Charles Wesley: Difference between revisions
Created page with "{{Infobox clergy | honorific_prefix= The Reverend | name = Charles Wesley | image = Charles Wesley.jpg | birth_date = December 18, 1707 | birth_place = Epworth, Lincolnshire, Great Britain | death_date = March 29, 1788 (aged 80) | death_place = London, Great Britain | educat..." |
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In 1738 the Wesley brothers, both dejected following their unsuccessful mission, had [[religious experiences]]: Charles experienced an [[evangelical]] conversion (or "renewal of faith"<ref name="Nutter">{{cite book |editor1-last=Nutter |editor1-first=Charles Summer |title=An Illustrated and Annotated Edition of the Hymnal of the Methodist Episcopal Church |date=1900 |publisher=[[Methodist Episcopal Church]] |location=New York |url=https://archive.org/details/hymnstudiesillus0000unse |access-date=30 April 2024 |pages=49–50}}</ref>) on 21 May and John had a similar experience in [[wikipedia:Aldersgate Street|Aldersgate Street]] just three days later. A City of London [[blue plaque]] at 13 [[Little Britain, London|Little Britain]], near the church of [[wikipedia:St Botolph, Aldersgate|St Botolph, Aldersgate]], off [[wikipedia:St. Martin's Le Grand|St. Martin's Le Grand]], marks the site of the former house of John Bray, reputed to be the scene of Wesley's evangelical conversion. It reads, "Adjoining this site stood the house of John Bray. Scene of Charles Wesley's evangelical conversion, May 21st 1738".<ref>{{cite web |url=http://openplaques.org/plaques/5300 |title=Plaque № 5300 |publisher=openplaques.org |access-date=4 March 2013}}</ref> Wesley commemorated the first anniversary of his religious experience by composing an 18-stanza poem, with its seventh verse, beginning "[[O for a thousand tongues to sing]]", now serving as the opening of a shorter hymn.<ref name="Nutter"/> | In 1738 the Wesley brothers, both dejected following their unsuccessful mission, had [[religious experiences]]: Charles experienced an [[evangelical]] conversion (or "renewal of faith"<ref name="Nutter">{{cite book |editor1-last=Nutter |editor1-first=Charles Summer |title=An Illustrated and Annotated Edition of the Hymnal of the Methodist Episcopal Church |date=1900 |publisher=[[Methodist Episcopal Church]] |location=New York |url=https://archive.org/details/hymnstudiesillus0000unse |access-date=30 April 2024 |pages=49–50}}</ref>) on 21 May and John had a similar experience in [[wikipedia:Aldersgate Street|Aldersgate Street]] just three days later. A City of London [[blue plaque]] at 13 [[Little Britain, London|Little Britain]], near the church of [[wikipedia:St Botolph, Aldersgate|St Botolph, Aldersgate]], off [[wikipedia:St. Martin's Le Grand|St. Martin's Le Grand]], marks the site of the former house of John Bray, reputed to be the scene of Wesley's evangelical conversion. It reads, "Adjoining this site stood the house of John Bray. Scene of Charles Wesley's evangelical conversion, May 21st 1738".<ref>{{cite web |url=http://openplaques.org/plaques/5300 |title=Plaque № 5300 |publisher=openplaques.org |access-date=4 March 2013}}</ref> Wesley commemorated the first anniversary of his religious experience by composing an 18-stanza poem, with its seventh verse, beginning "[[O for a thousand tongues to sing]]", now serving as the opening of a shorter hymn.<ref name="Nutter"/> | ||
Wesley felt renewed strength to spread [[the gospel]] to ordinary people and it was around then that he began to write the poetic hymns for which he would become known. In January 1739, he was appointed as [[curate]] to serve at [[St Mary's Church, Islington]], but was forced to resign when the churchwardens objected to his [[evangelical]] preaching.<ref name="mywesleyanmethodists"/> Later that same year, finding that they were unwelcome inside parish churches, the Wesley brothers took to preaching to crowds in open fields. They were influenced by [[George Whitefield]], whose [[open-air preaching]] was already reaching great numbers of Bristol colliers.<ref name=bbc/> Charles Wesley wrote to Whitefield regularly and is mentioned in many of Whitefield's journal entries. [[George Whitefield|Whitefield]] drew from many of Wesley's hymns and even had one written to him by Wesley.