BISHOPS IN METHODISM

                                               

                               BISHOPS IN METHODISM

“Methodists don’t have Bishops. They have only Presidents, Chairmen and Superintendents.” This has been the general understanding among the Christians in Sri Lanka until very recently. Is it true? Partly true and partly false. According to the statistics available from the World Methodist Council, out of 73 Methodist Churches around the World, only less than half a dozen churches still follow the British model of President as the title of the head of the Church. Even the British Methodist Conference, the Mother Church of Methodism has agreed with the Anglican Church that soon the head of the Methodist Church will be titled as President-Bishop exercising an Episcopal Ministry. What I share with you is from my study and experience having served as President Bishop of the Methodist Church Sri Lanka. You are welcome to raise questions, make your comments in response to what is shared by me in this article.

My second posting as a probationary minister (the equivalent of Deacon in Anglicanism) was in the Kandy Circuit of the Methodist Church; under the Superintendency of Rev. Dr Kingsley Muttiah who later became the President (Bishop) of our Church. In 1984 he returned after his doctoral studies in the UK and was appointed to the Kandy Circuit as the Superintendent Minister. One day he came for an interdenominational meeting in Kandy, wearing a purple shirt with a chain and a cross around his neck.  I spontaneously called him "Bishop Muttiah". He explained to me that every Superintendent Minister of the Methodist Church is a Bishop (Episcopos) because of his role of exercising OVERSIGHT in the Circuit he presides. He reminded me that the Church Union Scheme which was halted through a court case, had already nominated Bishops for the United Church of Lanka which included the then President of Methodist Church, Rev. P. Basil Rajasingham as one of the Bishops. When Rev.Dr. Kinglsey Muttiha was inducted as President of Methodist Church Sri Lanka in 1990 he wore his purple clerical shirt and a purple presidential gown, right throughout his tenure and some referred to him as Bishop of the Methodist Church both here and overseas. In Sri Lankan, Methodism Rev. Dr Muttiah was the one who infused fresh thoughts on the title of the President of Methodist Church to be changed as Bishop.

One may ask whether the Methodist Church has a right of its own, to call its head a Bishop? The book titled Methodism in Sri Lanka: Visions and realities 1814 – 2014 which was published for the Bicentenary of the Methodist Church Sri Lanka carries the introductory page with the photograph of Rev. Dr Thomas Coke: Father of Methodist Mission. The editor Professor G.P.V. Somaratne (an eminent historian) introduces him thus – “Thomas Coke (9^th September 1747 – 2 May 1814) was the first Methodist Bishop and is known as the Father of Methodist Missions.” (GPV Somaratne; Methodism in Sri Lanka: Visions and Realities 1814- 2014; Wesley Press  

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    

What is the history behind the title Bishop conferred on Thomas Coke?

Thomas Coke who was an ordained Anglican curate became a trusted companion to John Wesley because of his Evangelical Preaching, administrative skills and legal mind. When Anglican Clergy working in America began to return to England, after the American Revolution, John Wesley requested the Anglican Bishop of London to ordain some of the Methodist Lay Preachers to work in America. This request highlights that John Wesley did not want to violate the Canonical Law which required a consecrated Bishop to ordain ministers. When the request was turned down by the Bishop of London, John Wesley moved on to ordain Thomas coke as the Superintendent ("superintendent" is etymologically equivalent to episkopos) of the Methodist Conference in America. As Thomas Coke was already an ordained presbyter of the Anglican Church, what was the necessity for John Wesley to Ordain him again as a Superintendent for America? It meant that Thomas Coke who was already a presbyter was “set apart for a higher functional office” – the Superintendent. John Wesley had provided a certificate of the Ordination mentioning Thomas Coke is “set apart”. Some interpret this ordination as the equivalent of episcopal consecration. In 1787 the title Superintendent was replaced as BISHOP by the American Methodist Conference despite John Wesley's disapproval.

Was John Wesley a Bishop?

John Wesley once wrote that he was "a scriptural episcopos as much as many men in England." Although he believed in apostolic succession (as an Anglican), he also once called the idea of uninterrupted succession a "fable".

John Wesley’s understanding of a Bishop (Episkopos) is one of progression as described below.

·       From as early as January 20, 1746, John Wesley's understanding of episcopacy began to fundamentally change from the conventional Anglican position.

·       The following two books written by two Anglicans inspired him about Episcopos: Account of the Primitive Church by  Lord Peter King and Irenicum by Edward Stillingfleet's.  

·       John Wesley wrote as follows to James Clark on the 3 of July 1756:

“I still believe "the Episcopal form of Church government to be both scriptural and apostolical". . . . But that it is prescribed in Scripture I do not believe. This opinion (which I once heartily espoused) I have been heartily ashamed of ever since I read Dr Stillingfleet's Irenicon.”

These two Anglican authors provided John Wesley with the theological grounding for his understanding of ministry, ordination and episcopos

·       It took about another 38 years for John Wesley to go into the action of ordaining preachers all because he struggled to be faithful to his Anglican Church as written by him “For many years I have been importuned from time to time to exercise this right by ordaining part of our travelling preachers. But I have still refused, not only for peace sake but because I was determined as little as possible to violate the established order of the National Church to which I belonged.”

