Alexander Alfred Boddy (15 November 1854 – 10 September 1930) was an

Anglican Anglicanism, also known as Episcopalianism in some countries, is a Western Christianity, Western Christian tradition which developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the ...

vicar and one of the founders of

Pentecostalism Pentecostalism or classical Pentecostalism is a movement within the broader Evangelical wing of Protestantism, Protestant Christianity that emphasizes direct personal experience of God in Christianity, God through Baptism with the Holy Spirit#Cl ...

in Britain.

Early life

Boddy was born into an ecclesiastical family: his father was a vicar, and his mother was a descendant of Mary Vazeille, who had been married to

John Wesley John Wesley ( ; 2 March 1791) was an English cleric, Christian theology, theologian, and Evangelism, evangelist who was a principal leader of a Christian revival, revival movement within the Church of England known as Methodism. The societies ...

. Although he trained to be a

solicitor A solicitor is a lawyer who traditionally deals with most of the legal matters in some jurisdictions. A person must have legally defined qualifications, which vary from one jurisdiction to another, to be described as a solicitor and enabled to p ...

, a religious experience at the

Keswick Convention The Keswick Convention is an annual gathering of Conservative evangelicalism in the United Kingdom, conservative evangelical Christians in Keswick, Cumbria, Keswick, in the English county of Cumbria. The Christian theological tradition of High ...

convinced him he should become ordained into the

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the State religion#State churches, established List of Christian denominations, Christian church in England and the Crown Dependencies. It is the mother church of the Anglicanism, Anglican Christian tradition, ...

. Following several appointments, the

Bishop of Durham The bishop of Durham is head of the diocese of Durham in the province of York. The diocese is one of the oldest in England and its bishop is a member of the House of Lords. Paul Butler (bishop), Paul Butler was the most recent bishop of Durham u ...

, J. B. Lightfoot, placed him in All Saints Church in Monkwearmouth,

Sunderland Sunderland () is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. It is a port at the mouth of the River Wear on the North Sea, approximately south-east of Newcastle upon Tyne. It is the most p ...

in 1884. In 1891 he married Mary Pollock. Boddy was inspired by the

Holiness Movement The Holiness movement is a Christianity, Christian movement that emerged chiefly within 19th-century Methodism, and to a lesser extent influenced other traditions such as Quakers, Quakerism, Anabaptism, and Restorationism. Churches aligned with ...

, and he had an intense religious experience in 1892. In 1899 his wife Mary experienced a healing from asthma and they both believed that she had a gift for healing through the laying-on of hands. In 1904 he visited

Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...

during the Welsh Revival and met Evan Roberts, and in 1907 he travelled to

Oslo Oslo ( or ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population of 1,064,235 in 2022 ...

, where T. B. Barratt was leading a religious revival modelled on the events of the Azusa Street Revival in

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. Barratt was invited to Boddy's church, and subsequently Boddy and his wife began to experience speaking in tongues.

Boddy in Pentecostal history

All Saints in Monkwearmouth became a centre for British Pentecostalism, and on Tuesday 28 October 1907, Mary Boddy laid hands on the evangelist Smith Wigglesworth. From 1908 to 1914 Boddy hosted a series of Sunderland Whitsuntide Conventions, which gained national press attention. Boddy also helped to found the Pentecostal Missionary Union, with Cecil Polhill, and he was a member of the Pentecostal International Advisory Council (IAC). As a Church of England minister, he tried to discourage the creation of separate denominations.

Teachings

Boddy taught that the purpose of the

Holy Spirit The Holy Spirit, otherwise known as the Holy Ghost, is a concept within the Abrahamic religions. In Judaism, the Holy Spirit is understood as the divine quality or force of God manifesting in the world, particularly in acts of prophecy, creati ...

was to emphasise

Christ Jesus ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ, Jesus of Nazareth, and many other names and titles, was a 1st-century Jewish preacher and religious leader. He is the Jesus in Christianity, central figure of Christianity, the M ...

, and that divine love was more important than speaking in tongues. He continued to have a high view of the

sacrament A sacrament is a Christian rite which is recognized as being particularly important and significant. There are various views on the existence, number and meaning of such rites. Many Christians consider the sacraments to be a visible symbol ...

s, and defended the practice of

infant baptism Infant baptism, also known as christening or paedobaptism, is a Christian sacramental practice of Baptism, baptizing infants and young children. Such practice is done in the Catholic Church, the Eastern Orthodox and Oriental Orthodox churches, va ...

. He warned against exaggeration as regards healing testimonies. He also believed that the

Second Coming The Second Coming (sometimes called the Second Advent or the Parousia) is the Christianity, Christian and Islam, Islamic belief that Jesus, Jesus Christ will return to Earth after his Ascension of Jesus, ascension to Heaven (Christianity), Heav ...

of Christ was imminent, and he suggested that certain events during

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

were portents of Biblical prophecy. After visiting the USA, he was disturbed by an emphasis among Pentecostal churches there on money. Unlike some other Pentecostals, he supported the British war effort.

Publications

Prior to his Pentecostal experience Boddy composed a number of ''Roker Tracts'' on Holiness subjects. He also wrote several travel books on

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

Palestine Palestine, officially the State of Palestine, is a country in West Asia. Recognized by International recognition of Palestine, 147 of the UN's 193 member states, it encompasses the Israeli-occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and th ...

, and

Egypt Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...

. From 1908–1926 he was the editor of and chief contributor to ''Confidence'' magazine.

References

Sources

*Wakefield, Gavin, ''The First Pentecostal Anglican: The Life and Legacy of Alexander Boddy'', Grove Books Limited: Cambridge, 2001. *Wakefield, Gavin, ''Alexander Boddy Pentecostal Anglican Pioneer'', Paternoster Press: , 2007.

External links

Pentecostal Pioneers

A Vicar's Testimony

(The True) Pleading of the Blood (Kindle Edition)

The Laying on of Hands (Kindle Edition)

Pentecost for England (Kindle Edition)

Video

''Outpouring of the Holy Spirit'' is a church history

documentary A documentary film (often described simply as a documentary) is a nonfiction Film, motion picture intended to "document reality, primarily for instruction, education or maintaining a Recorded history, historical record". The American author and ...

about the 1907 Sunderland Revival and Alexander Boddy. (www.garywilkinson.eu) {{DEFAULTSORT:Boddy, Alexander 1854 births 1930 deaths 19th-century English Anglican priests 20th-century English Anglican priests English Pentecostals