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Hendry |first=Micah |date=2023-07-19 |title=Christians You Should Know: Charles Wesley |url=https://enjoyingthejourney.org/christians-you-should-know-charles-wesley/ |access-date=2024-05-16 |website=Enjoying the Journey |language=en-US}}</ref> From 1740, Charles and John were the joint leaders of the [[Evangelical Revival|Methodist Revival]] and [[evangelism|evangelised]] throughout Britain and Ireland.<ref name=Cheetham2003>{{cite book |last1=Cheetham |first1=J. Keith |title=On the trail of John Wesley |date=2003 |publisher=Luath Press |location=Edinburgh |isbn=9781842820230 }}</ref> | Wesley felt renewed strength to spread [[the gospel]] to ordinary people and it was around then that he began to write the poetic hymns for which he would become known. In January 1739, he was appointed as [[curate]] to serve at [[St Mary's Church, Islington]], but was forced to resign when the churchwardens objected to his [[evangelical]] preaching.<ref name="mywesleyanmethodists"/> Later that same year, finding that they were unwelcome inside parish churches, the Wesley brothers took to preaching to crowds in open fields. They were influenced by [[George Whitefield]], whose [[open-air preaching]] was already reaching great numbers of Bristol colliers.<ref name=bbc/> Charles Wesley wrote to Whitefield regularly and is mentioned in many of Whitefield's journal entries. [[George Whitefield|Whitefield]] drew from many of Wesley's hymns and even had one written to him by Wesley.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Hendry |first=Micah |date=2023-07-19 |title=Christians You Should Know: Charles Wesley |url=https://enjoyingthejourney.org/christians-you-should-know-charles-wesley/ |access-date=2024-05-16 |website=Enjoying the Journey |language=en-US}}</ref> From 1740, Charles and John were the joint leaders of the [[Evangelical Revival|Methodist Revival]] and [[evangelism|evangelised]] throughout Britain and Ireland.<ref name=Cheetham2003>{{cite book |last1=Cheetham |first1=J. Keith |title=On the trail of John Wesley |date=2003 |publisher=Luath Press |location=Edinburgh |isbn=9781842820230 }}</ref> They were opposed by many Anglican clergy, especially when their appointed [[Methodist local preacher|lay preachers]] began to preach in parishes without seeking permission. In [[wikipedia:Newcastle upon Tyne|Newcastle]], Wesley established its first Methodist society in September 1742 and faced mob violence in [[wikipedia:Wednesbury|Wednesbury]] and [[wikipedia:Sheffield|Sheffield]] in 1743 and at [[wikipedia:Devizes|Devizes]] in 1747.<ref |name="mywesleyanmethodists"/><ref name="Vickers2008"/> | ||
Following a period of illness, after 1756 Wesley made no more journeys to distant parts of the country, mainly just moving between Bristol and London.<ref name="Rack45_46">{{Cite book | last=Rack | first=Henry D. | editor1-last=Newport | editor1-first=Kenneth G.C. |editor2-last=Campbell | editor2-first=Ted A. | title=Charles Wesley: Life, Literature and Legacy | publisher=Epworth | location=Peterborough | year=2007 | isbn=9780716206071 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nWAmAQAAIAAJ}}</ref>{{rp|45–46}} Increasingly in his later years, Wesley became the mouthpiece of the so-called "[[wikipedia:Church of England|Church]] Methodists"—he was strongly opposed to a separation of Methodism from its Anglican roots.<ref name="Rack45_46" /> | Following a period of illness, after 1756 Wesley made no more journeys to distant parts of the country, mainly just moving between Bristol and London.<ref name="Rack45_46">{{Cite book | last=Rack | first=Henry D. | editor1-last=Newport | editor1-first=Kenneth G.C. |editor2-last=Campbell | editor2-first=Ted A. | title=Charles Wesley: Life, Literature and Legacy | publisher=Epworth | location=Peterborough | year=2007 | isbn=9780716206071 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nWAmAQAAIAAJ}}</ref>{{rp|45–46}} Increasingly in his later years, Wesley became the mouthpiece of the so-called "[[wikipedia:Church of England|Church]] Methodists"—he was strongly opposed to a separation of Methodism from its Anglican roots.<ref name="Rack45_46" /> In the 1780s, he was especially dismayed by his brother's [[ordination]] of Methodist ministers to serve in America, which he criticized in a published poem.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Tomkins |first1=Stephen |title=John Wesley: A Biography |date=2003 |publisher=Lion |location=Oxford |isbn=0-7459-5078-7 |page=186}}</ref> | ||
===Marriage and children=== | ===Marriage and children=== | ||
