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{{Short description|Christian denomination founded in the 1830s}}

'''The Catholic Apostolic Church''', a religious community often called '''Irvingites''', though neither actually founded nor anticipated by [[Edward Irving]]. Known today as the '''New Apostolic Church'''.

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{{About|the movement associated with Edward Irving}}{{Redirect|Holy Catholic Apostolic Church|the four ecclesiastical marks of traditional Christian ecclesiology|Four Marks of the Church}}

{{Use mdy dates|date=October 2016}}

[[File:London July 2015-8.jpg|thumb|[[Church of Christ the King, Bloomsbury]], which belongs to the trustees of the Catholic Apostolic Church]]

The '''Catholic Apostolic Church''' ('''CAC'''), also known as the '''Irvingian Church''' or '''Irvingite Church''', is a [[Christian denomination|denomination]] in the [[Restorationist]] branch of Christianity.<ref name="Carson2020"/><ref name="Bloesch2005">{{cite book |last1=Bloesch |first1=Donald G. |title=The Holy Spirit: Works Gifts |date=2 December 2005 |publisher=InterVarsity Press |isbn=978-0-8308-2755-8 |page=158 |language=en}}</ref> It originated in London around 1831 and later spread to Germany and the United States.<ref name=CEE>{{cite encyclopedia | article-url=http://www.infoplease.com/ce6/society/A0810873.html | article=Catholic Apostolic Church | encyclopedia=The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia | edition=6th | date=2007}}</ref> The traditional groups of the Catholic Apostolic Church with the revisionist movement, the character of which include elements of historic liturgies and charismatic gifts are sometimes referred to as '''Irvingism''' or the '''Irvingian movement''' after [[Edward Irving]] (1792–1834), a clergyman of the [[Church of Scotland]] sometimes credited as organising the movement.<ref name="Carson2020">{{cite book |last1=Carson |first1=D. A. |title=Themelios, Volume 44, Issue 3 |date=10 February 2020 |publisher=Wipf and Stock Publishers |isbn=978-1-7252-6010-8 |language=en |quote=From this nexus at Albury Park would eventually emerge the openly-restorationist Catholic Apostolic Church, in which both Drummond and London Scots preacher, Edward Irving (1792-1834), would figure prominently. Significant for the purposes of this discussion is the fact that the Catholic Apostolic Church would distinguish itself not only for its bold claim to exercise the charismata of the Apostolic age, but also for its lavish liturgies borrowed from the pre-Reformation church, both East and West.}}</ref>

The church was organised in 1835 with the fourfold ministry of "apostles, prophets, evangelists, and pastors".<ref name="Cannon2009">{{cite book |last1=Cannon |first1=John |title=A Dictionary of British History |date=21 May 2009 |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |isbn=978-0-19-955037-1 |page=127 |language=English}}</ref> The denominations in the tradition of the Catholic Apostolic Church teach "the restoration to the universal church of prophetic gifts by the direct inspiration of the Holy Ghost."<ref name="Robertson1886">{{cite book |last1=Robertson |first1=John Ross |title=Sketches in City Churches |date=1886 |publisher=J.R. Robertson |page=125 |language=en}}</ref>

Irving's relation to this community was, according to its members, somewhat similar to that of [[John the Baptist]] to the early [[Christian Church]], i.e. he was the forerunner and prophet of the coming dispensation, not the founder of a new [[sect]]; and indeed the only connection which Irving seems to have had with the existing organization of the Catholic Apostolic body was in fostering spiritual persons who had been driven out of other congregations for the exercise of their spiritual gifts. Shortly after Irving's trial and deposition (1831), certain persons were, at some meetings held for prayer, designated as called to be apostles of the Lord by certain others claiming prophetic gifts. In the year 1835, six months after Irving's death, six others were similarly designated as called to complete the number of the twelve, who were then formally separated, by the pastors of the local congregations to which they belonged, to their higher office in the universal church on [[July 14]], [[1835]].

