Two by Twos

EN Texte en anglais Pas encore d'article dans ta langue : extrait en anglais.

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...