[[File:Charles Wesley (4368240967).jpg|thumb|right|Plaque in Marylebone commemorating the site of Wesley's house (now a pub)]] | [[File:Charles Wesley (4368240967).jpg|thumb|right|Plaque in Marylebone commemorating the site of Wesley's house (now a pub)]] | ||
In April 1749, he married the much younger [[Sarah Wesley|Sarah Gwynne]] (1726–1822), also known as Sally.<ref name=Cheetham2003 />{{rp|95–97}} She was the daughter of [[wikipedia:Marmaduke Gwynne|Marmaduke Gwynne]], a wealthy [[wikipedia:Wales|Welsh]] magistrate who had been converted to Methodism by [[Howell Harris]].<ref name="Barry141_146">{{Cite book | last=Barry | first=Joseph | editor1-last=Temperley | editor1-first=Nicholas |editor2-last=Banfield | editor2-first=Stephen | title=Music and the Wesleys | publisher=University of Illinois Press | location=Urbana | year=2010 | pages=141–146 | isbn=978-0-252-07767-8}}</ref> They moved into a [[Charles Wesley's House|house at 4 Charles Street in Bristol]] in September 1749.<ref name="Vickers2008"/><ref name=Cheetham2003 /> | In April 1749, he married the much younger [[Sarah Wesley|Sarah Gwynne]] (1726–1822), also known as Sally.<ref name=Cheetham2003 />{{rp|95–97}} She was the daughter of [[wikipedia:Marmaduke Gwynne|Marmaduke Gwynne]], a wealthy [[wikipedia:Wales|Welsh]] magistrate who had been converted to Methodism by [[Howell Harris]].<ref name="Barry141_146">{{Cite book | last=Barry | first=Joseph | editor1-last=Temperley | editor1-first=Nicholas |editor2-last=Banfield | editor2-first=Stephen | title=Music and the Wesleys | publisher=University of Illinois Press | location=Urbana | year=2010 | pages=141–146 | isbn=978-0-252-07767-8}}</ref> They moved into a [[Charles Wesley's House|house at 4 Charles Street in Bristol]] in September 1749.<ref name="Vickers2008"/><ref name=Cheetham2003 /> Sarah accompanied the brothers on their journeys throughout Britain until at least 1753. | ||
In 1771, Wesley obtained another house in London, and moved into it that year with his elder son. By 1778 the whole family had transferred from Bristol to the London house, at 1 Great Chesterfield Street (now Wheatley Street), [[Marylebone]],<ref name="Barry141_146"/> where they remained until Wesley's death and on into the 19th century.<ref name="Forsaith161_162">{{Cite book | last=Forsaith | first=Peter S. | editor1-last=Temperley | editor1-first=Nicholas |editor2-last=Banfield | editor2-first=Stephen | title=Music and the Wesleys | publisher=University of Illinois Press | location=Urbana | year=2010 | pages=161–162 | isbn=978-0-252-07767-8}}</ref> The house in Bristol still stands and has been restored,<ref name=Cheetham2003 /> | In 1771, Wesley obtained another house in London, and moved into it that year with his elder son. By 1778 the whole family had transferred from Bristol to the London house, at 1 Great Chesterfield Street (now Wheatley Street), [[Marylebone]],<ref name="Barry141_146"/> where they remained until Wesley's death and on into the 19th century.<ref name="Forsaith161_162">{{Cite book | last=Forsaith | first=Peter S. | editor1-last=Temperley | editor1-first=Nicholas |editor2-last=Banfield | editor2-first=Stephen | title=Music and the Wesleys | publisher=University of Illinois Press | location=Urbana | year=2010 | pages=161–162 | isbn=978-0-252-07767-8}}</ref> The house in Bristol still stands and has been restored,<ref name=Cheetham2003 /> however the London house was demolished in the mid 19th century.<ref name="Forsaith161_162"/> | ||
Only three of the couple's children survived infancy: [[Charles Wesley junior]] (1757–1834), Sarah Wesley (1759–1828), who like her mother was also known as Sally, and [[Samuel Wesley (composer, born 1766)|Samuel Wesley]] (1766–1837).<ref name="Temperley_ix_xv">{{Cite book | last=Temperley | first=Nicholas | editor1-last=Temperley | editor1-first=Nicholas |editor2-last=Banfield | editor2-first=Stephen | title=Music and the Wesleys | publisher=University of Illinois Press | location=Urbana | year=2010 | pages=ix–xv | isbn=978-0-252-07767-8}}</ref> Their other children, John, Martha Maria, Susannah, Selina and John James are all buried in Bristol, having died between 1753 and 1768. (See monument in garden on north side of junction of Lewis Mead and The Haymarket, Bristol.) Both Samuel and Charles junior were musical [[wikipedia:child prodigies|child prodigies]] and, like their father, became [[organist]]s and composers. Charles junior spent most of his career as the personal organist of the Royal Family, and Samuel became one of the most accomplished musicians in the world and is often called "the English Mozart".