A Discussion on Methodist Episcopacy

A Discussion On Methodist Episcopacy by E. J. Hamill documents a heated, multi-part debate about the governance of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South and its relationship to American republican principles. The work compiles prefatory remarks, introductions, and six major letters (I–VI), along with replies and counter-replies, examining whether Methodist Episcopacy constitutes an anti-democratic, anti-Republican structure. Through historical sources, quotations from John Wesley, Dr. Coke, Bishop Bascom, Bishop Hamline, and other church figures, and a centerpiece case on church property (the Book Concern), the author argues that the church’s episcopal, centralized authority undermines lay representation and civil liberty. The discussion is set against broader questions of church and state, itinerancy, representation, and the right of laity to influence church policy. Aimed at Baptists and Methodists alike, the book juxtaposes church governance with federal republicanism and assesses religious liberty, constitutional authority, and the limits of ecclesiastical power in America.