Morisonians

This was a name given to supporters and active followers of the Rev. Dr James Morison (1816-93), leader of the Evangelical Union which grew out of his expulsion in 1841 from the United Secession Church of Scotland for abandoning Calvinistic doctrine in favour of universal atonement and resistible grace. The evangelical conversion he experienced in the course of his religious quest attracted ministerial and lay support. Revivals resulted as Morisonian 'missionaries' travelled through Scotland and into parts of northern England, especially Tynedale and other Pennine valleys, notably the Haltwhistle area. Converts attached themselves to nonconformist bodies, including Methodism. Conversely, the Morisonians learned from Methodist example. The Evangelical Union united with the Congregational Union in 1897.

Sources
  • F. Ferguson, A History of the Evangelical Union (Glasgow, 1876)
  • PM Magazine, 1894 pp.144-46; 1898 pp.430-34
  • W.M. Patterson, Northern Primitive Methodism (1909) pp.198-200

See also

Entry written by: GEM
Category: Denomination
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