Photo: User Magnus Manske on en.wikipedia / Public domain (source: Wikimedia Commons)
My Take
What strikes me about Charles Wesley is not that he co-led the Methodist movement, but that he chose hymns as his weapon. Writing over 6,500 of them, he embedded theology into melody so ordinary people could carry it in their throats. I find that genuinely radical. Most thinkers of his era are read by specialists; Wesley is sung by millions every Christmas, often by people who have no idea who wrote 'Hark! The Herald Angels Sing.' That is a strange and beautiful kind of immortality, the author dissolving entirely into the work. Three centuries on, his words still travel without his name attached.
Overview
Charles Wesley (18 December 1707 – 29 March 1788) was an English Anglican cleric and a principal leader of the Methodist movement. Wesley was a prolific hymnwriter who wrote over 6,500 hymns during his lifetime. His works include "And Can It Be", "O for a Thousand Tongues to Sing", "Christ the Lord Is Risen Today", "Love Divine, All Loves Excelling", the carol "Hark! The Herald Angels Sing", and "Lo! He Comes With Cl…
Summary adapted from Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.
1. Profile
- Name (English)
- Charles Wesley
- Name (Japanese)
- チャールズ・ウェスレー
- Reading
- ちゃーるず・うぇすれー
- Born
- December 18, 1707 – March 29, 1788
- Zodiac / Chinese zodiac
- Sagittarius / Boar
- Origin
- Epworth, United Kingdom
- Blood type
- Private
- Height
- Private
- Agency
- Private
- Occupation
- theologian / philosopher / writer / hymnwriter / cleric
2. Background
- Elementary school
- Private
- Junior high
- Private
- High school
- Private
- University
- Private
Awards & achievements
- Gospel Music Hall of Fame
3. Relationships
- Spouse
- Private
- Children
- Private
- Parents
- Private
- Siblings
- Private
4. Personality
Motto
Private
6. Links
Theologian — see all → · Philosopher — see all → · More people from United Kingdom →
7. About this entry
Tags
- Last updated
- 2026-06-02
Facts are limited to publicly available information up to 2024; non-public items are marked "Private / Unknown". English text is machine-assisted (facts translated by Sonnet, "My Take" written by Opus 4.8). The Japanese page is the source of record.