Alexander Boddy

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Alexander Alfred Boddy (born November 15, 1854 , † September 10, 1930 ) was an Anglican pastor and co-founder of the Pentecostal movement in Great Britain.

Life

Boddy grew up in a Christian family. His father was a clergyman and his mother was a descendant of Mary Vazeille, who later married John Wesley . At first he wanted to become a lawyer like his father. Under the influence of the Keswick movement , he decided to study theology and was eventually ordained by the Bishop of Durham Joseph Barber Lightfoot . He was then pastor at All Saints in Monkwearmouth, Sunderland (1884-1922). In 1891 he married Mary Pollock.

Boddy was inspired by the sanctification movement . He had had an intense religious experience as early as 1892 when his wife Mary was cured of her asthma in 1899. From now on they both believed that Mary had the gift of healing people by the laying on of hands. In search of new impulses for his work as a pastor, he traveled to the revival in Wales in 1904 , where he met Evan Roberts . The following year he traveled to Oslo, where Thomas Ball Barratt led a revival similar to that on Azusa Street .

Beginnings of Pentecostalism in Great Britain

After the Oslo experience, Boddy and his wife began to speak in tongues . Mary Boddy laid hands on the evangelist Smith Wigglesworth, and in the years that followed All Saints became a center of the British Pentecostal movement . From 1908 to 1914 a series of congresses (Sunderland Conventions) took place, which caused a sensation nationwide. With Cecil Polhill he founded the Pentecostal Missionary Union (Pentecostal Missionsunion) and he was a member of the Pentecostal International Advisory Council. As a clergyman in the English Church, he tried to prevent the establishment of various denominations.

Teaching

According to Boddy, the job of the Holy Spirit was to glorify Jesus Christ . He also believed the sacraments were important and defended infant baptism . The love of God was more important to him than speaking in tongues. He also warned against excessive reports of healings. After all, he believed that the return of Christ was imminent. He believed that certain events in World War I would fulfill Bible prophecy. Unlike other Pentecostals, he advocated the British war effort. He was against the overvaluation of money and wealth as he had come to know in American communities.

Works

Before his Pentecost experience, Boddy wrote several Roker Tracts , essays on subjects related to sanctification .

In addition, he wrote travelogues about Canada, Egypt, Palestine and Russia and thereby gained literary recognition and membership in the Royal Geographical Society and the Russian Geographical Society . From 1908 to 1926 he was editor and lead author of the magazine Confidence .

literature

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Boddy, Alexander
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Boddy, Alexander Alfred
BRIEF DESCRIPTION English clergyman and Pentecostal
DATE OF BIRTH November 15, 1854
DATE OF DEATH September 10, 1930