As a result of [[schism]] within the Catholic Apostolic Church, other Irvingian Christian denominations emerged, including the [[Old Apostolic Church]], [[New Apostolic Church]], [[Reformed Old Apostolic Church]] and [[United Apostolic Church]]; of these, the New Apostolic Church is the largest Irvingian Christian denomination today, with 16 million members.<ref name="Nyika2008">{{cite book |last1=Nyika |first1=Felix Chimera |title=Restore the Primitive Church Once More: A Survey of Post Reformation Christian Restorationism |date=2008 |publisher=Kachere Series |page=14 |language=English |quote=In the 1990s the New Apostolic Church had almost 300 apostles with 60,000 congregations comprising 16 million members globally.}}</ref><ref name="Kuligin2005">{{cite journal|last1=Kuligin|first1=Victor|date=2005|title=The New Apostolic Church|url=http://www.acfar.org/pdflibrary/AJET_article_on_New_Apostolic_Church.pdf|journal=Africa Journal of Evangelical Theology|language=English|volume=24|issue=1|pages=1–18|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140611095649/http://www.acfar.org/pdflibrary/AJET_article_on_New_Apostolic_Church.pdf|archive-date=11 June 2014}}</ref>

This separation is understood by the community not as in any sense being a [[schism]] or separation from the one [[Catholic Church]], but a separation to a special work of blessing and intercession on behalf of it. The twelve were afterwards guided to ordain others--twelve [[prophet]]s, twelve [[evangelist]]s, and twelve [[pastor]]s, sharing equally with them the one Catholic Episcopate, and also seven deacons for administering the temporal affairs of the church catholic. The apostles were the channels of the [[Holy Ghost]] and the mysteries of God, and the authoritative interpreters of prophetic utterance; their teaching was brought home to the people by the evangelists. The function of the prophets was to explain scripture and exhort to holiness, that of the pastors is explained by their title. The central [[episcopacy]] of forty-eight was regarded as indicated by [[prophecy]], being foreshown in the forty-eight boards of the Mosaic [[tabernacle]].

Irvingism has elaborate [[Christian liturgy|liturgies]]; it teaches three [[sacraments]]: [[Baptism]], [[Holy Communion]] and [[Baptism with the Holy Spirit#Irvingism|Holy Sealing]].<ref name="Carson2020"/><ref name="Whalen1981">{{cite book |last1=Whalen |first1=William Joseph |title=Minority Religions in America |date=1981 |publisher=Alba House |isbn=978-0-8189-0413-4 |page=104 |language=English}}</ref><ref name="Nomos1992">{{cite book |title=Decisions of the Bundesverfassungsgericht (Federal Constitutional Court) Federal Republic of Germany |date=1992 |publisher=Nomos |isbn=978-3-8329-2132-3 |page=6 |language=English}}</ref>

For ecclesiastical purposes the church universal is under their charge in twelve tribes; for [[Christendom]] is considered to be divided into twelve portions or tribes, each tribe being under the special charge of an apostle and his coministers, and the seat of the Apostolic College being at Albury, near [[Guildford]]. This is an ideal outline which has never been fulfilled. There has never been a central episcopacy of forty-eight. The apostles alone always held the supreme authority, though, as their number dwindled, coadjutors were appointed to assist the survivors, and to exercise the functions of the apostolate. The last apostle died on [[February 3]], [[1901]].

==History==

For the service of the church a comprehensive book of liturgies and offices was provided by the apostles. It dates from [[1842]] and is based on the [[Anglican Church|Anglican]], Roman and Greek liturgies. Lights, incense, vestments, [[holy water]], chrism, and other adjuncts of worship are in constant use. The complete ceremony may be seen in the church in Gordon Square, London, and elsewhere. The daily worship consists of matins with proposition (or exposition) of the sacrament at 6 AM, prayers at 9 AM and 3 PM, and vespers with proposition at 5 PM. On, all Sundays and holy days there is a solemn celebration of the eucharist at the high altar; on Sundays this is at 10 AM. On other days low celebrations are held in the side-chapels, which with the chancel in all churches correctly built after apostolic directions are separated or marked off from the nave by open screens with gates. The community has always laid great stress on symbolism, and in the [[Eucharist]], while rejecting both [[transubstantiation]] and [[consubstantiation]], holds strongly to a real (mystical) presence. It emphasizes also the phenomena of Christian experience and deems miracle and mystery to be of the essence of a spirit-filled church.

