The “ties that bind” American Christianity are a complex web, and this is a good example of that. It’s no secret that the Wesleyan tradition–like John and Charles Wesley themselves–came out of Anglicanism, and had things worked out a little differently the Episcopal Church itself could have stayed together with North American Wesleyanism.
But now we see that one of the first offshoots of the Protestant Episcopal Church–the Reformed Episcopal Church–came out of the interaction of Methodists and Episcopalians. It’s sometimes hard to see today, but the REC started as a reaction to creeping Anglo-Catholicism in the Episcopal Church, and it was natural that Methodism, which was a reaction to the dry, nominal Church of England of the eighteenth century, would be an inspiration and a help to the fledgling REC. It is an interesting meeting of two traditions–liturgical and revivalistic–which have generally been at odds with each other.
Perhaps the most revivalistic heir of Wesleyanism–modern Pentecost–will take some lessons from this story, we certainly could use some in our present situation.
Positive Infinity 