Epworth and York

Well, we concluded our travels to the sites of John Wesley (although we still have a couple local stops to make here in Oxford). It is impossible to see all the sites of Wesley since he traveled some 250,000 miles on horseback, but we have certainly hit the high points. We spent a couple of days in a B & B in Epworth, the birthplace and childhood home of John Wesley. They have preserved the old Rectory where John grew up, making it available for tours. Also, the church where John's dad served as rector for thirty-nine years still stands complete with the baptism font where John, Charles, and their siblings were baptized. Outside the church rests the tomb of John's dad, Samuel. The tomb became a pulpit from which John preached on a number of occasions when he was refused permission to preach in the church. Two sets of numerously pitted holes, looking as if something seared into the cement, lie off to one side of the top of the tomb. These holes are said to be the heal marks left from John's shoes while preaching.

We went into York one day as well. York has a long history of a mere two thousand years plus. The city is incredible with an enormous abby dating back to the 14th century, the original wall around the city, 15th century timber-framed buildings still intact, and incredible importance in the history of Christianity. Constantine was in York with his father, then emperor Flavius Constantius, when Constantius died. Constantine was then declared the new Roman emperor while in York in 306 A.D. The Roman empire was known for its massive persecution against Christians until Constantine signed the Edict of Milan in 313 A.D. allowing for religious toleration throughout the kingdom. This set the stage for the open formation of many churches, monasteries, etc. and the spread of Christianity throughout the kingdom. All in all, York had a place of great historic significance.

Yesterday, we returned to Oxford. Today, I did some study in the library, Rachel did some grocery shopping, and we all worked on laundry. In other words, today was not too exciting, but necessary. I hope you aren't getting too tired of my ramblings about all the history, but as you can tell I find it all so fascinating.