IRVING, EDWARD. – Protestant pastor, b. at Annan (Scotland) on 4 Aug. 1792, d. at Glasgow on 7 Dec. 1834. In 1819 he was appointed assistant to Chalmers in the parish of St. John at Glasgow; three years later, in 1822, he was called to take charge of the «Caledonian Church», a Scottish chapel in London, where he became famous for his oratory.
While I. was devoting himself entirely to his preaching in the Scottish chapel in London and to the study of the prophecies, H. Drummond (1786-1860), during Advent of 1826, began a series of religious meetings at his villa at Albury Park with a group of approximately 40 sympathizers. They were principally concerned with the interpretation of the prophecies and their fulfillment, and I. too was invited to these meetings. He had happened upon the book of the Calabrian Jesuit P. Lacunza, published under the pseudonym G. Giosafet Ben-Ezrai, concerning the coming of the Messiah; and having translated it, he became convinced, and convinced the other members of the meetings at Albury Park, that the coming of Jesus Christ was near, but that before this the world would be renewed through the restoration of the offices of apostles, prophets, evangelists and angels (bishops and pastors). This coincided with reports that had spread of persons possessing the gift of prophecy, of tongues and of miracles. Soon there were prophets even among the participants in the meetings at Albury Park. In 1832 Drummond, moved by the spirit of prophecy, began to choose the first apostles, until their number reached 12. These then elected the evangelists and the «angels».
Thus was born the Catholic Apostolic Church: catholic, because it was to extend throughout the world; apostolic, because of the restoration of the 12 Apostles. I., although he had contributed considerably to the foundation of the new sect, was not elected to any office, because he was still attached to the Presbyterian Church. When, in 1833, he was condemned, chiefly for having expressed certain false or highly dubious doctrines concerning the humanity of Jesus Christ, he sought refuge in the new sect, but had to enter it as an ordinary member until one of the prophets received a revelation that he had been chosen by God as an «angel» (bishop), indeed as head of the angels, that is, of a group of pastors; he never, however, attained the supreme rank of apostle. For this reason the members of the Catholic Apostolic Church absolutely refuse to be called Irvingians or Irvingites; nevertheless, this is the name most commonly used, although the official name is the other. The organization of this sect is entirely distinctive. The heads of the Church were to be the 12 Apostles chosen by God and manifested through the prophets. They were not to have successors, but during their lifetime the world was to be converted and the coming of the Lord was to take place. After the Apostles, the prophets held the next rank in dignity; they manifested what God revealed to them. They were not elected, but recognized by the Church when they made the revelations known to the faithful. The evangelists were chosen solely by the Apostles and were to accompany them in the conversion of the world; the angels (bishops and pastors) were to direct the communities that had already been established. In 1838, after two years of retreat and study at Drummond’s villa at Albury Park, the 12 Apostles, accompanied by evangelists, dispersed throughout the world, which had been divided under the names of the twelve tribes of Israel. Before separating, they compiled the «Great Testimony», which is their confession of faith and was to be presented to the kings and great men of the earth, including the pope. But the outcome did not correspond to their hopes. Some of the apostles sincerely hoped to receive the gifts and charisms of the Apostles for so great an undertaking, but in vain; and one of them, Mackenzie, to whom the evangelization of Sweden and Norway (the tribe of Gad) had been assigned, disappointed, renounced the apostolate and separated from the sect. This event, the eccentricities of the prophets, the absolute authority assumed by the apostles, their adoption of many doctrines and, in many matters, of the Catholic liturgy, which Protestant sects have always so greatly abhorred, the schism of the Neo-Apostolic Church, and finally the death of the last of the 12 original apostles, who died in 1901 at the age of 96 without the Lord having appeared throughout all that time, dealt severe blows to the Catholic Apostolic Church, which at present is reduced to a few thousand adherents.
In 1863 only 6 of the apostles remained, and in Germany, where the new Church had met with fairly good success, the idea arose of replacing those who had died with others. This idea was led by the two angels (bishops), H. Geyer and F. W. Schwarz. But if the office of apostle became perpetual, one of the fundamental doctrines of the Catholic Apostolic Church would fall, namely, that of the imminent coming of the Lord during the mission of the 12 apostles. The surviving apostles therefore opposed the new doctrine and excommunicated Geyer and Schwarz. The latter were not concerned by this excommunication; indeed, in 1865 Schwarz assumed the direction of a new sect under the title of apostle, subsequently electing others, and replaced the Protestant doctrines with the Catholicizing doctrines of the Catholic Apostolic Church. The new sect took the name of Community or Neo-Apostolic Church (Neo-apostolische Gemeinde). When Schwarz died in 1895, he was succeeded by Fritz Krebs, who granted the first apostle (Stammapostel), that is, himself, a certain superiority over the others, whereas previously they had been regarded as equals. At his death in 1905 he was succeeded by Ermanno Niehaus, who gave new impetus to the sect. The number of apostles grew to 14 (Paul and Barnabas), and the new sect spread to many parts of the world. Ten apostles were in Germany; of the other four, there was one in each of the following regions: Holland, Switzerland, North America and South Africa.
Their principal book is the Lehrbuch der Fragen und Antworten: a catechism of questions and answers, in which the entire doctrine is contained in 656 questions. It is divided into 10 parts, each of which explains one or more articles of faith. Christ governs his Church through «living apostles», who are responsible for the appointment of all ecclesiastical offices. Baptism of the dead is admitted, so that a believer may be baptized on behalf of ancestors whom he wishes to save, who died outside the sect. In the Lord’s Supper, «the merits of Jesus Christ are given through the bread and wine» in a mysterious yet visible manner. Whoever receives the great Sacrament of the Holy Spirit is numbered among the 144,000 marked in the Apocalypse. At the coming of the Lord, only the just will rise to reign with him for a thousand years, after which the wicked too will rise and the final judgment will take place.