Two by Twos (also known as 2x2, The Truth and The Way) is an international, home-based Christian new religious movement that was founded in 1897 in Ireland by William Irvine. Irvine, an evangelist with the interdenominational Faith Mission, began independently preaching that the itinerant ministry outlined in Matthew 10 remains the only valid method of evangelism. Church growth was rapid, spreading outside Ireland. Irvine eventually began preaching a new order in which the hierarchy developed within the church would have no placement. This teaching became controversial within the church, leading to his expulsion by church overseers around 1914. One of the church's most prominent evangelists, Edward Cooney, was expelled a decade after Irvine. The church then became much less visible to outsiders for the next half-century. The publication of several articles and books, increased news coverage, and the appearance of the Internet have since opened the church to wider scrutiny. Increased scrutiny by news organizations has focused on various wrongdoings, and the United States FBI launched an on-going investigation into allegations of childhood sexual abuse and other potential irregularities.
Some in the church assert it is a direct continuation of the 1st-century Christian church. Others in the church believe that a restoration occurred in the late 19th century. Ministers are itinerant and work in pairs, hence the name "Two by Twos". Members hold regular twice-weekly worship gatherings in local homes on Sunday and midweek. The church also holds annual regional conventions for members and public Gospel meetings. Baptism by immersion, as performed by one of the church's workers, is required to partake in the emblems of bread and wine at the fellowship gathering. The orthodox Christian Trinitarian doctrine is rejected. Doctrine of the church teaches that salvation is reached by attending the group's home meetings, accepting the preaching of its itinerant, unsalaried ministry workers, and "professing". The church teaches that salvation is not achieved through faith alone but only through a combination of faith and "works". Works are considered acts of self-denial such as wearing modest skirts and long hair in a bun or attending all meetings regardless of how far away they are. The church does not do any outreach programs or encourage its members to participate in charities.
The church does not have official headquarters or publications. It does not explicitly publish any doctrinal statements, insisting that such tenets may only be directly imparted orally by its ministers, referred to as "workers". Its hymnbook and various other materials for internal use are produced by outside publishers and printing firms. Printed invitations and advertisements for its open gospel services are the only written materials that those outside the church are likely to encounter.
Among members, the church is usually referred to as "The Truth", "Meetings", or "the workers and friends", but members deny an official church name. Those outside the church refer to it as "Two by Twos", "The Black Stockings", "No-name Church", "Cooneyites", "Workers and Friends", or "Christians Anonymous", and journalists sometimes call it "2x2" for short. The church's various registered names include "Christian Conventions" in the United States, "Assemblies of Christians" and "The Alberta Society of Christian Assemblies" in Canada (dissolved only after it was exposed), "The Testimony of Jesus" in the United Kingdom, "Kristna i Sverige" in Sweden, and "United Christian Conventions" in Australia. These registered names are used only for specific purposes (for instance, to register conscientious objection during war) and are not routinely used by members.
History
Founding In 1896, William Irvine was sent from Scotland to southern Ireland as a missionary by John George Govan's Faith Mission, an interdenominational organization with roots in the Holiness movement. Because his mission was successful, he was promoted to superintendent of Faith Mission in southern Ireland.
Within a few months of his arrival in Ireland, Irvine was already disillusioned with the Faith Mission. There was friction over its Holiness teachings, and Irvine saw its organization as a violation of his concept of a faith-based ministry. Above all, Irvine was increasingly intolerant of the Faith Mission's cooperation with the other churches and clergy in the various communities of southern Ireland, regarding converts who joined churches as "lost among the clergy". In 1897, he began preaching independently, proclaiming that true ministers must have no home and take no salary. He became convinced that he had received this as a special revelation he referred to as his "Alpha message".See:
. Opposed to all other established churches, he held that the manner in which the disciples had been sent out in chapter 10 of the Gospel of Matthew was a permanent commandment which must still be observed.See:
. The passage reads in part:
In October 1897, Irvine was invited by Nenagh businessman John "Jack" Carroll to preach in the Carrolls' hometown of Rathmolyon. There he held a series of mission meetings in which all established churches were rejected, and Irvine's new doctrine and method of ministry were set forth. It was in Rathmolyon that he recruited the first adherents to his new message. Aside from condemning all other churches, Irvine's doctrine included the rejection of church buildings, damnation of all followers of churches outside the new fellowship, rejection of paid ministry, rejection of collections during services and collection boxes, and the requirement that those seeking to join the ministry "sell all".See:
.
