Two by Two

Two by Two's (sometimes called the Two X Two's or 2x2's) is a name given by some outside observers to a certain Christian group. They are sometimes confused with the Cooneyites (after Edward Cooney), however, while Edward Cooney was in fact once a minister in this faith, he later left the group and gathered his own group of followers. The group deliberately assumes no name other than that of Christ, and is thus sometimes referred to as The Church With No Name (or similar). Its members refer to their belief most commonly as the truth and occasionally as the way or the fellowship or the faith. The followers call themselves friends or saints, while the missionaries are termed workers or servants and go about in pairs (hence the term two by two).

History

The present movement coalesced in Ireland in the late 1890s under the leadership of William Irvine (1863-1947), John Kelly, John Long and others. However, many leading workers and members of the group maintain that there has always been a remnant of their group in existance since the time of Christ (hence the historically unsupportable statement that the group origins "go back to the shores of Galilee"). Irvine and Kelly had previously been associated with the Faith Mission.

Related Topics:
William Irvine - 1863 - 1947 - Faith Mission

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The movement was probably founded by William Irvine as a kind of wandering preaching religion. Unlike the religion's actions today, William Irvine practiced a boisterous and public wandering ministry. His eventual preaching about the end of the world and the final judgement led to his excommunication sometime during the war years (1914-1918), an action which some members deny. As a whole, the group believes it has been in continual existence since Jesus Christ founded the group in the 1st century with all other Christians being apostates (although more and more members are rejecting this belief).

Related Topics:
Jesus Christ - 1st century - Apostates

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