Anglican religious order

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Anglican novices in South Africa.

Anglican religious orders are communities of laity and/or clergy in the Anglican Communion who live under a common rule of life. The members of religious orders take vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience, and lead a common life of work and prayer. They may be known as Monks or Nuns (a term most often used by Religious orders which require its members to live permanently in one location) or they may be known as Friars or Sisters this term is used by religious orders where its members are often active in the wider community and tend to be moved from place to place e.g. Society of St Francis http://www.anglicanfranciscans.org/]). Religious orders were dissolved by King Henry VIII when he separated the Church of England from papal primacy. With the rise of the Catholic Revival and the Oxford Movement in Anglicanism in the mid-nineteenth century, however, there was an interest in the revival of religious orders in England. Between 1841 and 1855, several religious orders for women were begun, among them the Community of St. Mary the Virgin at Wantage and the Society of Saint Margaret at East Grinstead. Religious orders for men appeared later, beginning in 1866 with the Society of St. John the Evangelist (Cowley Fathers). In North America, the founding of Anglican religious orders began in 1842 with the Nashotah Community (men) in Wisconsin, followed in 1845 by the Sisterhood of the Holy Communion in New York. In recent decades, there has been a remarkable growth of religious orders in other parts of the Anglican Communion, most notably in Tanzania, South Africa, and the Solomon Islands, Vanuatu and Papua New Guinea. There are currently about 2,400 monks and nuns in the Anglican communion, about 55% of whom are women and 45% of whom are men.^[1]

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Anglican religious orders are sometimes confused with what many provinces of the Anglican Communion call "Christian communities". The differences are as follows: "A Religious Order of this Church is a society of Christians (in communion with the See of Canterbury) who voluntarily commit themselves for life, or a term of years, to holding their possessions in common or in trust; to a celibate life in community; and obedience to their Rule and Constitution." (Title III, Canon 24, section 1) "A Christian Community of this Church is a society of Christians (in communion with the See of Canterbury) who voluntarily commit themselves for life, or a term of years, in obedience to their Rule and Constitution." (Title III, Canon 24, section 2) ^[2] Members of both religious orders and Christian communities may wear a distinctive habit, and may use the titles "Brother" or "Sister", but members of Christian communities do not need to be celibate, may own property, and often live independently rather than in community.

List of current orders

The following is a list of the religious orders in the Anglican Communion with their initials and locations:

Orders of men:

• Brotherhood of the Ascended Christ (BAC) (India)
• Community of Our Lady & Saint John Alton Abbey (OSB) (England)
• Community of the Resurrection (CR) (England)
• Elmore Abbey (OSB) (England)
• Little Brothers of Francis (LBF) (Australia)
• Melanesian Brotherhood (MBH) (Solomon Islands, Papua New Guinea, Vanuatu, the Philippines)
• Oratory of the Good Shepherd (OGS) (England, Australia, United States, South Africa)
• Order of the Holy Cross (OHC) (United States, Canada, South Africa)
• Saint Gregory's Abbey (OSB) (United States)
• Society of Saint Francis (SSF) (England, United States, Australia, New Zealand, Brazil, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands)
• Society of St. John the Evangelist (SSJE) (England, United States)
• Society of St. Paul (SSP) (United States)

Orders of women:

