THE ARTICLES OF RELIGION OF THE METHODIST CHURCH
Thirty-Nine Articles of Religion were finalized in 1571 to define the doctrine of the Church of
England. When Methodism emerged as a church, independent of the Church of England two centuries
later, John Wesley abbreviated the formulation to 24 Articles. An additional article dealing with the duty
of Christians to civil authority was added by the Methodist Episcopal Church when it was formed in 1784.
The Articles were officially adopted by the General Conference of 1808, when the first Restrictive
Rule was also implemented, and revised by the Uniting Conference of 1939 when three Methodist
communions within America became one. The Twenty-Five Articles are as follows…read more