton, ordained Richard Whatcoat and Mr. Thomas Vasey, presbyters for America: and, did afterwards ordain Dr. Coke a superintendant, giving him letters of ordination, under his hand and seal. Previous to this Dr. Coke had been ordained a presbyter by a bishop of the church of England.

Dr. Coke, with Messrs. Whatcoat and Vasey sailed for America, in the month of September, and landed at New-York on the third day of November.

By these preachers, Mr. Wesley wrote a letter to us in America, to be printed and circulated among us; the following is the letter.

Bristol, September 10, 1784. To Dr. Coke, Mr. Asbury, and our brethren in North America.

"1. By a very uncommon train of providences, many of the provinces of North America are to tally disjoined from the British empire, and. erected into Independent States. The English government has no authority over them either civil or ecclesiastical, any more than over the states of Holland. A civil authority is exercised over them, partly by the Congress, partly by the state assemblies. But no one either exercises or claims any ecclesiastical authority at all. In this peculiar situation some thousands of the inhabitants of these States, desire my advice: and in compliance with their desire, I have drawn up a little sketch.

2. Lord KING's account of the primitive church convinced me many years ago, that bishops and presbyters are the same order, and consequently have the same right to ordain. For many years I have been importuned from time to time, to exercise this right, by ordaining part of

1

our travelling preachers. But I have still refused, not only for peace sake, but because I was determined, as little as possible to violate the established order of the national church to which I belonged.

"3. But the case is widely different between England and North America. Here there are bishops who have a legal jurisdiction. In America there are none, and but few parish ministers. So that for some hundred miles together there are none either to baptize, or administer the Lord's supper. Here therefore my scruples are at an end and I conceive myself at full liberty, as I violate no order, and invade no man's right, by appointing and sending labourers into the har

vest.

"4. I have accordingly appointed Dr. Coke and Mr. Francis Asbury, to be joint superintendants, over our brethren in North America. As also Richard Whatcoat, and Thomas Vasey, to act as elders among them, by baptising and administering the Lord's Supper.

"5. If any one will point out a more rational and scriptural way of feeding and guiding those poor sheep in the wilderness, I will gladly embrace it. At present I cannot see any better method than that I have taken.

"6. It has indeed been proposed, to desire the English bishops to ordain part of our preachers for America. But to this I object, 1. I desired the Bishop of London to ordain one only; but could not prevail. 2. If they consented, we know the slowness of their proceeding; but the matter admits of no delay. 3. If they would ordain them now, they would likewise expect to govern them. And how grievously would this entangle us? 4. As our American brethren are now to

tally disentangled both from the state, and from the English hierarchy, we dare not entangle them again, either with the one or the other. They are now at full liberty, simply to follow the scriptures and the primitive church. And we judge it best that they should stand fast in that liberty, wherewith God has so strangely made them free." JOHN WESLEY.

At the same time Mr. Wesley prepared a liturgy little differing from that of the Church of England, or rather revised the Common Prayer Book, leaving out certain parts, and altering some of the ceremonies, and some of the psalms, and making the morning and evening service much shorter than it was before. He advised all the travelling preachers to use it on the Lord's day in all the congregations, reading the Litany only on Wednesdays and Fridays, and to pray extempore on all other days. He also advised the Elders to administer the Supper of the Lord on every Lord's day.

As soon as Dr. Coke landed in America, he laid his plan to meet Mr. Asbury as soon as possible, and travelling from New-York to Philadelphia, and then down into the Delaware state, he met with Mr. Asbury at Barratt's Chapel on the 14th day of the same month. They then consulted together about the plan which Mr. Wesley had adopted, and recommended to us. After the business was maturely weighed, and sufficient time was taken to consult some more of the preachers who were present on that day, it was judged advisable to call together all the travelling preachers in a general conference to be held in Baltimore at christmas..

Mr. Freeborn Garrettson undertook to travel to the south, in order to give notice to all the travelling preachers of this intended meeting,

1

But being fond of preaching by the way, and thinking he could do the business by writing, he did not give timely notice to the preachers who were in the extremities of the work; and of course several of them were not at that confe.

rence.

December 27th, 1784-The thirteenth confe rence began in Baltimore, which was considered to be a general conference, in which Thomas Coke and Francis Asbury presided.

At this conference we formed ourselves into a regular church, by the name of The Methodist Episcopal Church; making at the same time the Episcopal office elective, and the elected su perintendant amenable to the body of ministers and preachers.

Mr. Asbury was appointed a superintendant by Mr. Wesley, yet he would not submit to be ordained, unless he could be voted in by the conference: when it was put to vote, he was unanimously chosen. He was then ordained Deacon, then Elder, and afterwards Superintendant, before the end of the conference. At the request of Mr. Asbury when he was about to be ordained a Superintendant, Mr. Otterbine, a German minister, who was a pious man, assisted in his ordination by the laying on of his hands with the other ministers.

At this conference there were 13 preachers elected to the Elder's office, and most of them were ordained-their names were,

Freeborn Garrettson,

William Gill,

Le Roy Cole,

John Hagerty,

James O. Cromwell,*

John Tunnel

Nelson Reed,

Jeremiah Lambert,f

* Mr. Garrettson, and Mr. Cromwell, were ordained for Nova Scotia, and were sent there immediately afterwards.

✦ Mr. Lambert, was ordained for Antigua, in the West-Indies.

Reuben Ellis,

James O'Kelly,
Richard Ivey,!

Beverly Allen,*
Henry Willis.†

They also elected three Deacons, John Dickins, Caleb Boyer, and Ignatius Pigman. Mr. Boyer was not present.

Being now formed into a church, a regular plan of proceeding was laid, and a form of discipline drawn up. In the minutes of this conference there were eighty-one questions with answers, a few of which I shall take notice of: If any one wishes to see the whole, he may read the minutes of that general conference.

This being the beginning of the Methodist Episcopal Church, it will be necessary to take particular notice of those regulations or rules, which were formed at that time, especially such as had not been previously practised by us.

Q. 2. "What can be done in order to the futur union of the Methodists ?"

A. "During the life of the Reverend Mr. Wesley, we acknowledge ourselves his Sons in the Gospel, ready in matters belonging to churchgovernment, to obey his commands. And we do engage after his death, to do every thing that we judge consistent with the cause of religion in America, and the political interest of these statesto preserve and promote our Union with the Me, thodists in Europe."

This engagement to obey Mr. Wesley's commands "in matters belonging to church-government" was afterwards the cause of some uneasiness which will be noticed in it's proper place. Q. 3. "As the ecclesiastical as well as civil

Mr. Allen was not ordained until the conference held at Green Hill's, in North-Carolina, in the latter part of April 1785. + Mr. Willis was not at the conference; but was ordained a few weeks afterwards, by the Bishop and one Elder only.