Irvingite - Old Artillery Ground

[JacobeaM]

A general question,

The two youngest children of my 4th Great-Grandparents were christened at the Parliament Court Old Artillery Ground in 1837 and 1839 respectively. Their eight other, older children were christened at various Anglican churches in London. The parents were living in Norton Folgate.

I've done some lightening research and it seems that "Irvingite" was a member of the Catholic Apostolic Church which arose in the early 1830s. Would this necessarily mean the parents had converted or would they have been able to use the church or chapel for convienience?

Many thanks    

[Valda]

Hi

This was a church that expected the second coming to be pretty immediate. You either were a member of the Catholic Apostolic church or you weren't though the family may not have continued on as members overtime (the children's marriages would show whether this was the case).
I think it might be a bit similar to asking today whether you could use Jehovah's Witness or Church of the Latter Day Saints churches as churches of convenience because they were the nearest - definitely different from the Anglican church.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catholic_Apostolic_Church


Regards

Valda

[JacobeaM]

Cheers Valda Having brief attendance certainly fits in better with what In know of that side of my family - they were ardent Protestants, which is what struck me as odd having children christened at an Irvingite/Catholic church. 

[Valda]

Hi


Despite its name Catholic Apostolic had absolutely nothing to do with the Catholic Church.


Regards

Valda

[Jay48]

This is a case of more rather than less. It is always preferable to refer to the Roman Catholic church in full, rather than just "Catholic". As a member of the Anglican Catholic Church I find myself at odds with those who describe me as a Catholic, having been baptised and confirmed into the Church of England and a subsequent member for 65 years!

The Catholic Apostolic Church had an interesting history, and believed in the second-coming of Christ. They originally had members of many "persuasions", including one I was looking at today "of the Jewish Nation". Some of the records are available on the web via S&N/BMD registers (a pay per view/subscription site), who have digitised many of the RG4+ series held by TNA. Most interesting!

Hope this helps.
JK