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Background Christianity Protestantism Pietism Anglicanism Arminianism Calvinism For the Methodist school of ancient Greek medicine, see Methodism (history of medicine) Methodism or the Methodist movement is a group of historically related denominations of Protestant Christianity. ... File links The following pages link to this file: Arminianism Methodism United Methodist Church George Whitefield John Wesley Francis Asbury Charles Wesley Pietism African Methodist Episcopal Church Thomas Coke (Methodist) Prevenient Grace Christian perfection Atonement (Governmental view) List of Methodist theologians Imparted righteousness World Methodist Council Template:Methodism Methodist Church... John Wesley (June 17, 1703 – March 2, 1791) was an 18th-century Anglican clergyman and Christian theologian who was an early leader in the Methodist movement. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... George Whitefield (December 16, 1714 - September 30, 1770), was a minister in the Church of England and one of the leaders of the Methodist movement. ... Christianity is a monotheistic[1] religion centered on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as presented in the New Testament. ... This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... Pietism was a movement within Lutheranism, lasting from the late-17th century to the mid-18th century. ... The term Anglican (from Medieval Latin ecclesia anglicana, meaning the English Church) is used to describe how the people, institutions and churches as well as the liturgical traditions and theological concepts developed by the state established Church of England, the Anglican Communion. ... For the Armenian nationality, see Armenia or the Armenian language. ... Calvinism is a theological system and an approach to the Christian life that emphasizes Gods sovereignty in all things. ...

Doctrinal distinctives Articles of Religion Prevenient Grace Governmental Atonement Imparted righteousness Christian perfection The Articles of Religion are an official doctrinal statement of American Methodism. ... Prevenient grace is a Christian theological concept rooted in Augustinian theology[1] and embraced primarily by Arminian Christians who are influenced by the theology of John Wesley and who are part of the Methodist movement. ... The governmental view of the atonement (also known as the moral government theory) is a doctrine in Christian theology concerning the meaning and effect of the death of Jesus Christ and has been traditionally taught in Arminian circles that draw primarily from the works of Hugo Grotius, the governmental theory... Imputed righteousness, in Methodist theology, is that gracious gift of God given at the moment of the new birth which enables a Christian disciple to strive for holiness and sanctification. ... Christian Perfection is a Christian doctrine which maintains that after conversion but before death a Christians soul may be cleansed from the stain of original sin. ...

People Richard Allen Francis Asbury Thomas Coke Albert C. Outler Charles Wesley Bishops · Theologians Richard Allen (14 February 1760 - 26 March 1831) was born a slave of Benjamin Chew at Germantown, Pennsylvania (now a part of Philadelphia), but his family was soon sold to Stockley Sturgis whose plantation was near Dover, Delaware. ... This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... The Right Reverend Thomas Coke, M.A., D.C.L. (9 September 1747-2 May 1814) is known as the Father of Methodist Missions. ... Albert Cook Outler (1908-1989) was a 20th century American Methodist theologian and philosopher. ... Charles Wesley (12 December 1707 - 29 March 1788) was a leader of the Methodist movement, the younger brother of John Wesley. ...

Largest groups World Methodist Council United Methodist Church AME Church Church of the Nazarene British Methodist Church The World Methodist Council is a group composed of most of the worlds Wesleyan / Methodist denominations, working toward mission and unity. ... This article is about the current denomination africa. ... The African Methodist Episcopal Church, usually called the AME Church, is a Christian denomination founded by Bishop Richard Allen in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in 1816. ... The Church of the Nazarene is a Protestant denomination within the tradition of evangelical Methodism. ... The Methodist Church of Great Britain or British Methodist Church is the largest Wesleyan / Methodist body in the United Kingdom, with congregations across Great Britain and the Isle of Man. ...

Related movements Holiness movement Salvation Army Personalism Pentecostalism The Holiness movement is composed of people who believe and propagate the belief that the carnal nature of man can be cleansed through faith and by the power of the Holy Spirit if one has had his sins forgiven through faith in Jesus. ... Shield of The Salvation Army The Salvation Army is a non-military evangelical Christian organization founded in 1865 by one time Methodist minister William Booth. ... Personalism is the school of thought that consists of three main principles: Only persons are real (in the ontological sense), Only persons have value, and Only persons have free will. ... The Pentecostal movement within Evangelical Christianity places special emphasis on the direct personal experience of God through the baptism of the Holy Spirit, as shown in the Biblical account of the Day of Pentecost. ... This box: view • talk • edit

James Varick was the first Bishop of the African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church. This article is about a title or office in religious bodies. ... The African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church, or AME Zion Church, was officially formed in 1821, but operated for a number years before then. ...

