- Enoch George
Enoch George (1767?-1828) was an American who distinguished himself as a
Methodist Circuit Rider andPastor , as a Presiding Elder, and as aBishop of theMethodist Episcopal Church , elected in 1816.Birth and Re-birth
Enoch was born on
10 March 1767 or 1768 (his family records were destroyed by accident) inLancaster County, Virginia . As a young person he was under the ministry of the Rev. Devereux Jarratt, aPriest of theChurch of England , who was one of the most earnest and effective preachers of his time. Enoch was the subject of deepreligious impressions early in life. However, his father moved his family to a place where there happened to be no evangelical clergy, such that Enoch becamenegligent of his religious duties, neglecting theChristian ordinances altogether. After several years, his neighborhood was visited by aMethodist Circuit Rider John Easter, under whose exhortations young Enoch became connected with the little Methodist society established thereby, and again experienced the comforts of religion.Ordained Ministry
Indeed, Enoch was soon called upon to the exercise of public
prayer and exhortation. He soon thereafter entered the field of labor as aPreacher , though with great diffidence. The Rev. George was sent by BishopFrancis Asbury to assist in forming a circuit on theheadwaters of the Catawba and Broad rivers, inNorth Carolina . The difficulties were so great there that Enoch wrote Bishop Asbury asking for a transfer to some other field. The good bishop replied that "it was better for him to become inured to hardships while he was young, that when he was old and gray-headed his task would be easy."In 1790 the Rev. Enoch George was admitted on trial by the
Virginia Annual Conference of the M.E. Church. He wasordained , both "Deacon" and "Elder," by Bishop Asbury. Rev. George served for two years as the Junior Preacher on the Caswell Circuit. He then went toSouth Carolina , where in 1796 he was appointed Presiding Elder of the Charleston District. In 1798, because of impaired health, he temporarily retired from the active work of ministry and traveled to the North. But in 1800 he resumed his labors, and was appointed Presiding Elder of the Potomac District in the Baltimore Annual Conference.The Rev. George's health failed a second time, and he "located." But again, in 1803, he resumed the work this time with great zeal and success. He was stationed, successively, in Baltimore, Alexandria, and Georgetown, then on the Baltimore and then the Georgetown Districts (as Presiding Elder)
Enoch George, the Preacher
Enoch George belonged to the "primitive" school of American Methodist preachers. Though many of these had little or no scholastic advantages, yet some became highly effective preachers of the
Gospel , also attaining proficiency in Biblical and theological learning. George was especially distinguished for thefervor andpathos of hispulpit ministry.Episcopal Ministry
After the death of Bishop Asbury, the Rev. Enoch George was elected and
consecrated a Bishop of the M.E. Church by the General Conference, May 1816. He served with great zeal and effectiveness for the remaining twelve years of his life. He traveled, chiefly by private conveyance, through all parts of the country. He went as far as the frontier settlements of the west and southwest, usually preaching nearly every day at prearranged appointments. Remakable manifestations of the influence that attended his preaching were regularly witnessed.Physical Description
Bishop George would never allow his
portrait to be made. His personal appearance, therefore, is known only by tradition. He is described as of fair size and well proportioned, with dark hair worn long, and a complexion sallowed by exposure.Bishop
Matthew Simpson wrote of him::"He was a man of deep piety, of great simplicity of manners, a pathetic, powerful and successful preacher, greatly beloved in life, and very extensively lamented in death."Death and Burial
Bishop Enoch George died
23 August 1828 inStaunton, Virginia and was buried inMount Olivet Cemetery in Baltimore.References
* Cyclopaedia of Methodism, Matthew Simpson,
D.D. ,LL.D. , Ed., ("Revised Edition.")Philadelphia , Louis H. Everts, 1880. [http://wesley.nnu.edu/wesleyctr/books/0801-0900/HDM0830.PDF]
* Leete, Frederick DeLand, Methodist Bishops. Nashville, The Methodist Publishing House, 1948.
* Short, Roy Hunter, Chosen to be Consecrated: The Bishops of The Methodist Church, 1784-1968, Lake Junaluska, N.C., General Commission on Archives and History of the United Methodist Church, 1976.ee also
*
List of Bishops of the United Methodist Church External links
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