A critical evaluation of John Wesley's ordinations from a Greek orthodox viewpoint

• Main Author: Tsoumas, George John
• Language: en_US
• Published: Boston University 2014
• Online Access: https://hdl.handle.net/2144/9368

Typescript. Thesis (S.T.B.)--Boston University Includes bibliographical references. === The purpose of the dissertation is twofold: (1) to establish the facts that led John Wesley, a Presbyter of the Church of England, to ordain his laymen preachers for America, and to "set apart" a Bishop or Sup erintendent for his societies in the New World; (2) to weigh these events and evaluate them from a Greek Orthodox viewpoint. The work is not polemic in character. On the contrary, it is an investigation by a clergyman of the Greek Orthodox Church with a view to examining with a friendly eye the origins of the Methodist Church, Ministry , and Establishment in order to create a more friendly atmosphere between the Nethodist Churches and his own. It is divided into four chapters. The first is the introductory; the s e cond, historical, in which Wesley's life is presented briefly, in particular the events that led him to ordain; the third cri ticizes and evaluates these events and establishes the character of his ordinations, whether Anglican, Presbyterian, Greek Orthodox, or Roman Catholic; and the fourth summarizes and offers the conclusions. [TRUNCATED]