John Wesley is an 18th century English clergyman and preacher, theologian and missionary, leader and founder of a movement within the Church of England known as Methodism, aimed at raising the morale of the church, not at its reformation.
Biography
The future preacher was born in 1703 in Euport, near Lincoln. In total, nineteen children were born in the family of Samuel and Suzanne Wesley, of whom nine died in infancy. Suzanne was the 25th daughter of the Puritan pastor and minister Samuel Annesley, and her husband, a renowned Oxford graduate, was a poet and clergyman.
John, like other children, was taught to read from early childhood, taught Greek and Latin, and instilled in good manners. The family lived in strict accordance with the church order. At the age of five, Wesley's son survived a terrible fire, and his mother convinced him that the boy was saved for a special purpose in life.
At the age of 11, John was sent to an Orthodox boarding school in London, and then he was educated at Oxford, where he entered in 1720. John Wesley was a true ascetic, practicing strict abstinence, studying the Holy Scriptures and diligently fulfilling all religious duties, up to the distribution of alms when he himself had nothing to eat. In September 1725 he became a deacon - at that time in England the ordination was necessary for scientific work at the university. The ordination took place at the Cathedral of the Oxford Diocese.
Career
In the spring of 1726, Wesley was unanimously chosen to represent the Lincoln County at Oxford, which gave him the right to a private room and a small salary. A year later, John returned home with a master's degree and served as a trustee in a local ward, and after another two years he settled in Oxford as a research assistant and teacher.
Together with some students, he organized a kind of club for deep study of the Bible. Wesley and his supporters have been called "Methodists" for their meticulous implementation of all church rules, regular Bible reading, and their relentless, systematic assistance to homeless shelters, prisons, and orphanages.
John Wesley dreamed of being a missionary - it has always been an honorable act for a clergyman and raised his reputation to an unattainable height. In 1735, John and one of his brothers went to America, where they spent three unsuccessful years, and then returned home. It was during this period that John became acquainted with the teachings of the so-called Moravian brothers and, returning to England, began to study their Christian concept.
In 1739, John began his preaching work, and was, apparently, the first priest who spoke to people right in the fields, squares, in a word, at work and public places, and not in the temple. He rode almost 400 thousand miles in the saddle, talked about God wherever people agreed to listen to him, regardless of the weather and other conditions.
Wesley has written approximately 200 books and traveled to England, Ireland and Scotland. John's goal was to revitalize the church, to bring it closer to the people. He paid special attention to social work, creating communities aimed at charity, helping the poor and the poor, and the fight against slavery. Women were even allowed to attend Wesley's sermons, as well as to participate in Methodist groups.
Personal life and death
In 1751, John fell into a winter river and could have died. His nurse Mary Vazelle came out, to whom Wesley almost immediately proposed. They got married, but this marriage was extremely unsuccessful. The scandalous Mary made her husband's life unbearable, and he was relieved to leave her for his sermons, not seeing his wife for months. The woman died in 1771 while John was away. The preacher himself died in 1791 in his bed, surrounded by relatives and friends.
