The historian Thomas Macaulay said about Charles Simeon, “If you knew what his authority and influence were, and how they extended from Cambridge to the most remote corners of England, you would allow that his real sway in the Church was far greater than that of any primate.”

Simeon’s conversion in 1779, while he was still a student, occurred as he was preparing himself to receive Holy Communion, an act required of undergraduates at the University. His first Communion had been a deeply depressing and discouraging experience because of his use of the popular devotional tract, The Whole Duty of Man, which emphasized law and obedience as the means of receiving the Sacrament worthily. When he was again preparing for Communion before Easter, he was given a copy of Bishop Thomas Wilson’s Instructions for the Lord’s Supper. Here was a very different approach, which recognized that the law could not make one righteous and that only the sacrifice of Christ, perceived by faith, could enable one to communicate worthily. This time, the experience of Holy Communion was one of peace and exhilaration, a new beginning in a Christian life whose influence would be difficult to exaggerate.

In 1782, the year of his graduation from King’s College, Cambridge, he was placed in charge of Trinity Church in that city, while still a deacon. He remained as rector there for 54 years, despite intense early opposition from the churchwardens and congregation over his evangelical preaching.

Simeon’s influence and authority developed slowly, but he eventually became the recognized leader of the evangelical movement in the Church of England. He helped to found the Church Missionary Society and was active in recruiting and supporting missionaries, including Henry Martyn. As a preacher, he ranks high in the history of Anglicanism. His sermons were unfailingly biblical, simple, and passionate.

The influence of Simeon and his friends was thus described by the historian William Edward Hartpole Lecky: “They gradually changed the whole spirit of the English Church. They infused into it a new fire and passion of devotion, kindled a spirit of fervent philanthropy, raised the standard of clerical duty, and completely altered the whole tone and tendency of the preaching of its ministers.”

Simeon died on November 13, 1836, in Cambridge, and was buried at King’s College.

Excerpted directly from “Lesser Feasts and Fasts 2022",” p. 506-507.