Ordination of Bishop Asbury 1784

Ordination of Bishop Asbury 1784.

This engraving shows Asbury kneeling in prayer during his December 27, 1784 ordination service in Baltimore. Surrounding Asbury are ministerial colleagues Thomas Vasey, Philip William Otterbein, Richard Whatcoat, and Thomas Coke. All but Otterbein were British Methodists commissioned by Wesley for leadership in the United States. Otterbein, a minister in the German Reformed Church, became one of the founding Superintendents (Bishops) of the Church of the United Brethren in Christ when it was organized in 1800.