Methodist Episcopal Church, South and South and was criticized for holding slaves. The 1844 General Conference voted to suspend Bishop Andrew from exercising his episcopal office until he gave up the slaves. Southern delegates to the conference disputed the authority of a General Conference to discipline bishops. The cultural differences that had divided the nation during the mid-19th century were also dividing the Methodist Episcopal Church. The 1844 dispute led Methodists in the South to break off and form a separate denomination, the Methodist Episcopal Church, South (MEC,S). The statistics for 1859 showed the MEC,S had as enrolled members some 511,601 whites and 197,000
Episcopal Conference of the Ivory Coast Episcopal Conference of the Ivory Coast The local assembly of bishops is the Episcopal Conference of the Côte d'Ivoire (French: Episcopal Conférence de Côte d'Ivoire, CECI). Founded in 1970, the Episcopal Conference has been officially recognized on February 16, 2007 by the Ivorian state. It includes all the Catholic bishops of the country, ordinary, and auxiliary emeritus. It has its headquarters in Abidjan. The Episcopal Conference is composed of five organizations: the Plenary Assembly, the Permanent Council, the Presidency Council, the Council for Economic Affairs, the Secretary General. The Plenary Assembly is the supreme authority of the Conference of Bishops