Travelling Christian evangelist who preaches the redemption message
An itinerant preacher (also known as an itinerant minister) is a
Christianevangelist who preaches the basic
Christianredemption message while traveling around to different groups of people within a relatively short period of time.[1] The usage of these travelling evangelists is known as itineracy or itinerancy.[2][3]
Starting in the eighteenth century, the
Methodists were known for sending out itinerant preachers known as
circuit riders to share the message.[5][6] The 'Itinerancy' is denoted as one of the "chief peculiar usages" of classic Methodism, along with practices such as
class meetings and
watchnight services.[7]
Mary Porteous was a Primitive Methodist itinereant preacher. She was given permission to ignore the rules that applied to women itinerant preachers. She wrote about her time on the
North Shields circuit in 1836. She travelled 682 miles and over 200 of these she had walked, begging for food and lodging and carrying her own luggage.[8]
The
Quakers referred to their itinerant preachers as "public friends".[9]