Cooneyites - History and Development

History and Development

The original group was founded by William Irvine, in Ireland in 1897. An independent evangelist, Edward Cooney, came into contact with Irvine soon afterward, though he did not join the new church immediately. In 1901, Cooney relinquished his stake in his family business. He then donated £1300 to Irvine's ministry, in fulfillment of the group's requirement to "sell all and give to the poor," and became an itinerant "tramp preacher." Cooney was noted as a powerful speaker, and was one of the most vocal of the early leaders. His name became linked to the group in the public mind.

In the early years of the 20th century, Cooney's sermons were debated in the public and press, with frequent citations of aggressively provocative remarks: distinguished for its bitter hostility to all existing Churches, and to a regular paid ministry of any kind, reminding one not a little of the Plymouth Brethren on these and other points. Cooney was revered by some and ridiculed by others.

Later, after the group split between the followers of William Irvine, and the more numerous followers of various regional overseers, Cooney sided with the larger body, though he continued to maintain some communication with Irvine (as did other senior ministers). Instead of placing himself under a local overseer, or taking that position for himself, he continued to preach worldwide on a truly itinerant basis. He also increasingly criticized the hierarchical structure that had formed within the Two by Twos, its finances, its denial of its origins, and its having registered under a name ("The Testimony of Jesus") during WWI.

Cooney was excommunicated from the "Two by Twos" in Ireland, at a leaders' meeting, on October 12, 1928. This occurred because he refused to conform his preaching to adhere to the "Living Witness Doctrine" (which posits that faith comes from hearing the word spoken, and seeing the "gospel" physically lived, from the lips and life of a witness), and to cease preaching wherever he felt led to preach. Afterward, he continued to preach worldwide, and groups of his followers left, or were expelled from, the main group and continued in fellowship with him.

Among those who were driven out along with Cooney were prominent Two by Two pioneers such as Tom Elliot and John and Sarah West who provided continuity for the new group. However, with Cooney evangelizing in other countries during the later 1930s, the Cooneyite sect experienced a period of decline in Ireland. Despite this, Cooney was steadfast in rejecting any semblance of the hierarchy and other characteristics he had refused to accept in the main Two by Two church. He emphasized this by proclaiming, "You are not joining anything." to proselytes.

Cooney continued to win converts outside of Ireland. Followers were not organized into anything beyond loose fellowships, in accord with the abhorence of anything resembling hierarchy or organization. Some contacts were those among the Two by Twos who remembered his earlier work. Irvine Weir, one of the original Two by Two workers in North America, was excommunicated by George Walker (the head overseer in eastern North America) for breaking the ban on associating with Cooney. Others experienced expulsion for the same reason.

Cooney had wanted to end his days in his native Ireland. However he also wished to impart a final doctrinal revelation which caused another divide among his followers there. He had come to the belief that God would grant another opportunity for repentance following death, and this caused a split within the group. Tired, ill and wishing to escape the uproar, he made a final trip to Australia, where he died in 1960.

Cooney's followers retain fond memories of him. Those who continue to follow his message are a small but still recognized sect under the name “Cooneyite” in the UK, having just over 200 members according to the 2001 UK Census. According to Roberts (1990), Cooneyite remnants exist in various places around the world and continue to meet in homes for church meetings. Notable areas include:

• Northern Ireland
• Mallow, County Cork, Ireland
• Wigton, Cumbria, England
• Australia, notably:
  • Mildura, Victoria
  • Young district, New South Wales
  • Muswellbrook, Hunter Valley, New South Wales
  • Ballina district, New South Wales