Quite a Boddy of Work

There are certain types of characters in history that capture my attention. I find my curiosity piqued by people that have a Forrest Gump quality to them who find their way into significant moments. 

A.A.Boddy (1854-1930) was one of those people. I began to see his name pop up in my research of The Welsh Revival, Azusa Street, and Smith Wigglesworth among others. Boddy was involved with revivals in several countries. His spiritual hunger coupled with his passion for exploration led him to travel from England to Canada, The U.S., North Africa, Egypt, Palestine, and Russia. Intercontinental travel was not fast or safe during his lifetime. His writings of those exploits earned him membership in the Royal Geographical Society (England) and the Imperial Geographical Society (Russia).


Boddy was an Anglican minister ordained by the famous bishop J.B. Lightfoot. Author Keith Malcolmson says that the Pentecostal Revival in Britain began at the church Boddy pastored. His newsletter "Confidence" was the first pentecostal periodical on record. Boddy was involved or present at significant movements of God all over the globe. 


His wife Mary was a multi-talented woman. She was musically gifted, a skilled teacher, and saw many people healed through her ministry. She also had a reputation for "helping seekers into the experience of the baptism of The Spirit". In 1907 when she laid hands on a plumber from Bradford he had a life changing encounter with The Holy Spirit. His name was Smith Wigglesworth.