ABSTRACT
John Wesley insisted that ordination by prayer and the imposition of hands was the only right means of appointing his preachers to a sacramental ministry. In September 1784 he had ordained Methodists for such work in America, later making similar provision for the ministry in Scotland,2 the Mission Field,3 and England.4 Just one month before his arrival in Ireland, John Wesley had ordained Thomas Rankin and Henry Moore for work in England.5 Seeing Wesley's practice elsewhere caused the Irish Methodists to add further vigour to the already forceful expression of their cause. Put simply, they wanted what everybody else seemed to be getting.