John Wesley always believed that he had an extraordinary calling from God. He opted to be an itinerant minister and preacher rather than being fixed in one place. This was not at all acceptable for the existing Anglican Church in his time and therefore he discovered that the Anglican Church was not willing to Ordain the preachers recommended by him. John Wesley had a deep understanding of himself as a man of God with an extraordinary ministry, stemming from an extraordinary call and ordination, eventually had him serving as "a kind of bishop" over his Methodist societies.

Frank Baker in his book ‘John Wesley and the Church of  England’ has written the following to explain the episkopos of John Wesley:

Wesley himself was not only a presbyter with a presbyter's inherent right to perform the office of presiding presbyter or bishop; by his extraordinary call to found and rule the Methodist societies it had been demonstrated that in function he was the equivalent of a scriptural bishop . . . . Both in ordine and gradus, he was a scriptural episcopos. - Frank Baker John Wesley and the Church of England (Nashville: Abingdon Press, 1970)

 

Episcope (oversight) and Episcopos (Bishop) in Methodism

In Methodism Episcope begins with the Conference. However, in the time of John Wesley, he had directly controlled everything that happens at Conference. At the Conference held in 1774, a remark has been made “Mr. Wesley seem to do all the business himself”. Why did John Wesley conduct his Conferences in this manner?

·        John Wesleybelieved that his power was God-given

·       As far as Wesleywas concerned, the Conference had no rights other than those which he conferred upon it

· He has said: “I myself sent for these, of my own free choice; and I sent for them to advise, not govern me. Neither did I at any one of those times divest myself of any part of that power above described, which the Providence of God had cast upon me, without any design or choice of mine.”  Therefore he set the agenda for the Conference; he summed up the conversation that took place and finally announced the policy that was to come into effect

The above makes it clear that the first form of episcope – oversight, in Methodism was a personal one. However John Wesley wanted this to be changed after his demise. By a deed of declaration, he bestowed the powers he held to the Conference to which he had appointed a cross section of itinerant preachers that became the official Conference. From that time onwards, the Conference exercised, as it still exercises, episcope over the people called Methodists.

Although the Methodist Church does not claim on the historic episcopate, it does have two forms of episcope (oversight):

·       The first is corporate episcope – oversight is over people, discipline, doctrine and property. Such episcope-oversight is carried out corporately by the Methodist Conferences, Synods and Circuits.

·       The second episcope-oversight is carried out by episcopos a person like President of Conference, Chairman of District Synod, Superintendent of Circuit and even Class Leaders.

Therefore, it’s clear that Methodism already has in its structure corporate and an individual episcope-oversight carried out by both ministerial and laypersons. This is a unique characteristic of the Methodist tradition which must be preserved when using the title Bishop.

 

What about the historic episcopacy?

 As Methodists, we do not think that an episcopal ministry can be conclusively proved or disproved from scripture, although there are those called bishops in the New Testament.

When studying through the pages of Church history it is clear “that by the end of the second century an episcopal form of ministry was almost universal in the church and that it was seen as possessing a commission ultimately derived from the one given by Christ to the apostles. With the onset of false teachings, the Church essentially needed to keep the believers together with careful observation and teaching. Episcopacy played a pivotal role in keeping the flock together and furthering the mission of the Church.

Taking the universal picture of episcopacy in the Church, we could divide it into two categories.

• The first kind of episcopal ministry is what is found in the Roman Catholic, Anglican, Eastern Orthodox Churches and Lutheran Churches of Sweden and Finland that have bishops in such a succession. described as the historic episcopate.
• The second kind of episcopal ministry is what is found in The Bishops of the United Methodist Church (which is the largest part of the worldwide Methodist Church), the Reformed Church Bishops in Hungary, and the Lutheran Bishops in Germany. They all have the title Bishop and exercise many or all of the functions traditionally exercised by Bishops. But they contrast because such Bishops do not stand in a succession described in the historic episcopate.

Can different denominations unite when they differ from each other on historic episcopate?

 At a time when the different denominations of the One Holy Catholic Church are seeking ways and means of having greater union with each other the following rule of thumb has to be kept in mind Unity amidst diversity. The ‘Episcopos’ with different understandings between the denominations, including the Methodist, is not a barrier to unity. Already denominations have united while holding different understandings regarding the sacraments of Baptisms and the Lord’s Supper. If different understandings of the sacraments are possible in the Methodist Church today and any United Churches of the future, then the same pathway could be followed regarding the historic episcopate.

 

The episcopate journey of Methodist Church Sri Lanka

John Wesley, the Anglican Clergyman, never wanted to break away from the Anglican Church. He  said, “I never wanted to violate the established order of the National Church to which I belonged.”

