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Summary
- Methodists are Protestants. Methodism began in the 1700s under John and Charles Wesley inside the Church of England, and the Methodist Episcopal Church was organized in the United States in 1784.
- Catholics have a pope with “full, supreme, and universal power over the whole Church”; Methodists have bishops elected by conferences, for life in the US United Methodist Church and for up to two six-year terms in the Global Methodist Church.
- Catholics count seven sacraments and teach transubstantiation; Methodists keep two, Baptism and the Lord’s Supper, and believe Christ is really but spiritually present in the Lord’s Supper.
- Methodists invite all who love Christ to Communion, often with grape juice; the Catholic Church ordinarily does not admit Methodists to Communion and asks Catholics not to receive at Methodist services.
- In 2006 the World Methodist Council associated itself with the Catholic–Lutheran Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification, saying its shared account of justification “corresponds to Methodist doctrine.”
- Methodists reject purgatory and the invocation of saints and do not hold the Marian dogmas; Methodist clergy may marry, and women have had full clergy rights since 1956.
Bibliography (Click to show)
- Scripture quotations are from the English Standard Version (ESV), text checked at BibleGateway (Matthew 16:18; Luke 1:48; John 17:21; 1 Corinthians 10:16). https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew+16%3A18%3B1+Corinthians+10%3A16%3BLuke+1%3A48%3BJohn+17%3A21&version=ESV
- Catechism of the Catholic Church, paragraphs 85, 120, 491, 882, 956, 966, 971, 1030, 1113, 1374, 1376, 1577, 1579–1580 and 1989. https://www.vatican.va/archive/ENG0015/_INDEX.HTM
- Code of Canon Law, canons 377, 844 and 869. https://www.vatican.va/archive/cod-iuris-canonici/eng/documents/cic_lib2-cann368-430_en.html and https://www.vatican.va/archive/cod-iuris-canonici/eng/documents/cic_lib4-cann834-878_en.html
- Code of Canon Law, canons 1055, 1108, 1124–1125 and 1127 (marriage). https://www.vatican.va/archive/cod-iuris-canonici/eng/documents/cic_lib4-cann998-1165_en.html
- Second Vatican Council. Unitatis Redintegratio (Decree on Ecumenism), 1964, section 22. https://www.vatican.va/archive/hist_councils/ii_vatican_council/documents/vat-ii_decree_19641121_unitatis-redintegratio_en.html
- United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. “Guidelines for the Reception of Communion.” https://www.usccb.org/prayer-and-worship/the-mass/order-of-mass/liturgy-of-the-eucharist/guidelines-for-the-reception-of-communion
- Vatican News. “New data of Annuario Pontificio 2026 shows Catholics growing in Africa.” March 2026. https://www.vaticannews.va/en/vatican-city/news/2026-03/new-data-from-annuario-pontificio-2026-shows-catholics-growing.html
- Lutheran World Federation and the Catholic Church. Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification, 1999. https://www.christianunity.va/content/unitacristiani/en/dialoghi/sezione-occidentale/luterani/dialogo/documenti-di-dialogo/1999-dichiarazione-congiunta-sulla-dottrina-della-giustificazion/en.html
- World Methodist Council. “Statement of Association with the Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification,” Seoul, 23 July 2006. https://worldmethodistcouncil.org/wmcs-statement-of-assocation-with-the-joint-declaration-of-the-doctrine-of-justification/
- Joint Commission between the Roman Catholic Church and the World Methodist Council. The Dublin Report (1976). https://www.christianunity.va/content/unitacristiani/en/dialoghi/sezione-occidentale/consiglio-metodista-mondiale/dialogo/documenti-di-dialogo/en2.html
- Methodist Ecumenical Office Rome. “World Methodist Council Officially Receives International Methodist-Catholic Dialogue Report,” 22 August 2024. https://meorome.org/2024/08/22/news-world-methodist-council-officially-receives-international-methodist-catholic-dialogue-report-commends-to-member-churches/
- The United Methodist Church. “The Articles of Religion of the Methodist Church,” from The Book of Discipline 2020/2024. https://www.umc.org/en/content/articles-of-religion
- The United Methodist Church. “The Confession of Faith of the Evangelical United Brethren Church.” https://www.umc.org/en/content/confession-of-faith
- The United Methodist Church. “United Methodists at a Glance.” https://www.umc.org/en/content/united-methodists-at-a-glance
- The United Methodist Church. “Ask The UMC: How are bishops chosen in The United Methodist Church?” https://www.umc.org/en/content/ask-the-umc-how-are-bishops-chosen-in-the-united-methodist-church
- The United Methodist Church. “Ask The UMC: What do I need to know about Holy Communion in The United Methodist Church?” https://www.umc.org/en/content/ask-the-umc-what-do-i-need-to-know-about-holy-communion-in-the-united-methodist-church
- The United Methodist Church. “Glossary: Wesleyan Quadrilateral, the.” https://www.umc.org/en/content/glossary-wesleyan-quadrilateral-the
- The United Methodist Church. “Distinctive Wesleyan Emphases,” from The Book of Discipline 2016. https://www.umc.org/en/content/distinctive-wesleyan-emphases
- The United Methodist Church. By Water and the Spirit: A United Methodist Understanding of Baptism. https://www.umc.org/en/content/by-water-and-the-spirit-a-united-methodist-understanding-of-baptism
- United Methodist Council of Bishops. Ecumenical and Interreligious Handbook, 2024 (quoting Resolution 3144, “Resolution of Intent: With a View to Unity”; the Pan-Methodist Commission and concordat churches). https://www.unitedmethodistbishops.org/files/websites/www/2024+Ecumenical+and+Interreligious+Handbook.pdf
- The United Methodist Church. “Glossary: Articles of Religion.” https://www.umc.org/en/content/glossary-articles-of-religion
- UM News. “Why the 1956 women-clergy vote matters.” https://www.umnews.org/en/news/why-the-1956-women-clergy-vote-matters
- UM News. “40-year ban on gay clergy struck down,” May 2024. https://www.umnews.org/en/news/40-year-ban-on-gay-clergy-struck-down
- UM News. “Marriage decision sparks protest, celebration,” 2 May 2024. https://www.umnews.org/en/news/marriage-decision-sparks-protest-celebration
- Christianity Today. “United Methodists Strike Ban on LGBTQ Clergy,” May 2024. https://www.christianitytoday.com/2024/05/united-methodist-church-umc-general-conference-lgbtq-repeal/
- Global Methodist Church. “Our Formation.” https://www.globalmethodist.org/launch-information
- Global Methodist Church. “Our Beliefs & Governance.” https://www.globalmethodist.org/our-beliefs—governance
- Global Methodist Church. Book of Doctrines and Discipline, 2024 (Apostles’ Creed, Articles of Religion, Social Witness, ¶ 604 on bishops). https://storage2.snappages.site/ZW35F3/assets/files/2024-Book-of-Doctrines-Discipline-FINAL–68.pdf
- Church of England. “Articles of Religion” (Thirty-nine Articles), Article XXXVII. https://www.churchofengland.org/prayer-and-worship/worship-texts-and-resources/book-common-prayer/articles-religion
- John Wesley. “A Letter to a Roman Catholic,” Dublin, 18 July 1749, as reprinted by Good News. https://goodnewsmag.org/john-wesleys-letter-to-a-roman-catholic/
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