Irvine's preaching during this latest mission influenced others who began to leave their respective churches and join Irvine to form an initial core of followers. Some of these early adherents would become important members of the new church, including John Long, the Carroll family, John Kelly, Edward Cooney—an influential evangelist from the Church of Ireland—and George Walker (an employee of the Cooney family's fabric business), all of whom eventually "sold all" and joined the new movement as itinerant preachers.1905 "List of Workers" in Although other movements, such as the Plymouth Brethren and Elim have had strong Irish connections, the church founded by Irvine is the only religion known to have had its origin and early development in Ireland.
Early growth
Unlike later secretiveness, initially, the church was in the public eye, with questions about it being raised in Parliament beginning in 1900.See:
. Inspired by speakers such as Irvine and Cooney, membership growth was rapid. Rather than adding members to established denominations, as was the practice of the Faith Mission outreach, churches began noticing their congregations thinning after exposure to the Two by Two missions. Clerics soon began regarding the Two by Two preachers as "inimical to the membership of the church". After receiving reports from Ireland, the Faith Mission in 1900 formally disassociated itself from Irvine and any of its workers found to be participating in the new Two by Two movement.
The attention of Belfast newspapers was initially drawn to the Two by Twos church because of its open-air baptismal rites. At that time, the baptisms took place in public settings such as streams, lakes, or the sea, even in cold weather. Regarded as a novelty, the outdoor "dippings" and accompanying sermons attracted large crowds. Further attention was given during the staging of large marches through boroughs and public preaching in town squares and on street corners.
Workers, including Edward Cooney and George Walker, publicly preached that all members of other churches were damned. They singled out prominent individuals, and even entire communities, for condemnation. At times, missions were sited close to the meeting places of other denominations, which were denounced using "extreme language". Consequences of these inflammatory remarks ranged from heckling and street violence to the break-up of families,See:
. all of which brought further attention to the church. Newspapers in Ireland, Britain, and North America followed the disturbances that arose over the church's activities and message.Accounts of some of the many incidents include:
. Some hosted debates in their editorial columns. One member of Parliament offered to join the Two by Twos if they would cease criticizing other religious bodies.
As the ranks of its ministry increased, the church's outreach expanded. Large gatherings were held in Dublin, Glasgow and Belfast during 1899. Annual conventions, modeled after the evangelical Keswick Conventions in England, began to be held regularly in Ireland starting in 1903. Later that year, William Irvine, accompanied by Irvine Weir and George Walker, took his message to North America. Missions to continental Europe, Australia, and Asia followed.
By 1904, the requirement to "sell all" was no longer mentioned in sermons. A two-tiered system was instituted that made a distinction between homeless itinerant missionaries (called "workers") and those who were now allowed to retain homes and jobs (called "friends" or "saints"). Weekly home meetings began to be held and presided over by "elders", who were typically the householder. During the next few years, this change became universal. The church continued to grow rapidly and held regular annual conventions lasting several weeks at a time. Irvine traveled widely during this period, attending conventions and preaching worldwide, and began sending workers from the British Isles to follow up and expand interest in various areas.See:
.
Beginning in 1906, unwelcome attention came in the form of leaflets and billboard notices. W. D. Wilson, an English farmer whose unmarried children had left home and joined the Two by Twos, began publishing articles stating girls were being recruited by the church for immoral purposes. In response, Edward Cooney brought a widely publicized suit for libel that was resolved by a settlement between the parties by the end of 1913.
A hierarchy was instituted by Irvine, and his most trusted associates in various regions were designated as "overseers" or "head workers". Each worker was assigned a particular geographical sphere and then coordinated the efforts of the ministry within his area. Among the overseers were William and Jack Carroll, George Walker, and Willie Gill. Irvine continued to have the ultimate say over worker conduct and finances, and his activities within their fields became regarded as "interference". Except for such annual conventions as he was able to attend across the globe, communications and instructions from Irvine passed through the overseers.
Schism William Irvine's progressive revelation continued to evolve over this time, and eschatological themes began to appear in sermons. By 1914, he had begun to preach that the Age of Grace, during which his "Alpha Gospel" had been proclaimed, was coming to a close. As his message turned towards indicating a new era, which held no place for the ministry and hierarchy that had rapidly grown up around the "Alpha Gospel", resentment arose on the part of overseers who saw him as a threat to their positions.