Anglican religious order

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. Most members of Anglican religious orders will refer to themselves as monks and nuns, and do not usually make distinctions between nuns and religious sisters or between monks and friars as Roman Catholics do.

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 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 St. 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. [Anglican Religious Communities Yearbook 2008-2009 p. 24]

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) [ [http://communities.anglicancommunion.org Anglican Communion Religious Communities ] ] 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 Anglican religious orders

The following is a list of the religious orders in the Anglican Communion, their initials, and their 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)
*Korean Franciscan Brotherhood (KFB) (Korea)
*Little Brothers of Francis (LBF) (Australia)
*Melanesian Brotherhood (MBH) (Solomon Islands, Papua New Guinea, Vanuatu, the Philippines, Canada)
*Oratory of the Good Shepherd (OGS) (England, Australia, United States, South Africa)
*Order of the Holy Cross (OHC) (United States, South Africa)
*Saint Gregory's Abbey (OSB) (United States)
*Society of St. 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, United States)
*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)
*Fikambanan'ny Mpanompovavin l Jesoa Kristy (FMJK) (Madagascar)
*Malling Abbey (OSB) (England)
*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. John the Divine (SSJD) (Canada)
*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)
*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)

Orders Not Canonically Recognized: [note: lack of canonical recognition can be for a number of reasons, including recent formation and low numbers. It does not necessarily imply any fault in the order.]
*Community of the Ascension (CA) (United States)
*Episcopal Carmel of Saint Teresa (OCD) (United States)
*Missionaries of Divine Compassion (MDC) (United States)
*Servants of the Sacred Cross SSC (Canada)

List of Anglican Christian Communities

*The Anglican Order of Preachers (Dominicans)
*Brotherhood of Saint Gregory
*The Community of Celebration
*Community of the Gospel
*Community of the Paraclete
*Community of St. Denys
*Companions of Saint Luke
*Company of Mission Priests
*Little Sisters of Saint Clare
* [http://www.osa-anglican.org Order of St. Andrew]
*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

References

uggested Reading

* [http://anglicanhistory.org/religious/ Historical documents on Anglican religious orders]
* [http://orders.anglican.org/arcyb/index.html Anglican Religious Communities Yearbook]
* [http://communities.anglicancommunion.org Anglican Religious Communities]