Gerasimos Avlonites Ordains John Wesley to the Episcopate

Erasmus of Arcadia (

Greek Greek may refer to: Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor of all kno ...

: Έρασμος της Αρκαδίας), also known as Gerasimos Avlonites (

: Γεράσιμος Αυλωνίτης), was a

Greek Orthodox Greek Orthodox Church (, , ) is a term that can refer to any one of three classes of Christian Churches, each associated in some way with Greek Christianity, Levantine Arabic-speaking Christians or more broadly the rite used in the Eastern Rom ...

bishop A bishop is an ordained member of the clergy who is entrusted with a position of Episcopal polity, authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance and administration of di ...

of the Diocese of Arcadia in

Crete Crete ( ; , Modern Greek, Modern: , Ancient Greek, Ancient: ) is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, the List of islands by area, 88th largest island in the world and the List of islands in the Mediterranean#By area, fifth la ...

, operating under the

Metropolitan of Smyrna The Metropolis of Smyrna () is an ecclesiastical territory (diocese) of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople, modern Turkey. The Christian community of Smyrna was one of the Seven Churches of Asia, mentioned by Apostle John in the Book o ...

. Erasmus'

monastery A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of Monasticism, monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in Cenobitic monasticism, communities or alone (hermits). A monastery generally includes a ...

, located south of Rethymon in central Crete, was a centre of resistance to foreign domination by the Turkish régime. As such, the bishop was driven into exile around 1739. He is regarded as the founder of the first Greek Orthodox

congregation Congregation may refer to: Religion *Church (congregation), a religious organization that meets in a particular location *Congregation (Roman Curia), an administrative body of the Catholic Church *Religious congregation, a type of religious instit ...

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Consecration of John Wesley

Some Methodists believe that the Greek bishop, while visiting London in 1763, consecrated

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 ...

as a bishop and ordained several Methodist lay preachers (including John Jones and Thomas Bryant) as

priests A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in particular, ...

. However, Wesley could not openly announce his episcopal consecration without incurring the penalty of the Præmunire Act. In light of Erasmus's alleged episcopal consecration of Wesley, some believe that Methodists can assert participation in

apostolic succession Apostolic succession is the method whereby the Christian ministry, ministry of the Christian Church is considered by some Christian denominations to be derived from the Twelve Apostles, apostles by a continuous succession, which has usually been ...

as understood in the traditional sense, because John Wesley ordained and sent forth every Methodist preacher in his day, who preached and baptized and ordained, and because every Methodist preacher who has ever been ordained as a Methodist has allegedly been ordained in this direct succession from Erasmus. Nevertheless, some people (notably,

Augustus Toplady Augustus Montague Toplady (4 November 174011 August 1778) was an English Anglican cleric and hymn writer. He was a major Calvinist opponent of John Wesley. He is best remembered as the author of the hymn "Rock of Ages". Three of his other hy ...

) doubt or condemn Erasmus's consecration of Wesley. According to ''The Greek Orthodox Theological Review'', Bishop Erasmus of the Diocese of Aracadia also ordained other famous clergymen, including Samson Staniforth, Thomas Bryant, Alexander Mather, among other men, as presbyters: The eastern prelate was also well respected in London, by men who had known Erasmus in the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empire, was an empire, imperial realm that controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th to early 20th centuries; it also controlled parts of southeastern Centr ...

. Greek Orthodox Christians in

attribute Erasmus with establishing Orthodoxy there.

References

External links

John Wesley & Gerasimos Avlonites: Two Paintings
authored by Craig Adams {{authority control Bishops of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople History of Methodism Eastern Orthodox bishops in Greece