Is a class level that grants progression in all the features of an aligned class, a class level that itself grants those features?

Question

The title is honestly succinct enough, so here it is again: Is a class level that grants progression in all the features of an aligned class, a class level that itself grants those features?

This is related to, but distinct from, my existing question about how all these mini-bards stack with Pathfinder Chronicler, in that a good answer ought to cover the PFC PrC's specific language - notably, "if you align Evangelist to your bard levels, would PFC effectively stack twice because its trigger conditions to add effective bard levels were met on two classes that happen to add to eachother" or - well, I'm pretty sure you can't make an infinite bardic performance loop with PFC 1/Evangelist(PFC) 2, because that's absurd, but it's not, actually, something that I am sure is impossible. (...Mostly only if Aligned Class is actually 'transparent', in either case, to which "No" is definitely a possible answer - though I'm not sure the "whoops infinite bard singularity" ...problem?... doesn't occur if you model Evangelist as doing a shallow increment of PFC's effective level, and would appreciate more in-depth analysis.)

This question is heavily focused on Pathfinder Chronicler, but I could very well see a similar question coming up with e.g. Evangelist into Mystic Theurge. (Not that I can particularly see why you'd want to, but the question does exist, and therefore ought to be answered.) (See also Chernasardo Warden as a source of "aligned class" levels.)

Answer 1

Pathfinder isn't Magic the Gathering.

When you calculate your effective bard level for a performance, you add the levels of the classes that stack together for the performance along with any other bonuses that you have.

There is no "PFC creates a bardic performance trigger for determining its level which Evangelist sees and then creates another trigger which PFC sees and so on".

When a Fighter 5/PFC 3/Evangelist (aligned PFC) 2 uses its bardic performances, it counts as a level 2 bard for them (2 PFC (1 PFC, 1 Evangelist aligned)), not level 3 (2 PFC (1 PFC, 1 Evangelist aligned) + 1 (???)), and certainly not level ∞.