To ensure that there would be no duplication of the Anglican Church, he used very secular terms in the administrative structure of the Methodist Movement:

•       Circuit instead of Parish
•       Superintendent instead of Vicar (a clergyman exercising a broad pastoral responsibility)
•       Society instead of a local congregation
•       Conference instead of Diocesan Council
•      President of Conference instead of Bishop

John Wesley’s wish was that Methodists would remain as a Society within the Anglican Church, like various Societies in the Roman Catholic Church. But sadly it didn’t remain to be so after his death. However British Methodism continued to use the same titles as mentioned above in its administrative structure even after it became a Church and Methodism in Sri Lanka inherited the same through the Missionaries who came here.

In the 1950s the discussions for a United Church of Ceylon began a forward March with Anglicans, Methodists, Baptists and Presbyterians. The model they looked at was an episcopal system. As mentioned earlier in this article, by 1972 the Methodist, Anglican Baptist and Presbyterian Churches were ready to inaugurate the United Church with the nominated Bishops. However, with the legal action taken by certain Anglicans and Methodists, everything came to a halt. With it, the discussions about Methodist Bishops also died a natural death.

During the time of the 30-year war in the North and the East, a very practical situation arose which challenged Sri Lankan Methodists to rethink the title of President to be Changed to Bishop. When applying for permission from the Defense Ministry and the LTTE for the President of the Church to travel to North or East the title Bishop had to be used instead of “President” which was not recognized by authorities of both sides. The title Bishop was recognized as it had been very well known, both in Government and Private sectors from the British period. The result was that the Methodist Church Sri Lanka had a Bishop in the North and East while the South had a President and a Mahanayake. Subsequently, this became a hot debate at our Synods and Conferences, as the North and East District Synod repeatedly passed resolutions requesting the Conference to change the Title of the President of Conference to Bishop.

At the 2006 August Annual Conference a wise decision was made: while retaining the title President, he is allowed to be referred to as Bishop taking into consideration the National situation. Ever since then the President Methodist Conference of Sri Lanka has been referred to as Bishop in the North and East but as President or Mahanayake in the South. There are several Church buildings dedicated by my predecessors since 2006 where the commemorative plaque carries the title as Bishop but in the South, it is only President. As you may observe, again a marked distinction in the use and non-use of the title ‘Bishop’ was seen between the North & East areas and the South which was not too good in the national interest when it comes to ethnic unity.

In 2015 August, when I assumed office as the President of Methodist Conference, I decided to use President / Bishop as my title based on 2006 Conference decision. My Letter Heads and all other official documents carried the title as President / Bishop. The stroke “/” in between President Bishop – is to give an alternative for those who may not favour one of the two. In my first two years in office, there were various forums including the Standing Committee, Conference and District Synods where I explained how this title has come into existence in Sri Lankan Methodism. I am very glad to record that by the time I concluded my five years in office the Methodist people of Sri Lanka had acknowledged the importance of the title President/Bishop or in Sinhala Mahanayaka/Radahguru.

Initially, some feared that I would use the title like Anglican or Roman Catholic Bishops (with all respects to them) with all the trappings. I humbly say I did not change or exceed the authority and responsibilities vested in the President of the Methodist Conference. After I took office I discovered that some persons in our Church wanted to run the Church as they desired. I had to show them that their place was also with others, who were serving the Lord humbly without expecting special preferences from me, which I suppose they didn’t like. Sadly they spearheaded a campaign in the Church to say "Methodist Church does not have Bishops and we will bring in a President to lead the Church". I do not mention here what the result was. My fervent prayer and hope are that the Methodist Church Sri Lanka will not become a "frog in the well" due to the petty mindedness of a few.

Someone might rightfully ask whether using the title by me as President / Bishop was for my gain and glorification? It's not for me to answer that, but let my fellow Methodists people answer it. However, the Methodist Church I served, has reaped the benefit and the recognition of having a President/Bishop both at the national and ecumenical level.

In Conclusion, let me call upon all of us to keep in mind the following which gives us the New Testament understanding of an episcopos:

•     First, a bishop or an elder is a noble role in the life and ministry of Christ's Church
•      Second, it is a role that requires a high level of personal character and spiritual maturity.
•     Third, the bishop must be able to effectively teach others the doctrines of God's Word.

ALMIGHTY God, who by thy Son Jesus Christ didst give to thy holy Apostles many excellent gifts, and didst charge them to feed thy flock: Give grace, we beseech thee, to all Bishops, the Pastors of thy Church, that they may diligently preach thy Word, and duly administer the godly discipline thereof; and grant to the people, that they may obediently follow the same; that all may receive the crown of everlasting glory; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. (https://www.churchofengland.org/prayer-and-worship/worship-texts-and-resources/book-common-prayer/ordaining-and-consecrating-1)

 

Rev, Asiri P. Perera
Retired President Bishop
Methodist Church, Sri Lanka
September 4, 2021

 

Bibliography

A report to the Anglican Consultative Council and the World Methodist Council; by the AMICUM 2014

Gregory S. Neal: Methodist Episcopacy, In search of Holy Orders (a paper written in 1991 for a Course in Methodist Theology and Polity)

EPISCOPACY IN THE METHODIST CHURCH (1981) https://www.methodist.org.uk › media › fo-statem.

Keith Boyette Bishops in the Global Methodist Church  June 18, 2021