Significant Sacraments Observed in the Methodist Church

It is a memorial of His sufferings and death, til now not a mere memorial" (Bowmer (a), 14). It is a "re-presentation" of the system and blood of Christ as spiritual nourishment (Sanders, 358). by-line the beliefs of his father, Samuel, to a fault a High Churchman, and the doctrine of the Anglican Church, Wesley declined to start out the body and blood of Christ located in the elements of the rite as does the Roman Catholic Church (the doctrine of " transubstantiation"). In them is to be found the real, but not carnal, social movement of Christ (Bowmer (b), 25).

Wesley's high regard for the definite means of gentleness which he found in the regular observance of the Lord's Supper was the leading factor in his desire that it be celebrated more than ofttimes than not. In 1764, for example, Wesley wrote: "Lose no opportunity of receiving the sacrament. wholly who ca-ca neglected this have suffered loss" (Parris, 63). Methodists were encouraged to wait on the Anglican Church and commence communion as often as possible, even if they faced hostility from the ministers. Although Wesley believed that only appointive ministers of the Church were permitted to conduct the Lord's Supper, he was similarly convinced that umpteen of them were heretics and unworthy of the privilege--one of several factors which would eventually widen the breach amidst Anglicans and Methodists (Parris, 69).

However, Wesley was not inclined to ordain many men. Indeed, it was not until as late as 1784 that Wesley began to orda

It is big that the Church continue to emphasize the

As to the room of baptism, Felton asserts that Wesley "insisted dogmatically on trine immersion" during his time in atomic number 31 (18), but that this view moderated upon his return to England. He would later pen that while baptism may be performed by washing, dipping, or sprinkling, none of these are expressly described in Scripture, and would permit the pass catcher of the sacrament free choice in the method to be used (20).

Felton concludes that Wesley's ministry eventually departed from the formal ecclesiastical methods; mode of baptism was a matter of choice, godparents were not a requirement, the place was a matter of convenience, and the administrator simply needed to be prescribed (episcopally or otherwise) (25).

Felton, Gayle Carlton. This Gift of Water. Nashville: Abingdon Press, 1992.

Goodloe, Robert W. The Sacraments in Methodism. Nashville: The Methodist Publishing House, 1953.

As Bowmer (a) indicates, it was only with great reluctance that Wesley ordained his ministers in order that the Methodist people were able to receive the sacrament outside the domain of the Church of England (16). Bowmer further speculates that, in the last ten years of his life, Wesley had begun to make preparations for the Lord's Supper to be administered by any Methodist preacher, ordination notwithstanding, but that his death precluded the peculiar(prenominal) formulation of this concept which is now considered implicit (15-16).

The Wesleyan doctrine of the Lord's Supper has remained essentially unchanged since. It is a real means of grace, not merely a commemorative act. Recipients do not have to possess a full assurance of faith, but must be sincere seekers. It is a memorial of the sufferings and death of Christ, and it also implies sacrifice. In this regard, the Atonement and the Eucharist (thanksgiving) are inseparably joined. It is, further, a recognition of the end times, when all will be
Ordercustompaper.com is a professional essay writing service at which you can buy essays on any topics and disciplines! All custom essays are written by professional writers!