Thomas Coke

The title of this article is ambiguous. For the English nobleman of the same name, see Thomas Coke, 1st Earl of Leicester

Thomas Coke

Thomas Coke (born September 9, 1747 in Brecon / Wales ; † May 3, 1814 in front of Ceylon ) was the first bishop of the Methodist Church .

Life

Coke was the son of a wealthy pharmacist. He studied at Jesus College , University of Oxford . In 1772 he became a clergyman of the Anglican Church , but had to give up his curate in Somerset because of his evangelical inclinations in 1776 , whereupon he joined the Methodists. There he quickly became John Wesley's most important helper and was chosen by him as his successor. In 1784 , Wesley Coke put Methodist oversight in the United States by making him superintendent there . Coke, in turn, appointed Francis Asbury to be his deputy. Together they stood before the so-called Episcopal Methodist Church , which received its own church order .

Over the next 25 years, Coke paid regular visits to the US Methodist congregations, but was sometimes suspicious of him because he feared conflicts of loyalty with regard to Great Britain on the one hand and the USA on the other, but he also played a key role in ensuring that the Methodist Church was involved in the United States. He also traveled to the West Indies, Canada, and West Africa to promote Methodist missions . He also distinguished himself as a writer: he wrote a multi-volume Bible commentary and a history of the West Indies. Coke died during a trip to India , which he also wanted to open up for the Methodist mission.

Works

• A history of the West Indies: containing the natural civil, and ecclesiastical history of each Island. 3 vols. London 1808-1810 (reprint 1971)

literature

• Cyril Davey: A passionate missionary: the eventful life of Thomas Coke. Stuttgart: Evang. Mission extension in the Christl. Verl.-Haus 1988 ISBN 3-7675-3332-4
• John Vickers: Thomas Coke: Apostle of Methodism. Epworth Press, 1969, ISBN 978-0-687-41856-5
• Friedrich Wilhelm Bautz :  Coke, Thomas. In: Biographisch-Bibliographisches Kirchenlexikon (BBKL). Volume 1, Bautz, Hamm 1975. 2nd, unchanged edition Hamm 1990, ISBN 3-88309-013-1 , Sp. 1087-1088.

Web links

• Literature by and about Thomas Coke in the catalog of the German National Library

Individual evidence

1. ^ J. Gordon Melton: Coke, Thomas (1747-1814) . early Methodist missionary leader. In: Encyclopedia of World Religions . Encyclopedia of Protestantism, No. 6 . Facts of File, New York 2005, ISBN 978-0-8160-5456-5 , pp. 157 (English).