Methodist Episcopal Church - Divisions and Mergers

Divisions and Mergers

The following list represents some major organizational developments in the United States. There have also been divisions and merges in the United Kingdom and elsewhere.

1767: Philip William Otterbein and Martin Boehm started Methodist evangelism among German speaking immigrants to form the United Brethren in Christ. This development had to do only with language. Methodist Episcopal Bishop Francis Asbury preached at Otterbein's funeral. In the 20th Century, the United Brethren and Evangelical Association merged to form the Evangelical United Brethren Church, and then with the Methodist Church to form the United Methodist Church.

1793: The first recognized split from the Methodist Episcopal Church was led by a preacher named James O'Kelly who wanted clergy to be free to refuse to serve where the bishop appointed them. He organized the "Republican Methodists," later called simply the Christian Church or Christian Connection, that through its successors eventually became part of the United Church of Christ.

1800: The Evangelical Association was organized by Jacob Albright to serve German speaking Methodists.

1816: The African Methodist Episcopal Church was organized in Philadelphia by Richard Allen, who had been born a slave and bought his freedom. Francis Asbury had ordained him in 1799. It was also sometimes called the "African Bethel Church."

1820: The African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church was organized in New York.

1828: The Canadians formed their own Methodist Church.

1828: The Methodist Protestant Church was organized by Nicholas Snethen, who had earlier argued against the O'Kelly split, along with Asa Shinn. The issue was the role of laity in governance of the church. In 1939, the Methodist Protestant Church merged with the Methodist Episcopal and Methodist Episcopal South to form the Methodist Church.

1843: The Wesleyan Methodist Church was organized. In 1968, the Wesleyan Methodist and Pilgrim Holiness denominations merged to form the Wesleyan Church.

1844: The Methodist Episcopal Church, South, was organized because of the slavery controversy. In 1939, the Methodist Episcopal, Methodist Episcopal South, and Methodist Protestant denominations merged to form the Methodist Church.

1860: The Free Methodist Church was organized by B. T. Roberts and others. The differences centered around a rural vs. urban ethos.

1870: The Christian Methodist Episcopal Church was organized from the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, to serve African-American Methodists.

1895: The Church of the Nazarene was organized by Phineas F. Bresee.

1895: Fire Baptized Holiness Church

1897: Pentecostal Holiness Church of North Carolina. Merged with the Fire Baptized Holiness Church in 1911 and formed what is now known as the International Pentecostal Holiness Church.

1897: The Pilgrim Holiness Church was organized.

1939: The Methodist Episcopal Church, the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, and the Methodist Protestant Church merged to form the Methodist Church.

1946: The Evangelical Church (Albright's Evangelical Association) and Otterbein's Church of the United Brethren in Christ merged to form the Evangelical United Brethren Church.

1968: The Evangelical United Brethren Church and the Methodist Church merged to form the United Methodist Church.

A related development was the establishment of The Salvation Army in Great Britain in 1865. Although this was not a split from the Methodist Episcopal Church, it later became a significant branch of the Wesleyan movement in the United States.