Edward Irving
(1792-1834), Scottish ministerRegency Portraits Catalogue Entry
Sitter in 11 portraits
Edward Irving was a popular preacher whose success is evidence of the general revival of religious feeling which began in the wake of the French Revolution. He started his career as a Church of Scotland Minister in Edinburgh but moved to London in 1822. He became minister at the Caledonian Church in Covent Garden and soon began to draw large crowds - including members of fashionable society - to his three hour sermons. Numerous satirical attacks on his charismatic preaching and extravagant theories appeared, but they only served to advance his reputation. He was prosecuted for heresy in 1832 and excommunicated from the Church of Scotland in 1833.
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