<ref>{{cite web |last1=Blain |first1=Andrea |last2=Young |first2=Alison |title=Learning to Listen: Samuel Wesley, 'the English Mozart' |url=https://www.classicalmpr.org/story/2016/02/22/learning-to-listen-samuel-wesley-the-english-mozart |website=www.classicalmpr.org |date=22 February 2016 |access-date=1 February 2021}}</ref> Samuel Wesley's son, [[Samuel Sebastian Wesley]], was one of the foremost British composers of the 19th century.<ref name="Temperley_ix_xv"/> | Only three of the couple's children survived infancy: [[Charles Wesley junior]] (1757–1834), Sarah Wesley (1759–1828), who like her mother was also known as Sally, and [[Samuel Wesley (composer, born 1766)|Samuel Wesley]] (1766–1837).<ref name="Temperley_ix_xv">{{Cite book | last=Temperley | first=Nicholas | editor1-last=Temperley | editor1-first=Nicholas |editor2-last=Banfield | editor2-first=Stephen | title=Music and the Wesleys | publisher=University of Illinois Press | location=Urbana | year=2010 | pages=ix–xv | isbn=978-0-252-07767-8}}</ref> Their other children, John, Martha Maria, Susannah, Selina and John James are all buried in Bristol, having died between 1753 and 1768. (See monument in garden on north side of junction of Lewis Mead and The Haymarket, Bristol.) Both Samuel and Charles junior were musical [[wikipedia:child prodigies|child prodigies]] and, like their father, became [[organist]]s and composers. Charles junior spent most of his career as the personal organist of the Royal Family, and Samuel became one of the most accomplished musicians in the world and is often called "the English Mozart".<ref>{{cite web |last1=Blain |first1=Andrea |last2=Young |first2=Alison |title=Learning to Listen: Samuel Wesley, 'the English Mozart' |url=https://www.classicalmpr.org/story/2016/02/22/learning-to-listen-samuel-wesley-the-english-mozart |website=www.classicalmpr.org |date=22 February 2016 |access-date=1 February 2021}}</ref> Samuel Wesley's son, [[Samuel Sebastian Wesley]], was one of the foremost British composers of the 19th century.<ref name="Temperley_ix_xv"/> | ||
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*"Ye Servants of God" ([[Wikisource:Ye Servants of God|Words]]) | *"Ye Servants of God" ([[Wikisource:Ye Servants of God|Words]]) | ||
The words to many more of Charles Wesley's hymns can be found on [[Wikisource]],<ref>Wikisource, [[ | The words to many more of Charles Wesley's hymns can be found on [[Wikisource]],<ref>Wikisource, [[S:Author:Charles Wesley#Hymns|Charles Wesley: Hymns]], accessed 15 March 2023</ref> and in his many publications.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://archive.org/details/hymnsandsacredpo00wesliala|title= Hymns and sacred poems|last1= Wesley|first1= John |last2=Wesley|first2= Charles|location= Bristol|date= 1743|edition=4th}}</ref><ref>[https://divinity.duke.edu/initiatives/cswt/charles-published-verse Complete texts of Charles Wesley's Published Verse at Duke Divinity School]</ref> | ||
Some 150 of his hymns are in the Methodist hymn book ''[[Hymns and Psalms]]'', including "Hark! the Herald Angels Sing", and ''The Church Hymn Book'' (In New York and Chicago, US, 1872) where "Jesus, Lover of My Soul" is published. Many of his hymns are translated into other languages, and form the foundation for Methodist hymnals, as well as the Swedish ''Metodist-Episkopal-Kyrkans Psalmbok'' printed in Stockholm in 1892. | Some 150 of his hymns are in the Methodist hymn book ''[[Hymns and Psalms]]'', including "Hark! the Herald Angels Sing", and ''The Church Hymn Book'' (In New York and Chicago, US, 1872) where "Jesus, Lover of My Soul" is published. Many of his hymns are translated into other languages, and form the foundation for Methodist hymnals, as well as the Swedish ''Metodist-Episkopal-Kyrkans Psalmbok'' printed in Stockholm in 1892. | ||
