‘Do all the good you can, in all the ways you can, to all the souls you can, in every place you can, at all times you can, with all the zeal you can, as long as ever you can’

As we congratulate the pupils (present and past) and teachers of Wesley College, Colombo 9, on their 150th anniversary celebrations, it is an opportune time to review the relationship between John Wesley, after whom the school is named, and the University of Oxford/City of Oxford, where the Methodist movement was conceived and originated. The author is an alumnus of the University of Oxford, lives in the City of Oxford, and has visited and seen the places or objects described in the article.

John Wesley was born in Epworth, Lincolnshire, in June 1703, the 15th child (out of 19 children) of Samuel (a priest in the Church of England) and Susanna Wesley. He grew up in Lincolnshire and came to Oxford in 1720. John Wesley studied at Christ Church, Oxford (one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford, founded by King Henry VIII), before being ordained as a deacon in 1725.

On 28 March 1726, he became a fellow at Lincoln College, Oxford, where he continued until 1751. He was ordained a priest in September 1728. At that time, it was a requirement that college fellows give up their fellowship if they wished to marry. He married Mary Vazeille in February 1751. They did not have children.

The Wesley family had many connections with Oxford. Brothers John and Charles Wesley followed their elder brother Samuel to Christ Church. Their father (also named Samuel) was a student at Exeter College and their grandfather John studied at New Inn Hall. John Wesley was able to communicate in eight languages (English, French, German, Italian, Spanish, Greek, Hebrew, and Aramaic). Aramaic is a Semitic language, which originated in the middle Euphrates. Other Semitic languages include Arabic and Hebrew. Most scholars and historians believe that Aramaic was the primary language spoken by Jesus Christ.

The Wesley collection

At Lincoln College, John Wesley occupied rooms in Chapel Quad Staircase 5. His original rooms feature a painting on its wall, which depicts an image with strong religious iconography. The largest figure is of a bird, likely to be a cockerel. This refers to the repentance of Peter following his denial of Jesus, with a rooster symbolising the passion. The snake appears to its right, which exemplifies evil or sin.

The Wesley Room at Lincoln College houses the Wesley collection. It is located on the south side of the Front Quad at Lincoln College and contains a library of more than 1,300 printed books relating to John Wesley and Methodism. The room was restored by the American Methodist Committee in 1928 to commemorate the 200th anniversary of his fellowship. In 1952, Mrs. May Hall donated the Wesleyana Collection, which had been collected by her husband, Rev. Albert Hall, a former President of the Methodist conference.

Founding Methodism

The beginning of Methodism was by a group of four who called themselves the Holy Club. John Wesley led the society that had been formed for the purpose of the study and the pursuit of a devout Christian life. The word Methodist was used to portray John Wesley and his associates’ dedication to following a method for growing closer to God. Although the term was originally used to mock the group, in 1732, John Wesley accepted the term as the name for the society. In 1738, he began the Methodist Society in England.

As a fellow, John Wesley used to preach sermons at the University Church of St. Mary the Virgin in Oxford. Records suggest a church had been present at this site from 1086, and this was the site of the 1555 trial of the Oxford Martyrs, where Bishop Nicholas Ridley, Bishop Hugh Latimer, and Archbishop Thomas Cranmer were tried for heresy.

On 1 January 1733, he preached ‘The Circumcision of the Heart’ sermon. He described this as a radical change, an inner transformation, where, by faith, we receive humility, faith, hope, and love. Two of his other important sermons were ‘Salvation by Faith’ in 1738 and ‘Scriptural Christianity’ in 1744.

John Wesley regularly corresponded with his student Rev. James Hervey, who had been closely allied with the Holy Club from 1733. He often read his sermons to Rev. Hervey prior to preaching them at St. Mary the Virgin Church in Oxford. In his 1744 sermon, he criticised the University of Oxford for its sluggishness and spiritual apathy.

Legacy

John Wesley used to travel long distances on horseback and on foot to fulfil his preaching commitments. In the Wesley collection is found an antique walking stick belonging to John Wesley. It has an engraving of ‘I.W’ on the brass handle. John and Charles Wesley and their colleagues started visiting prisoners at Oxford Castle in the 1730s. John Wesley preached over 40,000 sermons, and on social issues, he opposed slavery, promoted prison reform, and encouraged thrift and the value of work. He supported the education of all classes of people.

A collection of 134 hymns by John and Charles Wesley was published anonymously in London in 1761. The first two Wesley Chapels were established in Bristol and London. Currently, the Wesley Memorial Methodist Church in Oxford is found in the New Inn Hall Street in Central Oxford. John Wesley’s portrait by George Romney is found in the Great Hall of Christ Church, Oxford. A stone memorial to John Wesley and Charles Wesley are found set into the floor of the Christ Church Cathedral.

John Westley used to say that he thought very little of a man who did not pray four hours every day. He wrote about theology, music, marriage, medicine, physics, abolitionism, and politics. The medical text he wrote was called ‘Primitive Physic, or An Easy and Natural Method for Curing Most Diseases’. It described the current knowledge on home remedies for the everyday person.

John Wesley coined the term ‘agree to disagree’, when he wrote a memorial sermon on the death of George Whitefield (these two men were the most important figures in early Methodism). John Wesley and his brother Charles Wesley wrote 482 original hymns. One of Charles Wesley’s most famous hymns is ‘Hark! The Herald Angels Sing’, a hymn that almost all Christians are very familiar with.

John Wesley died on 2 March 1791 and is buried at City Road Chapel in London. His final words were: “Best of all is, God is with us.” It has been said that when John Wesley was carried to his grave, he left behind a good library of books, a well-worn clergyman’s gown, and the Methodist Church with around 130,000 members.

(Suranjith L. Seneviratne is a medical doctor, academic, and nature, history, and art enthusiast)