• All Saints Sisters of the Poor (ASSP) (England)
• Benedictine Sisters of Bethany (EBSB) (Cameroon)
• Chama Cha Mariamu Mtakatifu Community of Saint Mary of Nazareth and Calvary (CMM) (Tanzania, Zambia)
• Chita che Zita Rinoyera Community of the Holy Name (CZR) (Zimbabwe)
• Christa Sevika Sangha Handmaids of Christ (CSS) (Bangladesh)
• Community of All Hallows (CAH) (England)
• Community of Christ the King (CCK) (Australia)
• Community of Jesus' Compassion (CJC) (South Africa)
• Community of Nazareth (CN) (Japan)
• Community of St. Andrew (CSA) (England)
• Community of St. Clare (OSC) (England)
• Community of St. Francis (CSF) (England, United States)
• Community of St John Baptist (CSJB) (England, United States)
• Community of St. John the Divine (CSJD) (England)
• Community of St. John the Evangelist (CSJE) (Ireland)
• Community of St. Laurence (CSL) (England)
• Community of St. Mary (CSM) (United States, Malawi, the Philippines)
• Community of St. Mary at the Cross (OSB) (England)
• Community of St. Mary the Virgin (CSMV) (England)
• Community of St. Michael & All Angels (CSM&AA) (South Africa)
• Community of St. Peter (CSP) (England)
• Community of St. Peter, Horbury (CSPH) (England)
• Community of the Companions of Jesus the Good Shepherd (CJGS) (England)
• Community of the Good Shepherd (CGS) (Malaysia)
• Community of the Holy Cross (CHC) (England)
• Community of the Holy Name (CHN) (Australia)
• Community of the Holy Name (CHN) (England, Lesotho, South Africa)
• Community of the Holy Spirit (CHS) (United States)
• Community of the Sacred Name (CSN) (Fiji, New Zealand, Tonga)
• Community of the Sacred Passion (CSP) (England)
• Community of the Sisters of Melanesia (CSM) (Solomon Islands)
• Community of the Sisters of the Church (CSC) (Canada, England, Solomon Islands, Australia)
• Community of the Sisters of the Love of God (SLG) (England, New Zealand)
• Community of the Transfiguration (CT) (United States, Dominican Republic)
• Congregation of the Sisters of the Visitation of our Lady (CVL) (Papua New Guinea)
• Daughters of St. Francis (DSF) (Korea)
• Episcopal Carmel of Saint Teresa (OCD) (United States)
• Fikambanan'ny Mpanompovavin l Jesoa Kristy (FMJK) (Madagascar)
• Malling Abbey (OSB) (England)
• Order of St. Anne (OSA) (United States)
• Order of St. Anne at Bethany (OSA) (United States)
• Order of St. Helena (OSH) (United States)
• Order of the Holy Paraclete (OHP) (England, Ghana, Swaziland)
• Sisterhood of St. John the Divine (SSJD) (Canada)
• Sisterhood of the Holy Nativity (SHN) (United States)
• Sisters of Charity (SC) (England, United States)
• Sisters of the Incarnation (SI) (Australia)
• Society of St. Margaret (SSM) (England, United States, Haiti)
• Society of the Holy Cross (SHC) (Korea)
• Society of the Precious Blood (SPB) (England)
• Society of the Sacred Advent (SSA) (Australia)
• Servants of the Sacred Cross SSC (Canada)
• Society of the Sacred Cross (SSC) (Wales)
• Society of the Sisters of Bethany (SSB) (England)

Mixed orders of men and women:

• Burford Priory (OSB) (England)
• Chita che Zvipo Zve Moto Community of the Gifts of the Holy Fire (CZM) (Zimbabwe)
• Community of the Glorious Ascension (CGA) (England, France)
• Community of the Holy Transfiguration (CHT) (Zimbabwe)
• Community of the Servants of the Will of God (CSWG) (England)
• Order of Julian of Norwich (OJN) (United States)
• Order of Saint Benedict, Camperdown (Australia)
• Society of the Sacred Mission (SSM) (England, Lesotho, Japan, Australia, South Africa)

List of other communities

• Anglican Order of Preachers (Dominicans)
• Brotherhood of Saint Gregory
• Community of Celebration
• Community of the Gospel
• Community of the Paraclete
• Community of St. Denys
• Companions of Saint Luke
• Company of Mission Priests
• Lee Abbey
• Little Sisters of Saint Clare
• Order of St. Andrew
• Scargill House
• Rivendell Community
• The Servants of the Sacred Cross

• Sisterhood of Saint Gregory
• Worker Brothers of the Holy Spirit
• Worker Sisters of the Holy Spirit

Gallery

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  Community of Saint Mary

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  Sisters of Bethany

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  Community of Saint Francis

• 

  Community of the Holy Name

• 

  Community of the Transfiguration

• 

  Order of Julian of Norwich

• 

  Order of the Holy Paraclete

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  Order of Saint Helena

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  Anglican novices in South Africa

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  Handmaids of Christ

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  Community of the Resurrection

• 

  Alton Abbey

References

1. ^ Anglican Religious Communities Yearbook 2008-2009 p. 24
2. ^ Anglican Communion Religious Communities

See also

• Augustinian nuns in the Anglican Communion
• Franciscan orders in the Anglican Communion
• Order of St. Benedict (Anglican)

Suggested Reading

• Historical documents on Anglican religious orders
• Anglican Religious Communities Yearbook
• Anglican Religious Communities