Wesley Corpus

1. None of those six persons lately ordained by a Greek bishop were ordained with my consent or knowledge. 2. I will not, cannot, own or receive them as clergymen. 3. I think an ordination performed in a language not understood by the persons ordained is not valid. 4. I think it is absolutely unlawful for any one to give money to the Bishop (or to any one for him) for ordaining him. I am, sir, Your humble servant. To Thomas Rankin LONDON, February 9, 1765. To the Printer of the 'St. James's Chronicle' LONDON, February 10, 1765. SIR, In the St. James's Chronicle published on Saturday last there was an innocent thing wrote by an hat-maker in Southwark. It may be proper to take a little more notice of it than it deserves, lest silence should appear to be an acknowledgement of the charge. I insert nothing in the public papers without my name. I know not the authors of what has been lately inserted; part of which I have not seen yet, nor did I see any part before it was printed. A year or two ago I found a stranger perishing for want and expecting daily to be thrown in prison. He told me he was a Greek bishop. I examined his credentials,, and was fully satisfied. After much conversation (in Latin and Greek, for he spoke no English at all) I determined to relieve him effectively; which I did without delay, and promised to send him back to Amsterdam, where he had several friends of his own nation. And this I did, without any farther view, merely upon motives of humanity. After this he ordained Mr. John Jones, a man well versed both in the languages and other parts of learning. When I was gone out of town, Bishop Erasmus was prevailed upon to ordain Lawrence Coughlan, a person who had no learning at all.