Continuing Family Quarrels and the Methodist Opinion of Charles Wesley

AbstractThe friction between the Wesley brothers reflected rising tensions within Methodism. Points of disagreement included the mutual dislike between Charles and John's wife, disputes over money, and Charles's gradual disengagement from the Methodist itinerancy. Charles also experienced increasingly difficult relations with some preachers, whom he suspected of disloyalty to the Church of England. This rash of problems resulted in Charles Wesley's controversial decision to retire from the Methodist itinerancy in 1756. His withdrawal from the itinerancy did not, however, result in Charles's complete isolation within the Methodist movement. He remained a popular figure with many of the laity and his loyalty to the Church was shared by a substantial body of Methodist opinion.