Methodist
Centre, 21,
YMCA Rd., Mumbai-400 008.
Ph:
022-3074137, 3094316. Fax: 022-374137
E-mail: exebdmci@bom5.vsnl.net.in
Executive
Secretary:
Rev. tharanath S. Sagar,
Methodist Centre, 21, YMCA Rd., Mumbai Central, Mumbai-400 008.
Central
Treasurer: Mr.John No. Hanchinmani, Central
Treasury Office MCI,
The American Express, Lawrence Mayo House, P.B.1859, Fort,
Mumbai-400 001.
History:-Methodist church was founded
by John Wesley, an Anglican Priest (1703-1791) The
disciples of Wesley followed a strict pattern of life. So they were called Methodists. After
ordination John Wesley was elected a fellow of Lincoln College at Oxford. He was a member and the
leader of a group of earnest students pledged to frequent attendance at the
Holy Communion, serious study of Bible and regular visit to the Oxford prisons. The group received the name ‘Holy Club’ and
the members were known as Methodists.
Later
John Wesley was invited by an Anglican clergyman George Whitefield to the city
of Bristol. Wesley
helped Whitefield to preach to the colliers of Kings wood
Chase. Under the leadership of
Whitefield and Wesley the movement gained root among those who felt themselves
neglected by the Church of England.
The
‘Methodists’ formed a society within the Church of England. Wesley never wished them to leave the
Church. But in 1784, when there was a
shortage of ordained ministers in America, the Bishop of London
refused to ordain a Methodist for America. Wesley consecrated Thomas Coke as
superintendent and ordained two others as presbyters. In the same year he appointed a conference of
100 men to govern the ‘Society of Methodists’.
The
definite break with the Church of England came in 1795. After this, Methodism rapidly developed from
a society to a Church. The developments combined with the autocratic habits of
some leading Methodist New Connection (1797), the Primitive Methodists (1811),
the Bible Christians (1815) and the United Methodist Free Churches (1857) were
the first Methodist Churches.
A
movement to reunite the Methodist groups began at the end of the 19th
century. In 1907 United Methodist Church was formed. In 1932 the Wesleyan Methodist Church, the Primitive Methodists
and the United Methodist Church came together to from the Methodist Church. The Methodist Episcopal
Church came to India in 1856 with William
Butler, a missionary from America. He began work at Bareilly.
In
1870, famous evangelist William Taylor was invited to India to hold special revival meetings. This visit of Taylor changed the course of
Methodism in India and led the Church out of
its provincial boundaries and made it a national factor.
It was in 1870 that the first missionaries of the
Women’s Foreign Missionary Society of the Methodist Episcopal Church came to India. Two young ladies Isabella Thoburn,
an educationist and Clara Swain, a doctor were the women missionaries to reach India.
Evangelistic
work in Northern India led to the baptism of a large number of people from
the depressed classes. Thus started Mass Movement work, which has brought several hundreds
of thousands of converts into Methodist Church in the
rural areas. In 1930 the Central Conference of Southern Asia elected jaswant Rao Chitamber,
the first national Bishop, marking the beginning of a new era.
Since 1928 the Methodist Church was engaged in negotiations
with other Churches in North India to enter into an organic
union. The final agreed plan of Church
Union in North India was prepared by 1966. This plan was commended to the Annual
Conference of the Methodist Church of South Asia by the Central Conference
in 1968. Even though the Annual
Conference accepted the plan by more than two-third majority the Special
Session of the Central Conference in 1970 opposed it as per the ruling by the
Judicial Council of the Methodist Church.
The
Central Conference of 1972 appointed a committee to continue negotiations with
the newly formed Church o North India. The Central Conference of
1976 then resolved to consider the status of an affiliated autonomous Methodist Church in India with the United Methodist
Church, U.S.A. In 1980 the General Conference of the United Methodist Church granted the necessary
enabling Act authorising the Central Conference of the Methodist Church in Southern Asia to recognise and to become
an affiliated autonomous Church of the United Methodist Church. 30th Regular
Session of the Central Conference held in January 1981 at Madras recognised and inaugurated
the Methodist Church in India.
The
Supreme legislative body of the Church is the General Conference, which meets
once in four years.
General Conference takes all major decisions
including the appointment of bishops.
Bishops are elected by General Conference from the pastors. They have to retire at the age of 65. Ministerial laymen and deaconess delegates
are members of the General Conference.
The
Church is divided into six Episcopal areas.
It has an Episcopal Conference and Bishops Cabinet. Each Episcopal area is divided into two
regional conferences and they are divided into districts. Pastorates form the basic units. Each division has its Conference. Besides ordained ministers deaconess and
laymen are members of the conference.
There are licensed laymen as lay preaches. They are for voluntary preaching in the
pastorate. The deaconess renders full
time service to the church. A deaconess
is a person who is committed to Christ and commissioned by the bishop of the
regional Conference.
The
Methodist Church has a three tier judicial
system. There is a Judicial Council at
the General Conference level. Every
Regional Conference has a regional court and at the bottom level there are
committees on conciliation at the district conference and pastorate conference
level.
The
six Episcopal areas of the Church are Bangalore, Bareilly, Mumbai, Delhi, Hyderabad and Lucknow. The strength of the Church is 6, 56,499. All
bishops are chairmen of the meeting.
Among them one is elected to become the moderator.
S.V. Sampathkumar of Bangalore is the present moderator.
