Wesleys

Wesleys refers to the Wesley family, especially John Wesley and Charles Wesley, English Anglican clergymen who initiated the Methodist movement in the 18th century. The family originated in Epworth, Lincolnshire; Samuel Wesley (father) was rector of the parish, and Susanna Wesley (mother) provided religious education to her many children. John (1703–1791) and Charles (1707–1788) studied at Christ Church, Oxford, where they formed the Holy Club, a small group devoted to piety and study that evolved into the broader Methodist revival.

The Wesleys sought to renew the faith of the Church of England by stressing personal conversion, disciplined living, and social concern. They organized believers into class meetings and societies, and John Wesley conducted extensive preaching tours in Britain and the American colonies, using itinerant circuits to reach thousands. The movement emphasized prevenient grace, justification by faith, and sanctification, with a practical theology aimed at personal holiness and social welfare.

Charles Wesley contributed most of the movement's hymnody, composing thousands of hymns that helped spread its message; John Wesley published sermons, journals, and the Arminian-influenced theological writings. Although they remained ordained within the Church of England, the spread of Methodist societies led to the formation of separate denominations after John Wesley's death, beginning with the Methodist Episcopal Church in the United States and later the global Methodist movement.

Today, the Wesleys are remembered for launching a major Protestant revival that evolved into the global Methodist tradition. The term Wesleys also denotes the broader family and its legacy in religious education, hymnody, and church organization.