Thomas Coke, M.A., D.C.L. (September 9, 1747 – May 2, 1814) was the first Methodist Bishop^[1] and is known as the Father of Methodist Missions. Thomas Coke could be Thomas Coke (1674-1727), created Privy Counsellor in 1708 Thomas Coke (1747-1814), famous early Methodist Thomas Coke (1754-1842), famous agricultural innovator, created 1st Earl of Leicester of Holkham Several other holders of the British title Earl of Leicester have also been named Thomas Coke. ... The degree of Master of Arts degree is an undergraduate degree awarded by the universities of Oxford and Cambridge as well as by the University of Dublin. ... Some universities, such as the University of Oxford, award Doctor of Civil Law (DCL) degrees instead of Doctor of Laws (LL.D.) degrees. ... is the 252nd day of the year (253rd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1747 (MDCCXLVII) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Thursday of the 11-day slower Julian calendar). ... is the 122nd day of the year (123rd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1814 (MDCCCXIV) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar). ...

Born in Brecon, south Wales, his father was a well-to-do apothecary. Coke, who was only 5 foot and 1 inch tall and prone to being overweight, read Jurisprudence at Jesus College, Oxford, which has a strong Welsh tradition, graduating Bachelor of Arts, then Master of Arts in 1770, and Doctor of Civil Law in 1775. On returning to Brecon he served as Mayor in 1772. The Monmouthshire & Brecon Canal basin at Brecon, the starting point of the Taff Trail. ... This article is about the country. ... Interior of an apothecarys shop. ... and of the Jesus College College name Jesus College in the University of Oxford of Queen Elizabeths Foundation Named after Jesus Christ Established 1571 Sister college Jesus College, Cambridge Principal The Lord Krebs JCR President Paolo Wyatt Undergraduates 340 MCR President Jahan Zahid Graduates 160 Location Turl Street, Oxford... The University of Oxford (informally Oxford University), located in the city of Oxford, England, is the oldest university in the English-speaking world. ... A B.A. issued from the University of Tennessee. ... The degree of Master of Arts degree is an undergraduate degree awarded by the universities of Oxford and Cambridge as well as by the University of Dublin. ... Some universities, such as the University of Oxford, award Doctor of Civil Law (DCL) degrees instead of Doctor of Laws (LL.D.) degrees. ... A mayor (from the Latin māior, meaning larger, greater) is the modern title of the highest ranking municipal officer. ...

In the same year as his mayoralty he was ordained in the Church of England and served a curacy at Petherton in Somerset. He had already allied himself with the Methodist movement and this made for trouble when a new Rector arrived in the parish. Coke had begun to hold cottage services and open services of the sort promoted by Wesley. He was dismissed from his post on Easter Sunday 1777 and his parishioners celebrated at the Rector's behest by ringing the church bells and opening a hogshead of cider. He returned to Petherton in 1807 and preached to a crowd of 2,000. The Church of England is the officially established Christian church[3] in England, the Mother Church of the worldwide Anglican Communion and the oldest among the communions thirty-eight independent national churches. ... This article is about the county of Somerset in England. ... The Methodist movement is a group of denominations of Protestant Christianity. ... The word rector (ruler, from the Latin regere) has a number of different meanings, but all of them indicate someone who is in charge of something. ... For other persons named John Wesley, see John Wesley (disambiguation). ... The word rector (ruler, from the Latin regere) has a number of different meanings, but all of them indicate someone who is in charge of something. ...

He met John Wesley in August 1776, becoming one of his closest assistants. Wesley called Coke "the flea" because he seemed always to be hopping around on his missions. For other persons named John Wesley, see John Wesley (disambiguation). ...

He was appointed Superintendent of the London District in 1780 and President of the Methodist Church in Ireland in 1782 - a function he was to serve many times in the coming decades.

