Edward Irving

This article deals with the theologian Edward Irving, for the geologist see Edward A. Irving

Edward Irving

Edward Irving (born August 4, 1792 in Annan , Dumfriesshire , † December 8, 1834 in Edinburgh ) was one of the pioneers of the Catholic Apostolic Church .

Until the late 20th century, the Catholic Apostolic Movement was also called "Irvingianism" and its members "Irvingians". This is based on the historically incorrect thesis that Edward Irving was the founder of this movement and its formative figure.

Life

Irving came from a Scottish farming family who went back to Huguenot refugees. At the age of 13 he attended Edinburgh University , where he graduated in 1809. In 1823, under pressure from her family, he married his long-time fiancée Isabella Martin, although he actually had a deep and long-term romance with Jane Welsh , who later became the wife of the essayist Thomas Carlyle . In 1815 he received the permission to preach from the Scottish Presbyterian Church . To get a church job, he moved to Edinburgh in 1818 . In 1819 he was called on the initiative of Thomas Chalmers as his assistant and missionary to the parish of St. John in Glasgow . In 1822 he became a preacher in a small, newly established congregation of the Scottish National Church in London , where he quickly gained notoriety.

For years he had been preoccupied with the phenomenon of prophecy . Through his friend, the London banker Henry Drummond , he was invited to the "Albury Conferences" at his country estate. He was their most prominent guest, and they in turn shaped him so that the Holy Spirit and the essence of the Church became the focus of his theological thought. In May 1828 he went on an evangelistic trip to his Scottish homeland. Because of its great success, he repeated it the following year. For the first time he met with rejection from local preachers.

Spiritual revivals occurred in Scotland in 1830 as a result of the work of James Haldane Stewart . These met with great interest within the Albury circle and were examined there in particular by John Bate Cardale and recognized as divine.

Cardale was soon expelled from the Anglican Church and adhered to the Irvings congregation. Soon afterwards he experienced the gifts of the Spirit himself and allowed them to be used in his public worship services. He violated the order of the Scottish national church and was expelled on May 2, 1832. Just four days later he held his own service in front of 800 believers in a rented hall.

The first Catholic Apostolic Congregation arose in Albury. Cardale was later called an apostle in Irving's ward , with the result that all authority and authority was now with the apostle and no longer with the preacher Irving. This was made on March 13, 1833 in his Scottish home community Annan a church process, which led to the final exclusion and the loss of ordination . Back in London, the successful preacher had to learn that the Apostle Cardale refused to give him a baptism because he lacked ordination. On April 5, 1833, however, Irving was called and ordained an angel (= bishop). A year and a half later he died on a trip to Scotland at the age of only 42 and before he could develop a great ministry in the service of the "new" Church.

Fonts

The following works were published by Irving during his lifetime:

• For the Oracles of God. Four Orations (1823)
• For Judgment to Come (1823)
• Introduction to George Horne, A Commentary on the Book of Psalms (1825)
• Babylon and Infidelity Foredoomed (1826)
• Introduction to Juan Josafat Ben-Ezra [= Manuel de Lacunza], The Coming of Messiah in Glory and Majesty (1827)
• Sermons (3 volumes, 1828)
• Exposition of the Book of Revelation (1831)

His collected writings were edited in five volumes from 1864-65 by Gavin Carlyle.

Web links

• Documents, etc. a. from the Catholic Apostolic Churches
• APWiki.de - Comprehensive and free encyclopedia on the Apostolic Faith Communities
• Website of the "Netzwerk Apostolische Geschichte eV" for research into the history of the Apostolic Faith Communities

literature

• Margaret Oliphant: The Life of Edward Irving, Minister of the National Scotch Church, London. 2 volumes. Hurst & Blackett, London 1862.
• Theodor Kolde: Edward Irving. A biographical essay. Deichert, Leipzig 1901.
• Andrew Landale Drummond: Edward Irving and his Circle, including some consideration of the 'Tongues' movement in the light of modern psychology. James Clarke, London 1937.
• Henry Charles Whitley: Blinded Eagle. An introduction to the life and teaching of Edward Irving. SCM, London 1955.
• Charles Gordon Strachan: The Pentecostal Theology of Edward Irving. Darton, Longman & Todd, London 1973.
• Arnold Dallimore: The Life of Edward Irving, Fore-runner of the Charismatic Movement . Banner of Truth Trust, Edinburgh 1983.