 January 10 

James Varick

• The birth of James Varick in 1750 is celebrated on this date. He was the first Black Methodist Episcopal Zion Bishop.

Born to a slave mother in Newburgh, New York, she was a slave of the Varicks or Van Varcks. She was later freed. His father, Richard, was born in Hackensack, New Jersey, where he was baptized in the Dutch Church. The family lived in New York City while James Varick was young. He acquired an elementary education in New York schools. By trade Varick was a shoemaker. Later he also worked as a tobacco cutter. Since the church with which he was associated did not pay its preachers for many years, he worked at his trades to support himself and his family. About 1790 he married Aurelia Jones. The couple had four sons and three daughters.

The important events in Varick's life were associated with his religious avocation. Varick joined the John Street Methodist Church in New York City at an early date, possibly in 1766 the year after the church held its first meeting. Varick seems to have been licensed to preach by this group although he does not appear among the licensed preachers of the early Zion church as given by Christopher Rush, the second supervisor or bishop, in his 1844 history of the denomination. As early as 1780 black members of the John Street Church were holding separate class and prayer meetings. In 1796 Varick was among those black leaders who established separate meetings on a firmer footing.

The group met for prayer on Sunday afternoons and heard preachers and exhorters on Wednesday evenings in a house in Cross Street, which they remodeled to hold these meetings. Then in 1799 the group decided to erect a building and form a separate church. In October of 1800 the African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church, a wooden building at the corner of Church and Leonard Streets, was dedicated. The name of the mother church, Zion, was officially added to the denomination's name in 1848. In March of 1801 the church was formally incorporated under New York law. This incorporation placed the church and its property firmly under the control of the trustees, who were required to be of African descent.

Since the church had preachers but no ordained minister, white ministers preached on Sunday afternoons and Wednesday evenings and supplied a morning communion service on the second Sunday of every month. The church thrived. It acquired a burying ground in 1807 and laid plans to buy the lots it had leased along with another adjacent one and to erect a new brick church to replace the original building. In 1820 as Zion was engaged in erecting its new church, which had the effect of scattering the congregation among a number of temporary meeting places, a competing black denomination appeared in the form of Richard Allen's African Methodist Episcopal Church, which was trying to build up a national organization from its Philadelphia base.

After the Allenites were rebuffed by Zion, they organized their own New York church in Mott Street. Yet not all members of Zion were completely estranged from the Allenites, and Varick himself opened a meeting for Allen during the dedication ceremonies. Further negotiations between the two denominations failed, however, leaving a considerable amount of bitterness on both sides. It was after this that Varick reappeared in a leadership role in the Zion church.

In Rush's account, the trustees met at Varick's house in July of 1820 and decided to pursue the ordination of black ministers, allowing Zion to dispense with white ministers. Varick must have been coming to the fore in church affairs earlier than this, but his name does not appear on early documents. A general meeting of the church on August 11, 1820 resulted in two decisions: a refusal to join Allen and a refusal to return to white control. The problem of elders for the separate church now became crucial. On September 13, 1820, Abraham Thompson and James Varick were selected by the congregation to become elders and they began to act immediately, holding communion services. A book of discipline for the new church was ready for printing by November 1. The denomination acquired churches outside of New York City, but its growth did not match that of Richard Allen’s group.

At the first convention of the new denomination in June of 1821, Varick was appointed district chairman, an interim supervisory position for the whole denomination. Finally, on June 17, 1822, white Methodist elders ordained AbrahamThompson, James Varick, and Leven Smith. James Varick then officially became supervisor of the church on July 30, 1822, and was reelected again in 1824. (The title bishop was not adopted until later). In addition to his purely ministerial duties, Varick ran a school first in his home and then in the church building. He was the first chaplain of the New York African Society for Mutual Relief (1810) and a vice-president of the African Bible Society (1817).

In 1821 he was a member of the group of Blacks who petitioned the state constitutional convention for the right to vote. He supported the establishment of Freedom's Journal, the first black newspaper, in 1827. On July 4, 1827, the thanksgiving service for the final abolition of slavery in New York was held in Zion church. On July 22 Varick died at his home. Originally he was buried in the Colored Union Cemetery (now Woodlawn). His remains now repose in the crypt of the African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church in Harlem.

Reference: An Encyclopedia of African American Christian Heritage by Marvin Andrew McMickle Judson Press, Copyright 2002 ISBN 0-