Introduction

The sheer variety of Nonconformity is evident in the bewildering range of denominations falling under its umbrella. The contrast between the centralised and the decentralised bodies was fundamental. The Quakers had an elaborate and long established system of decision-making organisations, while the Wesleyans developed their equivalent, but not without protest and secession. Congregationalists and Baptists, on the other hand, left decisions to local churches. By the end of the century there was a trend to create institutions to represent the whole of Nonconformity. The Catholic Apostolic Church had the grandest ambitions of all, for it believed that it held a commission to the whole of Christendom. Newman dismissed it; other Anglicans longed to assimilate the serviceable portions of it. It was left to a man of great learning and sagacity, P. T. Forsyth, to take a more balanced view at the end of the century.