James Relly
Encyclopedia
James Relly was a Methodist minister and mentor of John Murray
who spread Universalism
in the United States
.
Relly was born at Jeffreston (seventy miles west north west of Cardiff
), Pembrokeshire
, Wales
. He attended the Pembroke Grammar School, came under the influence of George Whitefield
, probably in the latter's first tour of Wales in 1741, and became one of his preachers. His first station was at Rhyddlangwraig near Narbeth, Pembrokeshire; and in 1747 he made a report of a missionary tour to Bristol
, Bath, Gloucestershire
, and Birmingham
. He broke, however, with Whitefield on doctrinal grounds - his views on the certainty of salvation being regarded as antinomian
- and is known to have been in controversy with John Wesley
in 1756. In that year, at Carrickfergus
, he delivered, in opposition to Wesley, a 'pointless harangue about hirelings and false prophets'. On 2 April 1761 Wesley writes of him and others as 'wretches' who 'call themselves Methodists' being really antinomian.
About the same time he adopted Universalism, which he viewed as a logical consequence of the universal efficacy of the death of Christ. He settled in London as a preacher at Coachmakers' Hall, Addle Street, Wood Street. In 1764 a chancery
action was brought against him by a Yorkshire lady, who had given him a sum of money and executed a deed securing to him an annuity of £5. It was alleged that Relly had fraudulently obtained these benefits while the grantor was in a state of religious frenzy. Under an order of the court the deed was cancelled and the money refunded. Shortly afterwards Relly removed to a meeting-house in Bartholomew Close (formerly presbyterian), which had just been vacated by Wesley. Here he remained till midsummer 1769, when the lease expired. He then secured (October 1769) a meeting-house in Crosby Square (formerly presbyterian), where he continued to preach till his death, but his cause did not thrive, and he had no immediate successor in this country.
A portion from Charles Buck's Definition of All Theological Terms and Every Article in the System of Divinity published about 1820 describes Relly and his theology this way:
One of his converts in 1770 was John Murray
, the founder of Universalist churches in America.
Relly is said to have shown much natural ability and a generous disposition, under a rough manner. He died in London
, England
on April 25, 1778, and was interred in the baptist burial ground, Maze Pond, Southwark
; the inscription on his tombstone represents him as 'aged 56 years'. Two elegies were written by admirers. He left a widow and one daughter, who was living in 1808 and had issue. John Relly Beard
was named after him, but was not a descendant. Relly's portrait was twice engraved.
His chief publications, besides single sermons, were:
In conjunction with his brother John, he published a volume of original Christian Hymns, Poems, and Spiritual Songs (1758). He edited also a collection of hymns, (1792), and left manuscripts enumerated by Wilson, including a drama, Prince Llewellyn.
John Murray (minister)
John Murray though sometimes recalled as founder of the Universalist denomination in the United States, might more fairly be described as a pioneer minister and an inspirational figure, as his theological legacy to the later Universalist denomination was minimal.-Early life:He was born in Alton,...
who spread Universalism
Universalist Church of America
The Universalist Church of America was a Christian Universalist religious denomination in the United States . Known from 1866 as the Universalist General Convention, the name was changed to the Universalist Church of America in 1942...
in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
.
Relly was born at Jeffreston (seventy miles west north west of Cardiff
Cardiff
Cardiff is the capital, largest city and most populous county of Wales and the 10th largest city in the United Kingdom. The city is Wales' chief commercial centre, the base for most national cultural and sporting institutions, the Welsh national media, and the seat of the National Assembly for...
), Pembrokeshire
Pembrokeshire
Pembrokeshire is a county in the south west of Wales. It borders Carmarthenshire to the east and Ceredigion to the north east. The county town is Haverfordwest where Pembrokeshire County Council is headquartered....
, Wales
Wales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
. He attended the Pembroke Grammar School, came under the influence of George Whitefield
George Whitefield
George Whitefield , also known as George Whitfield, was an English Anglican priest who helped spread the Great Awakening in Britain, and especially in the British North American colonies. He was one of the founders of Methodism and of the evangelical movement generally...
