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Waldensians
Wesleyanism

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The Waldensians

Waldenses or Vaudois are a Christian denomination believing in poverty and austerity, founded around 1173, promoting true poverty, public preaching and the literal interpretation of the scriptures. Declared heretical, the movement was brutally persecuted by the Roman Catholic Church during the 12th and 13th centuries and nearly totally destroyed, but the Waldensian Church survives to this day. There are two prevailing theories about the identity and origin of the Waldensians. Some Waldenses, and other groups seeking to trace their history through the Waldenses, claim that the Waldenses history extends back to the apostolic church, while the mainstream academic view is that the Waldensians were followers of Peter Waldo (or Valdes or Vaudes).

Source: wikipedia

Wesleyanism

Originated with John Wesley (1703-1791), founder of the Methodist Church, 'methodist' being an appellation that came into common use to describe a group of students at the University of Oxford known as 'the holy club' that gathered to study the Scriptures. John Wesley, preceeded by his brother Charles, was numbered among them. Their strict, 'organized' study system earned them the name "Methodists." His studies led John to differing theological positions than those prevalent in the Angelican church and subsequently, these differences, resulted in his exclusion from the pulpits in London. Looking for alternatives, his friend, George Whitefield, introduced him to a new concept, open air preaching. These sessions eventually led to the formation of the Methodist Episcopal Church in England. In the Americas, largely through the work of Francis Asbury, the present Methodist denomination was founded.

Key distinctives of Wesleyanism centered on a personal relationship with God, living a holy life and making religious experience a high goal. He understood that justification at the point of salvation was the entry point to a life of ongoing sanctification.

John M. Fritzius