John Wesely - Document Study - The Deed of Declaration
‘The Deed of Declaration’ by John Wesley in 1784, followed by ‘The Plan of Pacification’ in 1795 after his death, are historically significant documents within the Methodist movement in relation to its separation from the Church of England. This paper will briefly outline how the separation developed, the crucial points of separation, possible misinterpretations of Wesley’s intentions and the consequences of separation.The Methodists derive their roots from the work of John and Charles Wesley. The Wesley brothers and associate Whitefield travelled widely preaching to considerable crowds attracting many of the working class. By 1738 they had organised small groups within the Church of England for religious sharing, bible study, prayer and preaching. Their emphasis was ‘primarily on practical religion and not dogmatic’ (WEBER 1999). This movement had spread throughout England, Ireland, Wales and further abroad. The division between the Church of England and John Wesley heightened in 1738 when Church of England congregations started banning John Wesley from their pulpits. In order to unite the many small groups, in 1743 John and Charles Wesley in 1743 . . .
Long Term Consequences The Methodists became an established denomination. They had the ability to deliver sacraments, ordain ministers, and provide all the services required. At no time did John Wesley personally break ties with the Church of England, maintaining his ordination and devotion to the Church of England, and he expected the “united societies” to “attend Anglican services and sacraments” (Dowley 1990:453). During this conference standards for doctrine, liturgy and discipline were also adopted. In response to the ongoing concern about administering the sacraments and also the pressure to bring the Methodists back in line with the Church of England, the ‘Plan of Pacification’ was proposed. The Plan of Pacification allowed the churches (in England) to perform the Lord’s Supper, baptism and burial of the dead and can be seen as the spiritual breakaway from the Church of England . It established an organized leadership “Legal Hundred” and used the terminology “Chapels” as opposed to “Preaching-Houses”. On July 8, 1969, this reunion was seen to be unacceptable. The ‘Plan of Pacification’ was to resolve political and spiritual issues for certain churches that had many unbaptised children and others who had not taken of the Lord’s Supper for years. The conference in 1796 denied his representation, and by 1797 Alexander Kilham and 5000 followers left the Methodist church starting a new denomination called Methodist New Connection. The document also established 15 regulations for conducting the annual conference. Even though John Wesley made no mention of a “relationship to the church of England” (Heitzenrater 1995:284) a respect for the church and its function can be seen in the statement “the conference shall not appoint . In 1795 the annual conference implemented the ‘Plan of Pacification’, giving the right to the societies to administer the sacraments upon a majority rule from the “trustees…, stewards and leaders belonging to the chapel” (Bettenson 1967:257). , issued “General Rules” and became known as the “United Societies” (Dowley 1990:455).
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