Church History · 1820s to 1830s

Edward Irving and the Catholic Apostolic Church

Edward Irving was a famous Scottish Presbyterian preacher in London who taught that the gifts of the Holy Spirit were meant for today. Speaking in tongues broke out in his church in 1831, and his followers formed the Catholic Apostolic Church with twelve new apostles. Many historians see him as a forerunner of Pentecostal ideas.

Read it in the Bible: Ephesians 4:11-13 1 Corinthians 14:1 1 Thessalonians 5:19-21 1 Corinthians 12:7-11

Edward Irving was a Scottish Presbyterian minister who became the most famous preacher in London in the 1820s. He taught that the gifts of the Holy Spirit, like prophecy, healing and tongues, were never meant to stop after the apostles. In 1831 members of his London congregation began speaking in tongues and prophesying in church. Irving was removed from his pulpit and later deposed by the Church of Scotland, and he died in 1834 at just 42. His followers went on to form the Catholic Apostolic Church, with twelve modern apostles. Historians often call him a forerunner of the Pentecostal and charismatic movements that came 70 years later.

Who Was Edward Irving?

Irving was born on August 4, 1792, in Annan, Scotland. He trained for the ministry, taught math for a while, and then served as an assistant to the great Glasgow preacher Thomas Chalmers. In 1822 he was called to a small congregation in London, the Caledonian Chapel.

Within months, London could not get enough of him. Irving was tall, dramatic and fearless in the pulpit. Politicians, writers and society ladies lined up to hear him, and his friend Thomas Carlyle wrote about his power as a speaker. In 1827 the church built him a much larger building in Regent Square.

What Did Edward Irving Teach About the Gifts of the Spirit?

Irving became convinced that the church had lost something the New Testament church had. He believed the gifts of the Spirit, and the offices of apostles and prophets, had faded because of weak faith, not because God took them away. He also had a strong interest in Bible prophecy and believed Jesus would return soon. He took part in prophecy conferences at Albury Park, the country home of the wealthy banker and politician Henry Drummond.

And it was He who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers, to equip the saints for works of ministry and to build up the body of Christ, until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God, as we mature to the full measure of the stature of Christ. Ephesians 4:11 to 13

Irving read this passage to mean that all five kinds of ministers should be active until Jesus comes back. Today many churches call this idea the fivefold ministry.

What Happened in Irving's Church in 1831?

In 1830 reports came from western Scotland that ordinary believers were speaking in tongues and being healed. Irving and others went to see and came back excited. Prayer meetings in London began asking God for the same gifts.

In 1831 people in Irving's congregation began speaking in tongues and giving prophecies, first in prayer meetings and then during Sunday worship at Regent Square. Crowds came to watch. Some were moved. Others thought it was chaos or worse. The trustees of the church objected, and in 1832 Irving was removed from the Regent Square church. Many of his people followed him to a new meeting place on Newman Street.

At the same time, Irving faced charges over his teaching about Jesus. He taught that Christ took on our fallen human nature, but never sinned, by the power of the Holy Spirit. His critics believed this made Jesus sinful. Irving said he was misunderstood. In 1833 the Church of Scotland deposed him from its ministry. Worn out and ill, he died in Glasgow on December 7, 1834.

What Was the Catholic Apostolic Church?

Irving was not the founder in the usual sense, and he was not one of its apostles. The group that formed around his London followers, with Henry Drummond as a leader, believed God was restoring apostles to the church. By 1835 they had recognized twelve apostles, and they called themselves the Catholic Apostolic Church. Outsiders often called them Irvingites.

The church had a rich, formal liturgy with robes and incense, mixing Catholic, Orthodox and Anglican styles. It expected Jesus to return before the last of its apostles died. The last one died in 1901. Because the church believed only those apostles could ordain new leaders, it slowly faded. In 1863 a group in Germany broke away and kept calling new apostles. That group became the New Apostolic Church, which still exists today.

Was Edward Irving a Forerunner of Pentecostalism?

Many historians say yes, at least in his ideas. Irving taught that tongues were a sign of the Spirit's baptism and that spiritual gifts should be active in the church. Those ideas came back strongly at Topeka in 1901 and Azusa Street in 1906. Later churches like the Apostolic Church in Wales, formed in 1916, also stressed modern apostles and prophets.

There is no direct line from Irving's church to the Pentecostals, though. Most Pentecostals came out of the Methodist and holiness movements in America, not from Irving's group. And Christians still disagree about him. Cessationists, who believe the miraculous gifts ended with the apostles, see Irving as a gifted man who went off course. Continuationists, who believe the gifts continue, see him as a man ahead of his time who paid a high price.

Why It Matters for You Today

Irving's story is a good case study in both hunger for God and the need for wisdom. He wanted the full New Testament church, and that is a good desire. He also suffered because the church around him was not ready, and because some things in his movement were not tested carefully. Paul gives a balanced word.

Do not extinguish the Spirit. Do not treat prophecies with contempt, but test all things. Hold fast to what is good. 1 Thessalonians 5:19 to 21

Whatever you believe about the gifts, that is a good rule. Stay open to God, keep your Bible open too, and keep Jesus at the center.

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Questions People Ask

Who was Edward Irving?

Edward Irving was a Scottish Presbyterian minister who lived from 1792 to 1834. He became the most popular preacher in London in the 1820s. He taught that spiritual gifts like tongues and prophecy were for today, and tongues broke out in his church in 1831.

What is the Catholic Apostolic Church?

It was a church formed in the 1830s by Irving's followers, who believed God had restored living apostles. It recognized twelve apostles by 1835 and used a formal liturgy. It faded after its last apostle died in 1901.

Did Edward Irving start Pentecostalism?

Not directly. Irving taught ideas that Pentecostals later held, such as tongues and modern prophecy, so many historians call him a forerunner. But the Pentecostal movement grew mainly out of American holiness churches around 1901 and 1906.

Why was Edward Irving removed from the Church of Scotland?

He was charged with teaching that Christ's human nature was sinful. Irving said he taught that Jesus took fallen human nature but never sinned. The Church of Scotland deposed him in 1833.

Sources

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