===Edward Irving===

[[Edward Irving]], also a minister in the [[Church of Scotland]], preached in his church at [[Regent Square (London)|Regent Square]] in London on the speedy [[return of Jesus Christ]] and the real substance of his human nature.{{Citation needed|date=December 2021}}

Irving's relationship to this community was, according to its members, somewhat similar to that of [[John the Baptist]] to the [[early Christian Church]]. He was the forerunner and prophet of the coming [[Dispensation (period)|dispensation]], not the founder of a new sect; and indeed the only connection which Irving seems to have had with the Catholic Apostolic Church was in fostering spiritual persons who had been driven out of other congregations for the exercise of their [[spiritual gifts]].<ref name=":0">{{Cite EB1911|wstitle= Catholic Apostolic Church, The |volume= 5 | page = 533 }}</ref>

Each congregation is presided over by its angel or bishop (who ranks as angel-pastor in the Universal Church); under him are twenty-four priests, divided into the four ministries of elders, prophets, evangelists, and pastors, and with these are the deacons, seven of whom regulate the temporal affairs of the church; moreover there are also sub-deacons, acolytes, singers, and ushers. The understanding is that each elder, with his co-presbyters and deacons, shall have charge of 500 adult communicants in his district; but this has been only partially carried into practice. This is the full constitution of each particular church or congregation as founded by the restored apostles, each local church thus reflecting in its government the government of the church catholic by the angel or high priest [[Jesus Christ]], and His forty-eight presbyters in their fourfold ministry (in which apostles and elders always rank first), and under these the deacons of the church catholic.

Around him, as well as around other congregations of different origins, coalesced persons who had been driven out of other churches, wanting to "exercise their spiritual gifts". Shortly after Irving's trial and deposition (1831), he restarted meetings in a hired hall in London, and much of his original [[Church (congregation)|congregation]] followed him. Having been expelled from the Church of Scotland, Irving took to preaching in the open air in [[Islington]], until a new church was built for him and his followers in Duncan Street, Islington, funded by [[Duncan Mackenzie]] of [[Barnsbury]], a former [[Elder (Christianity)#Anglicans|elder]] of Irving's London church.<ref>{{cite web |title=Islington: Protestant nonconformity Pages 101-115 A History of the County of Middlesex: Volume 8, Islington and Stoke Newington Parishes. Originally published by Victoria County History, London, 1985. |url=https://www.british-history.ac.uk/vch/middx/vol8/pp101-115 |website=British History Online |access-date=19 July 2020}}</ref>

The priesthood is supported by [[tithe]]s; it is deemed a duty on the part of all members of the church who receive yearly incomes to offer a tithe of their income every week, besides the free-will offering for the support of the place of worship, and for the relief of distress. Each local church sends a tithe of its tithes to the Temple, by which the ministers of the Universal Church are supported and its administrative expenses defrayed; by these offerings, too, the needs of poorer churches are supplied. It claims to have among its clergy many clerics of the Roman, Anglican and other churches, the orders of those ordained by Greek, Roman and Anglican bishops being recognized by it with the simple confirmation of an apostolic act. The community has not changed recently in general constitution or doctrine. It does not publish statistics, and its growth during late years is said to have been more marked in the [[United States]] and in certain European countries, such as [[Germany]], than in [[United Kingdom|Britain]]. There are nine congregations enumerated in ''The Religious Life of London'' (1904).

Shortly after Irving's trial and deposition (1831), certain persons were, at some meetings held for prayer, designated as "called to be apostles of the [[Names of God in Christianity|Lord]]" by certain others claiming [[Spiritual gift|prophetic gifts]].<ref name=":0" />

For further details of doctrines, ritual, etc., see RN Bosworth, ''Restoration of A postles and Prophets'', ''Readings on the Liturgy'', ''The Church and Tabernacle'', and ''The Purpose of God in Creation and Redemption'' (6th ed., 1888); G Miller, ''History and Doctrines of Irvingism'' (1878).