, probably in the latter's first tour of Wales in 1741, and became one of his preachers. His first station was at Rhyddlangwraig near Narbeth, Pembrokeshire; and in 1747 he made a report of a missionary tour to Bristol
Bristol
Bristol is a city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, with an estimated population of 433,100 for the unitary authority in 2009, and a surrounding Larger Urban Zone with an estimated 1,070,000 residents in 2007...
, Bath, Gloucestershire
Gloucestershire
Gloucestershire is a county in South West England. The county comprises part of the Cotswold Hills, part of the flat fertile valley of the River Severn, and the entire Forest of Dean....
, and Birmingham
Birmingham
Birmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...
. He broke, however, with Whitefield on doctrinal grounds - his views on the certainty of salvation being regarded as antinomian
Antinomianism
Antinomianism is defined as holding that, under the gospel dispensation of grace, moral law is of no use or obligation because faith alone is necessary to salvation....
- and is known to have been in controversy with John Wesley
John Wesley
John Wesley was a Church of England cleric and Christian theologian. Wesley is largely credited, along with his brother Charles Wesley, as founding the Methodist movement which began when he took to open-air preaching in a similar manner to George Whitefield...
in 1756. In that year, at Carrickfergus
Carrickfergus
Carrickfergus , known locally and colloquially as "Carrick", is a large town in County Antrim, Northern Ireland. It is located on the north shore of Belfast Lough, from Belfast. The town had a population of 27,201 at the 2001 Census and takes its name from Fergus Mór mac Eirc, the 6th century king...
, he delivered, in opposition to Wesley, a 'pointless harangue about hirelings and false prophets'. On 2 April 1761 Wesley writes of him and others as 'wretches' who 'call themselves Methodists' being really antinomian.
About the same time he adopted Universalism, which he viewed as a logical consequence of the universal efficacy of the death of Christ. He settled in London as a preacher at Coachmakers' Hall, Addle Street, Wood Street. In 1764 a chancery
Court of Chancery
The Court of Chancery was a court of equity in England and Wales that followed a set of loose rules to avoid the slow pace of change and possible harshness of the common law. The Chancery had jurisdiction over all matters of equity, including trusts, land law, the administration of the estates of...
action was brought against him by a Yorkshire lady, who had given him a sum of money and executed a deed securing to him an annuity of £5. It was alleged that Relly had fraudulently obtained these benefits while the grantor was in a state of religious frenzy. Under an order of the court the deed was cancelled and the money refunded. Shortly afterwards Relly removed to a meeting-house in Bartholomew Close (formerly presbyterian), which had just been vacated by Wesley. Here he remained till midsummer 1769, when the lease expired. He then secured (October 1769) a meeting-house in Crosby Square (formerly presbyterian), where he continued to preach till his death, but his cause did not thrive, and he had no immediate successor in this country.
A portion from Charles Buck's Definition of All Theological Terms and Every Article in the System of Divinity published about 1820 describes Relly and his theology this way:
- He believed that Christ as Mediator was so united to mankind, that his actions were theirs, his obedience and sufferings theirs; and, consequently, that he has as fully restored the whole human race to the divine favour, as if all had obeyed and suffered in their own persons; and upon this persuasion he preached a finished salvation, called by the apostle Jude, "The common salvation." Many of his followers are removed to the world of spirits, but a branch still survives, and meets at the chapel in Windmill-street, MoorfieldsMoorfieldsIn London, the Moorfields were one of the last pieces of open land in the City of London, near the Moorgate. The fields were divided into three areas, the Moorfields proper, just north of Bethlem Hospital, and inside the City boundaries, and Middle and Upper Moorfields to the north.After the Great...
, London; where there are different brethren who speak. They are not observers of ordinancesOrdinance (Mormonism)In Mormonism, an ordinance is a religious ritual of special significance, often involving the formation of a covenant with God. Ordinances are performed by the authority of the priesthood and in the name of Jesus Christ...