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Wesley is still remembered for his ministry while in [[wikipedia:St. Simons, Georgia|St. Simon's Island]], [[wikipedia:Georgia (U.S. state)|Georgia]], by the South Georgia Conference of the [[United Methodist Church]]; in 1950, the conference opened a Christian retreat center on the island by the banks of the [[wikipedia:Frederica River|Frederica River]], designating it [[Epworth by the Sea]] in honour of his and John's birthplace. | Wesley is still remembered for his ministry while in [[wikipedia:St. Simons, Georgia|St. Simon's Island]], [[wikipedia:Georgia (U.S. state)|Georgia]], by the South Georgia Conference of the [[United Methodist Church]]; in 1950, the conference opened a Christian retreat center on the island by the banks of the [[wikipedia:Frederica River|Frederica River]], designating it [[Epworth by the Sea]] in honour of his and John's birthplace. | ||
In the 19th century, Charles Wesley's legacy was downplayed by Methodist historians, largely because of his opposition to separating from the Church of England.<ref name="Vickers2008"/> He is [[Calendar of saints (Church of England)|remembered]] (with [[John Wesley|his brother]]) in the Church of England with a [[Lesser Festival (Anglicanism)|Lesser Festival]] on | In the 19th century, Charles Wesley's legacy was downplayed by Methodist historians, largely because of his opposition to separating from the Church of England.<ref name="Vickers2008"/> He is [[Calendar of saints (Church of England)|remembered]] (with [[John Wesley|his brother]]) in the Church of England with a [[Lesser Festival (Anglicanism)|Lesser Festival]] on 24 May.<ref>{{Cite web|title=The Calendar|url=https://www.churchofengland.org/prayer-and-worship/worship-texts-and-resources/common-worship/churchs-year/calendar|access-date=2021-03-27|website=The Church of England|language=en}}</ref> | ||
He is commemorated in the [[Calendar of Saints (Lutheran)|Calendar of Saints]] of the [[Evangelical Lutheran Church in America]] on 2 March with his brother. The brothers are also commemorated on 3 March in the [[Calendar of saints (Episcopal Church in the United States of America)|Calendar of Saints]] of the [[Episcopal Church in the United States of America|Episcopal Church]].<ref>{{cite book|title=The Book of Common Prayer and Administration of the Sacraments and Other Rites and Ceremonies of the Church: Together with the Psalter of David|title-link=Book of Common Prayer#United States|publisher=Seabury |date= 1979|page=[https://archive.org/details/bookofcommonp00epis/page/n450 23]}}</ref> Charles is commemorated on 29 March in the Calendar of Commemorations by the Methodist [[Order of Saint Luke]]; John is commemorated on 2 March; their parents are also commemorated.<ref>{{cite book|title=For All The Saints: A Calendar of Commemorations for United Methodists|editor-first= Clifton F.|editor-last= Guthrie |location=Akron, Ohio|publisher= Order of St Luke |date= 1995|isbn=1-878009-25-7|pages= 77–78, 95–96}}</ref> | He is commemorated in the [[Calendar of Saints (Lutheran)|Calendar of Saints]] of the [[Evangelical Lutheran Church in America]] on 2 March with his brother. The brothers are also commemorated on 3 March in the [[Calendar of saints (Episcopal Church in the United States of America)|Calendar of Saints]] of the [[Episcopal Church in the United States of America|Episcopal Church]].<ref>{{cite book|title=The Book of Common Prayer and Administration of the Sacraments and Other Rites and Ceremonies of the Church: Together with the Psalter of David|title-link=Book of Common Prayer#United States|publisher=Seabury |date= 1979|page=[https://archive.org/details/bookofcommonp00epis/page/n450 23]}}</ref> Charles is commemorated on 29 March in the Calendar of Commemorations by the Methodist [[Order of Saint Luke]]; John is commemorated on 2 March; their parents are also commemorated.<ref>{{cite book|title=For All The Saints: A Calendar of Commemorations for United Methodists|editor-first= Clifton F.|editor-last= Guthrie |location=Akron, Ohio|publisher= Order of St Luke |date= 1995|isbn=1-878009-25-7|pages= 77–78, 95–96}}</ref> | ||
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==External links== | ==External links== | ||
*[http://www.eighteenthcenturypoetry.org/authors/pers00309.shtml Charles Wesley] at the [http://www.eighteenthcenturypoetry.org/ Eighteenth-Century Poetry Archive (ECPA)] | *[http://www.eighteenthcenturypoetry.org/authors/pers00309.shtml Charles Wesley] at the [http://www.eighteenthcenturypoetry.org/ Eighteenth-Century Poetry Archive (ECPA)] | ||
*Biography and works at the [http://www.hymntime.com/tch/bio/w/e/s/l/wesley_c.htm Cyber Hymnal] | *Biography and works at the [http://www.hymntime.com/tch/bio/w/e/s/l/wesley_c.htm Cyber Hymnal] | ||