Two by Twos
Nameless house church and its workers / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Two by Twos (also known as The Truth and The Way) is an international, home-based Christian new religious movement that has its origins in Ireland at the end of the 19th century. This church has no official name; among members, the church is more usually referred to as "The Truth", "Meetings", or "the workers and friends". Those outside the church refer to it as "Two by Twos", "The Black Stockings", "No-name Church", "Cooneyites", "Workers and Friends", or "Christians Anonymous". The church's 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 organization names are used only for registration purposes and are not used by members.
The Truth, Two by Twos | |
---|---|
Classification | |
Polity | Episcopal |
Region | Worldwide |
Founder | William Irvine[1] |
Origin | October 1897 (126 years ago) (1897-10)[2] Ireland |
Separations | |
Members | 300–370+ thousand (1990–1998) 1–4 million (1964–1984)[upper-alpha 1] |
Tax status | unknown |
Other name(s) | The Truth The Way Workers and Friends Christian Conventions Cooneyites Assemblies of Christians The Friends The Brethren and additional |
Official website | none |
The church was founded in 1897 in Ireland by William Irvine, an evangelist with the interdenominational Faith Mission. Irvine began independently preaching a return to the method of itinerant ministry he claimed was set forth in Matthew 10. Church growth was rapid, spreading outside Ireland. Irvine eventually began preaching a new order in which the hierarchy that had developed within the church would have no placement. This teaching became controversial within the church and led 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. Publication of several articles and books, increased news coverage, and the appearance of the Internet have since opened the church to wider scrutiny.
Some in the church claim it is a direct continuation of the 1st-century Christian church. Others in the church believe that a restoration of some sort may have occurred in the late 19th century. Church ministers are itinerant and work in groups of two, hence the name "Two by Twos". Members hold regular weekly worship gatherings in local homes on Sunday and midweek. The church also holds annual regional conventions and public Gospel meetings. Baptism by immersion as performed by one of the church's workers is required for full participation. The orthodox Christian Trinitarian doctrine is rejected, and members deny having a church name. 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". (See Terminology). Whereas some other Christian sects believe in salvation by faith alone, the Two by Twos teach that salvation is not achieved through faith alone, but achieved 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, 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 claims no official headquarters or official publications. The church does not explicitly publish any doctrinal statements, claiming these must be orally imparted 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 meetings are the only written materials which those outside the church are likely to encounter.