Skip to main content

Collection 154 Records of the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel: Lambeth Palace Records

 Collection
Identifier: CN 154

Scope and Contents

The collection consists of about two thousand five hundred letters and eight volumes of minutes covering the formative years of the Society, 1701-1750. Later papers document the establishment of the American episcopate after the Revolution. The correspondence is primarily with clergy sent to America, but also concerns Eurasia, especially China and India. Correspondence primarily with clergy sent to America, but also concerns work in Eurasia, particularly China and India. Topics covered include the American Revolution, mission work among Native Americans, missions in the Caribbean and the Great Awakening during the 18th century. Significant figures featured include Francis Asbury, Jonathan Edwards, George Keith, John Wesley and George Whitefield.

A published guide to this collection can be found in the Archive Reading Room bibliography, Foreign Collections shelf: William Wilson Manross's S.P.G. Papers in the Lambeth Palace Library: Calendar and Indexes (Oxford, 1974). As the title suggests, it contains a detailed calendar and two indexes, one to names and topics appearing in the calendar and the other to names appearing in the documents themselves.

Dates

  • Created: 1679-1790

Conditions Governing Access

Copyright on this collection is held by the Lambeth Palace Library. Materials may not be duplicated other than for personal use.

Historical Information

Anglican missionary society; formed, 1701; merged with the Universities' Missions to Central Africa to form the United Society for the Propagation of the Gospel, 1965. From the beginning of English colonization, a need for spiritual guidance for colonists and missionary work among natives was felt by Church leaders, but performance fell short of the hazily perceived goal. In 1675 an official inquiry was gotten underway by the Church of England, but it was not until 1698 that the Society for the Promotion of Christian Knowledge was formed, and even then, its scope was limited. In 1701, a special committee was appointed by the Lower House of the Convocation of the Province of Canterbury to inquire into "ways and means for Promoting Christian King William III, who returned a charter founding the Society for the achievements in its far-flung mission empire in North-Central-South America, the West Indies, Africa, Australia, Asia, India, China, Japan, Korea, and Europe, through the close of the nineteenth century can be found in The Encyclopedia of Missions (New York: Funk and Wagnall's, 1904)--Center Library, Ref BV 2040 E53.

In 1965 the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel merged with the Universities' Mission to Central Africa to form the United Society for the Propagation of the Gospel. In the last years of its operation as an independent entity, the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel worked with an annual budget of over two million dollars.

Extent

17 Reels of microfilm

Language of Materials

English

Accruals and Additions

This microfilm was purchased by the Billy Graham Center from World Microfilms Publications, London.

No Accession #

November 12, 1980

Galen Wilson

S. Kouns

Title
Collection 154 Records of the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel: Lambeth Palace Records
Description rules
Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Language of description
English
Script of description
Roman Script

Repository Details

Part of the Evangelism & Missions Archives Repository

Contact:
501 College Avenue
Wheaton IL 60187 US
630-752-5910