=== Naming of the apostles ===

*''This entry incorporates public ___domain text originally from the [[1911 Encyclopaedia Britannica]].''

In the year 1835, six months after Irving's death, six other people were similarly designated as called to complete the number of the twelve, who were then formally separated, by the [[pastors]] of the local congregations to which they belonged, to their higher office in the universal church on 14 July 1835. This separation is understood by the community not as "in any sense being a schism or separation from the one Catholic Church, but a separation to a special work of blessing and intercession on behalf of it." The twelve were afterwards guided to ordain others—twelve prophets, twelve evangelists, and twelve pastors, "sharing equally with them the one Catholic Episcopate," and also seven deacons for administering the temporal affairs of the church catholic.<ref name=":0" />

[[Category:Catholics not in Communion with Rome]]

The names of those twelve apostles included [[John Bate Cardale]], [[Henry Drummond (1786–1860)|Henry Drummond]], [[Spencer Perceval (junior)|Spencer Perceval]], [[Thomas Carlyle (Scottish lawyer)|Thomas Carlyle]], and [[Duncan Mackenzie]].

==Structure and ministries==

Each congregation was presided over by its "angel" or bishop (who ranks as angel-pastor in the Universal Church); under him are four-and-twenty priests, divided into the four ministries of "elders, prophets, evangelists and pastors," and with these are the deacons, seven of whom regulate the temporal affairs of the church—besides whom there are also "sub-deacons, acolytes, singers, and door-keepers." The understanding is that each elder, with his co-presbyters and deacons, shall have charge of 500 adult communicants in his district; but this has been but partially carried into practice. This is the full constitution of each particular church or congregation as founded by the "restored apostles," each local church thus "reflecting in its government the government of the church [[Catholic (term)|catholic]] by the angel or high priest Jesus Christ, and His forty-eight presbyters in their fourfold ministry (in which apostles and elders always rank first), and under these the deacons of the church catholic."<ref name=":0" />

The priesthood is supported by [[tithes]]; it being deemed a duty on the part of all members of the church who receive yearly incomes to offer a tithe of their increase every week, besides the free-will offering for the support of the place of worship, and for the relief of distress. Each local church sends "a tithe of its tithes" to the Temple, by which the ministers of the Universal Church are supported and its administrative expenses defrayed; by these offerings, too, the needs of poorer churches are supplied.<ref name=":0" />

==Liturgy and forms of worship==

===Sources of forms of worship===

For the service of the church a comprehensive [[Liturgical book|book of liturgies]] and offices was provided by the apostles. It dates from 1842 and is based on the Anglican, Roman and Greek liturgies. Lights, [[incense]], vestments, [[holy water]], [[chrism]], and other adjuncts of worship are in constant use. In 1911, the ceremonial in its completeness could be seen in the [[Church of Christ the King, Bloomsbury|church in Gordon Square, London]] and elsewhere.<ref name=":0" />

The daily worship consists of [[matins]] with proposition (or exposition) of the [[sacrament]] at 6 a.m., prayers at 9 a.m. and 3 p.m., and [[vespers]] with proposition at 5 p.m. On all Sundays and holy days there is a "solemn celebration of the [[eucharist]]" at the high altar; on Sundays this is at 10 a.m. On other days [[low celebration]]s are held in the side-chapels, which with the [[chancel]] in all churches correctly built after apostolic directions are separated or marked off from the [[nave]] by open screens with gates. The community has always laid great stress on symbolism, and in the eucharist, while rejecting both [[transubstantiation]] and [[consubstantiation]], holds strongly to a [[Real presence of Christ in the Eucharist|real (mystical) presence]]. It emphasizes also the phenomena of Christian experience and deems miracle and mystery to be of the essence of a spirit-filled church.<ref name=":0" />

The services were published as ''The Liturgy and other Divine Offices of the Church''. Apostle [[John Bate Cardale|Cardale]] put together two large volumes of writings about the liturgy, with references to its history and the reasons for operating in the ways defined, which was published under the title ''Readings on the Liturgy''.