, such as water-baptism and the sacrament; professing to believe only in one baptismBaptismIn Christianity, baptism is for the majority the rite of admission , almost invariably with the use of water, into the Christian Church generally and also membership of a particular church tradition...
, which they call an immersion of the mind or conscience into truth by the teaching of the Spirit of God; and by the same Spirit they are enabled to feed on Christ as the bread of life, professing that in and with Jesus they possess all things. They inculcate and maintain good works for necessary purposes; but contend that the principal and only works which ought to be attended to, is the doing real good without religious ostentation; that to relieve the miseries and distresses of mankind according to our ability, is doing more real good than the superstitious observance of religious ceremonies. In general they appear to believe that there will be a resurrection to life, and a resurrection to condemnation; that believers only will be among the former, who as first fruits, and kings and priests, will have part in the first resurrection, and shall reign with Christ in his kingdom of the millenniumMillenniumA millennium is a period of time equal to one thousand years —from the Latin phrase , thousand, and , year—often but not necessarily related numerically to a particular dating system....
; that unbelievers who are after raised, must wait the manifestation of the Saviour of the world, under that condemnation of conscience which a mind in darkness and wrath must necessarily feel; that believers, called kings and priests, will be made the medium of communication to their condemned brethren; and like Joseph to his brethren, though he spoke roughly to them, in reality overflowed with affection and tenderness; that ultimately every knee shall bow, and every tongue confess that in the Lord they have righteousness and strength; and thus every enemy shall be subdued to the kingdom and glory of the Great MediatorMediationMediation, as used in law, is a form of alternative dispute resolution , a way of resolving disputes between two or more parties. A third party, the mediator, assists the parties to negotiate their own settlement...
.
One of his converts in 1770 was John Murray
John Murray (minister)
John Murray though sometimes recalled as founder of the Universalist denomination in the United States, might more fairly be described as a pioneer minister and an inspirational figure, as his theological legacy to the later Universalist denomination was minimal.-Early life:He was born in Alton,...
, the founder of Universalist churches in America.
Relly is said to have shown much natural ability and a generous disposition, under a rough manner. He died in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
on April 25, 1778, and was interred in the baptist burial ground, Maze Pond, Southwark
Southwark
Southwark is a district of south London, England, and the administrative headquarters of the London Borough of Southwark. Situated east of Charing Cross, it forms one of the oldest parts of London and fronts the River Thames to the north...
; the inscription on his tombstone represents him as 'aged 56 years'. Two elegies were written by admirers. He left a widow and one daughter, who was living in 1808 and had issue. John Relly Beard
John Relly Beard
John Relly Beard was an English Unitarian minister who wrote more than thirty books in his lifetime.-Life:He was born in Portsmouth on 4 August 1800, the first child of a tradesman, John Beard, and his wife Ann Paine. Afer schooling in Portsmouth and in France he went joined Manchester College,...
was named after him, but was not a descendant. Relly's portrait was twice engraved.
His chief publications, besides single sermons, were:
- Remarks on ... A Dialogue between a True ... and an Erroneous Methodist, (1751)
- Salvation completed ... in Christ, as the Covenant of the People, (1753)
- The Tryal of Spirits (London, 1756)
- Union; or a Treatise of the Consanguinity between Christ and His Church (1759)
- The Sadducee Detected (1754)
- Anti-Christ resisted (1761)
- The Salt of the Sacrifice, or ... Christian Baptism {1762}
- An Elegy on ... Whitefield (1770)
- Epistles, or the Great Salvation Contemplated (1776)
- Thoughts on the Cherubimical Mystery (1780)
In conjunction with his brother John, he published a volume of original Christian Hymns, Poems, and Spiritual Songs (1758). He edited also a collection of hymns, (1792), and left manuscripts enumerated by Wilson, including a drama, Prince Llewellyn.