James O'Kelly

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James O'Kelly (born 1735; died October 16, 1826) was an American clergyman during the Second Great Awakening and an important figure in the early history of Methodism in America. Affiliated with the Methodist Episcopal Church from its organization at the Christmas Conference in 1784, O'Kelly, who favored the congregationalist system of church polity, came to oppose the church's system of centralized episcopal authority, which he believed infringed on the freedom of preachers. At the 1792 General Conference of the Methodist Church he introduced a resolution that would allow clergy more freedom in determining their assignments. The resolution was defeated. In protest, O'Kelly withdrew from the denomination and with his supporters founded the Republican Methodist Church, later known simply as the Christian Church, or "Connection", which merged with the Congregational churches in 1931 to form the Congregational Christian Churches. This body, in turn, merged with the German-American Evangelical and Reformed Church in 1957 to form the present United Church of Christ.