The Eucharist, being the memorial sacrifice of Christ, is the central service. The Irvingian Churches teach the real presence of Christ in the Eucharist, though they rejected what they saw as the philosophical explanations of the Roman Catholic doctrine of transubstantiation as well as [[Lollardist]] doctrine of consubstantiation.<ref name="Bennett2014">{{cite book |last1=Bennett |first1=David Malcolm |title=Edward Irving Reconsidered: The Man, His Controversies, and the Pentecostal Movement |date=4 November 2014 |publisher=Wipf and Stock Publishers |isbn=978-1-62564-865-5 |page=292 |language=English}}</ref>

Some of the music in the Catholic Apostolic Church is composed by [[Edmund Hart Turpin]], former secretary of the [[Royal College of Organists]].

==Sacraments==

Irvingism teaches three [[sacraments]]: [[Baptism]], [[Holy Communion]] and [[Baptism with the Holy Spirit#Irvingism|Holy Sealing]].<ref name="Whalen1981"/><ref name="Nomos1992"/>

==Number of congregations and members==

In 1911, the CAC claimed to have among its clergy many of the Roman, Anglican and other churches, the orders of those ordained by Greek, Roman and Anglican bishops being recognized by it with the simple confirmation of an "apostolic act." The community had not changed in 1911 in general constitution or doctrine. At the time, it did not publish statistics, and its growth during late years before 1911 is said to have been more marked in the United States and in certain European countries, such as Germany, than in Great Britain. There are nine congregations enumerated in ''The Religious Life of London'' (1904).<ref name=":0" />[[File:Sankt Georgios grekisk-ortodoxa metropolitkyrka, Stockholm.jpg|thumb|The former Catholic Apostolic church in Stockholm, Sweden, built in 1889–90. Since the 1970s, it has served as a Greek Orthodox church.<ref>{{cite web|title=Kvarter Trasten-Trädgårdsmästaren |url=https://stockholmskallan.stockholm.se/PostFiles/KUL/SSM_Nordostra_Vasastaden__byggn_inv_1988_09.pdf |page=216|type=survey documentation of the city block "Trasten" in Stockholm|publisher=The City Museum of Stockholm|language=sv}}</ref>]]In the 21st century, of the principal CAC buildings in London, the [[Church of Christ the King, Bloomsbury|Catholic Apostolic Central Church, in Gordon Square]], survives and has been let for other religious purposes.

===Notable members===

Aside from Irving, notable members include [[Thomas Carlyle (Scottish lawyer)|Thomas Carlyle]]; [[Edward Wilton Eddis]], who contributed to the Catholic Apostolic hymnal; and [[Edmund Hart Turpin]], who contributed much to CAC music.

==New Apostolic Church==

{{Main|New Apostolic Church}}

[[File:Apostolic.JPG|thumb|right|200 px|Scheme of several Apostolic churches inside and outside the Netherlands from 1830 until 2005. Click on the image to enlarge.]]

In the 19th century, the Dutch branch of the [[Restored Apostolic Mission Church]] (at first known as {{Lang|nl|Apostolische Zending}}, since 1893 officially registered as [[Hersteld Apostolische Zendingkerk]] (HAZK)) was created. This later became the [[New Apostolic Church]].

==Notable buildings==

[[File:Former Catholic Apostolic Church, Albury Park, Albury (March 2014) (3).JPG|thumb|Former Catholic Apostolic Church, [[Albury Park]], Surrey|276x276px]]

* The [[Church of Christ the King, Bloomsbury]] in Gordon Square, London: a massive Early-English neo-Gothic building constructed 1850–1854, designed by [[Raphael Brandon]].

* [[Maida Avenue]], Paddington, London: built 1891–1894, designed by [[John Loughborough Pearson]].

* [[Mansfield Place Church]] (now the Mansfield Traquair Centre), Edinburgh: a Scottish neo-Romanesque building completed in 1885, designed by Sir [[Robert Rowand Anderson]].