Following the American Revolution most of the Anglican clergy who had been in America came back to England. Wesley asked the Bishop of London to ordain some ministers for the New World, but he declined. At this point Wesley was still an Anglican and he therefore considered only a canonically consecrated bishop capable of conferring Holy Orders. However, in 1784 Wesley consecrated Coke as the Superintendent, a title soon replaced by that of Bishop (Greek episkope) in spite of Wesley's strong disapproval. Since Coke was already a priest (Greek presbuter) or presbyter in the Church of England, some interpret this consecration as the equivalent of episcopal consecration. He set sail for New York; during the voyage he read Augustine's Confessions, Virgil's Georgics, biographies of Francis Xavier (Jesuit missionary to India) and David Brainerd (Puritan missionary to North American aboriginals), and a treatise on episcopacy. A conference of Methodist preachers was held at Baltimore at which Coke and Francis Asbury were elected bishops and the Church was constituted as an independent body under the name of the Methodist Episcopal Church. On 27 December 1784 Coke ordained deacons and presbyters and consecrated Asbury bishop: they are regarded as having been jointly the first Bishops and Superintendents of the Methodist Church in America (the American Conference formally endorsed the title of Bishop in 1787). John Trumbulls Declaration of Independence, showing the five-man committee in charge of drafting the Declaration in 1776 as it presents its work to the Second Continental Congress in Philadelphia The American Revolution refers to the period during the last half of the 18th century in which the Thirteen... Arms of the Bishop of London The Bishop of London is the Ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of London in the Province of Canterbury. ... Frontispiece of Peter Martyr dAnghieras De orbe novo (On the New World). Carte dAmérique, Guillaume Delisle, 1722. ... The term Anglican describes those people and churches following the religious traditions of the Church of England, especially following the Reformation. ... Topics in Christianity Movements · Denominations · Other religions Ecumenism · Preaching · Prayer Music · Liturgy · Calendar Symbols · Art · Criticism Important figures Apostle Paul · Church Fathers Constantine · Athanasius · Augustine Anselm · Aquinas · Palamas · Luther Calvin · Wesley Arius · Marcion of Sinope Archbishop of Canterbury · Catholic Pope Coptic Pope · Ecumenical Patriarch Christianity Portal This box:      Catholic deacon... This article is about religious workers. ... Presbyter in the New Testament refers to a leader in local Christian congregations, a synonym of episkopos, which has come to mean bishop. ... Augustinus redirects here. ... For other uses, see Virgil (disambiguation). ... Saint Francis Xavier (Basque: San Frantzisko Xabierkoa; Spanish: San Francisco Javier; Portuguese: São Francisco Xavier; Chinese: 聖方濟各沙勿略) (7 April 1506 - 2 December 1552) was a Spanish pioneering Roman Catholic Christian missionary and co-founder of the Society of Jesus (Jesuit Order). ... David Brainerd Brainerd preaching to Native Americans Brainerds tomb in Northampton David Brainerd, (April 20, 1718 – October 19, 1747) was an American missionary to the Native Americans. ... Flag Seal Nickname: Monument City, Charm City, Mob Town, B-more Motto: Get In On It (formerly The City That Reads and The Greatest City in America; BELIEVE is not the official motto but rather a specific campaign) Location Location of Baltimore in Maryland Coordinates , Government Country State County United... Francis Asbury (August 20, 1745 – March 31, 1816) was one of the first two bishops of the Methodist Episcopal Church in the United States. ...

Coke returned to England in June 1785 and made eight further visits to America until he made his final visit in 1803. While in America he spoke out against slavery and wrote a letter on the subject to George Washington. Washington met Coke twice and even invited him to preach before the United States Congress. After spending some months travelling throughout Great Britain and Ireland Coke made his first mission to the West Indies in 1786, making further visits in 1788-89, 1790, and 1792-93. George Washington (February 22, 1732 – December 14, 1799)[1] led Americas Continental Army to victory over Britain in the American Revolutionary War (1775–1783), and in 1789 was elected the first President of the United States of America. ... Type Bicameral Houses Senate House of Representatives President of the Senate President pro tempore Dick Cheney, (R) since January 20, 2001 Robert C. Byrd, (D) since January 4, 2007 Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, (D) since January 4, 2007 Members 535 plus 4 Delegates and 1 Resident Commissioner Political...

Following Wesley's death in 1791 Coke became Secretary to the English Conference, having been widely supposed to be Wesley's desired successor. He was President of the Conference in 1797 and 1805, on both occasions trying to persuade the Conference to confer on him the official title of Bishop.

In the same year he went to Paris and preached in French. He established a mission in Gibraltar in 1803 and then spent five years travelling in the cause of Methodist missions, including visiting Sierra Leone. He promoted others in setting up missions in Canada and Scotland. This article is about the capital of France. ... This article is about the country. ...

In 1805, at the age of 58, Coke married Penelope Smith, a wealthy lady who happily spent her personal fortune furthering the missions. She travelled with him until her death. In 1811 he married for a second time and his wife died the following year.

He hoped to open Methodist missions in the East Indies and at his own expense he set sail for Ceylon on 30 December 1813. He had in fact tried to persuade the Prime Minister, Lord Liverpool, to appoint him to an Indian bishopric in the[Church of England (the right of appointing Bishops was then, as now, a prerogative exercised by the Prime Minister on behalf of the Sovereign). However, Coke died after four months at sea on the way to Ceylon (Sri Lanka). ^[2] The Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka (ශ්රී ලංකා in Sinhala / இலங்கை in Tamil) (known as Ceylon before 1972) is a tropical island nation off the southeast coast of the Indian subcontinent. ... The son of George IIIs close adviser Charles Jenkinson, 1st Earl of Liverpool and his part-Indian first wife, Amelia Watts, Robert Jenkinson was educated at Charterhouse School and Christ Church, Oxford. ...

Asbury described Coke as "a gentleman, a scholar, a bishop to us; and as a minister of Christ, in zeal, in labours, in services, the greatest man in the last century."

Coke's publications included a Commentary of the Bible (1807), A History of the West Indies (3 volumes, 1808-11), History of the Bible, Six Letters in Defence of the Doctrine of Justification by Faith, Four Discourses on the Duties of a Minister, and a Preacher's Manual, as well as, jointly with collaborators, a Life of Wesley (1792).

Sources

• General Commission on Archives and History for The United Methodist Church
• The John Rylands Library: Mr Wesley's Preachers
• Dr Victor Shepherd (2001). "Chapter 33: Thomas Coke (1747 - 1814)", Witnesses to the Word. Toronto: Clements Pub.. ISBN 189466700X. 
• 1911 Encyclopedia
• Southwestern University chapel windows

Victor Shepherd (born 1944) is a Canadian Presbyterian minister, theology professor and author living in Toronto. ...

References

See also

• List of Bishops of the United Methodist Church

Bishops of The United Methodist Church and its predecessor denominations, in order of their election to the Episcopacy, both living and dead. ...

External links

• Engraving of Bishop Coke, by J. Cochrane, London, ca. 1860