Thanks for taking the time to write all this out. I had heard it said by other Methodists that John Wesley himself had omitted the phrase from his Sunday Service document. I just confirmed that he actually included it, and that there was never an instance in which he omitted the phrase from any document. This gives me a good deal of joy. It also upsets me, as I believe I have passed on this misunderstanding over the years. From Hixon's comments and your response here, I now have the impression that early American Methodists simply found the phrase distasteful and quietly removed it from our documents at the start of American Methodism. That's pretty sad, but not so sad as the OG Methodist lacking proper respect for the apostolic faith.
Great Article; the unilateral changing of an ecumenical Creed has always bothered me.
I've looked at Methodist service books going back to the 1930s and they all omit this phrase. The Sunday Service book includes it, so I've long wondered exactly when and where it began to be omitted, and who started this. Was it a General Conference decision? Was it a "local custom" somewhere that caught on (like Mothers' Day)?
Thanks for the comment! According to Robert Emory's "History of the Discipline of the MEC," the omission occurred at the 1786 General Conference. The 1786 Conference was the last one to publish its Discipline with Sunday Service included. I have been unable to find the Discipline of the 1786 Conference online. The 1792 Conference removed Sunday Service and replaced it with "Sacramental Services" which I believe came to become the "Ritual of the MEC" which was standardly published within the Discipline until separate service books came into being.
Wow; I would not have guessed it started that early, thanks for the info. It is a shame they dropped the liturgy out of the Discipline when "doctrine, discipline, and worship" could all be found in one place (but understandable considering how large it grew even without the services in it).
Thanks for taking the time to write all this out. I had heard it said by other Methodists that John Wesley himself had omitted the phrase from his Sunday Service document. I just confirmed that he actually included it, and that there was never an instance in which he omitted the phrase from any document. This gives me a good deal of joy. It also upsets me, as I believe I have passed on this misunderstanding over the years. From Hixon's comments and your response here, I now have the impression that early American Methodists simply found the phrase distasteful and quietly removed it from our documents at the start of American Methodism. That's pretty sad, but not so sad as the OG Methodist lacking proper respect for the apostolic faith.
Great Article; the unilateral changing of an ecumenical Creed has always bothered me.
I've looked at Methodist service books going back to the 1930s and they all omit this phrase. The Sunday Service book includes it, so I've long wondered exactly when and where it began to be omitted, and who started this. Was it a General Conference decision? Was it a "local custom" somewhere that caught on (like Mothers' Day)?
Thanks for the comment! According to Robert Emory's "History of the Discipline of the MEC," the omission occurred at the 1786 General Conference. The 1786 Conference was the last one to publish its Discipline with Sunday Service included. I have been unable to find the Discipline of the 1786 Conference online. The 1792 Conference removed Sunday Service and replaced it with "Sacramental Services" which I believe came to become the "Ritual of the MEC" which was standardly published within the Discipline until separate service books came into being.
Wow; I would not have guessed it started that early, thanks for the info. It is a shame they dropped the liturgy out of the Discipline when "doctrine, discipline, and worship" could all be found in one place (but understandable considering how large it grew even without the services in it).