Charles Wesley

Life and work

Charles Wesley co-founded the "Holy Club" at Oxford with his brother John and, like him, was ordained an Anglican priest and traveled to Georgia. He experienced his own evangelical conversion just days before John's, in May 1738.

While John became the movement's chief organizer and preacher, Charles became its poet, composing an estimated 6,000 hymns over his lifetime that set Methodist theology — particularly the experience of conversion and assurance of salvation — to memorable verse sung by ordinary people rather than reserved for trained choirs.

Hymns including "Hark! The Herald Angels Sing," "O for a Thousand Tongues to Sing," and "Christ the Lord Is Risen Today" remain in continuous use across Protestant hymnody, making Charles arguably as influential on popular Christian devotion as his more famous brother's preaching.

In their own words

"Hark! The herald angels sing, Glory to the newborn King.""Hark! The Herald Angels Sing"

"O for a thousand tongues to sing my great Redeemer's praise.""O for a Thousand Tongues to Sing"

Further reading

• Encyclopedia Britannica: Charles Wesley