== Shortage of holy order ==

All ministers in the church were [[Ordination|ordained]] by an apostle, or under delegated authority of an apostle. Thus, following the death of the last of the apostles, Francis Valentine Woodhouse, in 1901, the consensus of trustees, who administer the remaining assets, has been that no further ordinations are possible.<ref>"[https://www.ucl.ac.uk/bloomsbury-project/articles/articles/CAC-Gordon_Square.pdf The church and Its Gordon Square Cathedral: the 'Irvingites' and the Catholic Apostolic Church]" by Manfred Henke</ref>

== Archives ==

A collection of papers related to the Catholic Apostolic Church, compiled by the Cousland family of Glasgow, is held at the Cadbury Research Library, [[University of Birmingham]].<ref>{{Cite web|title=UoB Calmview5: Search results|url=https://calmview.bham.ac.uk/Record.aspx?src=CalmView.Catalog&id=XMS377|access-date=2021-04-15|website=calmview.bham.ac.uk}}</ref>

== See also ==

{{Portal |Christianity}}

* [[Apostolic Church of Queensland]], an Australian religious denomination established by [[H. F. Niemeyer]] in 1883

==References==

{{Reflist |64em}}

==Further reading==

* {{cite book | first = Grayson | last = Carter | title = Anglican Evangelicals. Protestant Secessions From the via media, c. 1800–1850 | place = Oxford | publisher = OUP | year = 2001 | isbn = 0-19-827008-9}}

* {{cite book | first = Rowland A | last = Davenport | title = Albury Apostles | place = London | year = 1973}}

* {{cite book | first = AL | last = Drummond | title = Edward Irving and his Circle | place = London | year = 1934}}

* {{cite book | first = CG | last = Flegg | title = Gathered Under Apostles; A Study of the Catholic Apostolic Church | publisher = Oxford | year = 1992 | isbn = 0-19-826335-X}}

* {{cite book | first = Edward | last = Miller | title = The History and Doctrines of Irvingism or of the so-called Catholic Apostolic Church | orig-year = London: C. Kegan Paul & Co., 1878 | edition = reprinted | url = http://www.elibron.com/english/other/item_detail.phtml?msg_id=35733 | publisher = Elibron | year = 2004 | isbn = 1-4021-1651-9 | format = hardcover | volume = I | url-status = dead | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20050311011834/http://www.elibron.com/english/other/item_detail.phtml?msg_id=35733 | archive-date = March 11, 2005 | df = mdy-all }}, {{ISBN|1-4021-1653-5}} (Vol. II).

* {{cite book | first = Johannes Albrecht | last = Schröter | title = Die katholisch-apostolischen Gemeinden in Deutschland und der Fall Geyer |trans-title=The Catholic-Apostolic Church in Germany and the "Geyer" case | edition = 2 | place = Marburg | year = 1998 | isbn = 3-8288-9014-8}}

* {{cite book | first = Johannes Albrecht | last = Schröter | title = Bilder zur Geschichte der Katholisch-apostolischen Gemeinden |trans-title=Images of The History of The Catholic Apostolic Church | publisher = Glaux Verlag Christine Jäger KG | place = Jena | year = 2001 | isbn = 3-931743-42-X | author-mask = 3}}

* {{cite book | author=[[Plato E. Shaw]] | title = The Catholic Apostolic Church, sometimes called Irvingite (A Historical Study) | place = New York | year = 1946}}

===Doctrine===

* {{cite book | first = L | last = Albrecht | title = The work of Apostles in the time of the end | edition = 2nd | year = 1955}}

* {{cite book | first = John Bate | last = Cardale | title = The Church and Tabernacle}}

* {{cite book | first = John Bate | last = Cardale | title = Readings on the Liturgy | author-mask = 3}}

* {{cite book | first = Robert | last = Norton | title = Restoration of Apostles and Prophets | publisher = Bosworth | place = London}}

* Francis Sitwell ''The Purpose of God in Creation and Redemption'' (6th ed., 1888)

{{Authority control}}

{{Scottish religion}}

[[Category:Catholic Apostolic Church denominations| ]]

[[Category:Irvingism| ]]

[[Category:Religious organizations established in 1835]]

[[Category:1831 establishments in England]]

[[Category:Adventism]]

[[Category:Restorationism (Christianity)]]