Six Articles of Wesley’s Covenant

In 1752 a group of men, including John Wesley, who were nicknamed Methodist, signed a covenant which every man might hang on his study wall. The six articles of the solemn agreement follow:

1. That we will not listen or willingly inquire after ill concerning one another;
2. That, if we do hear any ill of each other, we will not be forward to believe it;
3. That as soon as possible we will communicate what we hear by speaking or writing to the person concerned;
4. That until we have done this, we will not write or speak a syllable of it to any other person;
5. That neither will we mention it, after we have done this, to any other person;
6. That we will not make any exception to any of these rules unless we think ourselves absolutely obliged in conference.