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- Anglicanism
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Anglican religious community
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What is an Anglican religious community?
An Anglican religious community is any of various religious communities for men and women that began developing within the Anglican Communion in the 19th century. These communities combine an active life of teaching, nursing, and helping in parishes with a life of prayer and worship. Many English sisterhoods opened branch houses abroad, and independent communities were founded in other provinces of the Anglican Communion.
The beliefs and practices of the Anglican Communion are often described as a middle ground between Roman Catholic and Protestant churches. Worship is central to Anglican life, and they view their tradition as a broad form of public prayer.
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What are the main beliefs of Anglican religious communities?
Anglican religious communities' beliefs and practices blend Roman Catholic and Protestant traditions. They embrace a Trinitarian God and recognize Jesus as the Son of God, who came to bring salvation to humanity. The Bible, comprising the Old and New Testaments, serves as their holy book. Anglicans also uphold the Nicene and Apostles' Creeds as vital expressions of their faith.
Baptism and the Eucharist are the two sacraments of the Anglican church, which also observes confirmation, ordination, marriage, reconciliation, and unction as important religious rituals. Easter and Christmas are significant holy days, with weekly services that include eucharistic rites, prayer, psalms, hymns, scriptural readings, and sermons. The Anglican Communion maintains a threefold ministry of bishops, priests, and deacons. The Lambeth Quadrilateral defines the essential beliefs of Anglicanism: the Bible, the Nicene Creed, baptism and Holy Communion, and the episcopate.
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How are Anglican religious communities organized?
Anglican religious communities emerged in the 19th century, sparked by the Oxford Movement's emphasis on Anglicanism's Catholic heritage. These communities include both men and women and combine prayer and worship with active service such as teaching, nursing, and parish work.
The communities aren't large, and the Anglican Communion has never made specific canonical legislation for them. Since 1935, those in England can get formal recognition from the advisory council on religious communities. Examples include the Society of St. John the Evangelist (the Cowley Fathers) and the Community of the Holy Cross.
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What roles do members of an Anglican religious community have?
Within the Anglican religious community, members take on various roles, typically within a threefold order of ministry that includes bishops, priests/presbyters, and deacons. Bishops act as chief administrators, with the Archbishop of Canterbury as the highest figure. Priests oversee local churches, preach the Gospel, and administer sacraments, while deacons assist priests and spread the Gospel.
Lay members also have an important voice, balancing the clerical perspective, and even bishops need to seek advice and consent from other clergy and laity. Many Anglican religious communities combine prayer and worship with activities such as teaching, nursing, and parish assistance.
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How do Anglican religious communities differ from Catholic ones?
Anglican and Roman Catholic religious communities share monastic roots but have distinct characteristics that evolved after the Reformation.
| Characteristic | Anglican Religious Communities | Catholic Religious Communities |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Historical Context | Developed within the Anglican Communion in the 19th century, following the suppression of monastic communities by Henry VIII in the 16th century.| Have a longer history, with communities forming throughout the Middle Ages.|
| Emphasis | Combine active service in the world (teaching, nursing, parish work) with prayer and worship.| Traditionally emphasize contemplation of God and pursuit of Christian perfection, though many also engage in active ministry.|
| Vows | Members make vows, but the specific vows may vary.| Members pronounce the three vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience.
| Structure | Relations with ecclesiastical authorities were initially vague but have become more defined since 1935.| Religious communities are formally integrated into the structure of the Catholic Church.
| Diversity | Wide latitude of interpretation of doctrine is allowed to both clergy and laity.| Follow a more defined set of doctrines and traditions.4 Britannica SourcesCreated from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles. -
How have Anglican religious communities changed over time?
Anglican religious communities have undergone significant changes since their revival in the 19th century, influenced by the Oxford Movement. Initially focused on re-establishing monastic traditions suppressed by Henry VIII, these communities have evolved to address contemporary social issues and adapt to changing cultural contexts.
The sisterhoods, which began in 1845, combined prayer with active service in teaching, nursing, and parish work, offering women opportunities for service. These communities expanded globally, establishing branches and independent communities within the Anglican Communion.
In the late 20th century, new communities continued to emerge, and existing ones adapted to modern life. The rise of independent countries and the end of colonialism required Anglicans to rethink their identity and mission, leading to the development of self-directing churches that share historical ties with the Church of England.
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Anglican religious community, any of various religious communities for men and for women that first began developing within the Anglican Communion in the 19th century. Although monastic communities were numerous in the pre-Reformation English Church, they were suppressed in the 16th century by Henry VIII when he broke with the Roman Catholic Church. Their revival almost 300 years later was due primarily to the interest and encouragement of some of the leaders of the Oxford Movement, who emphasized the Catholic rather than the Protestant heritage of Anglicanism.
The first community, the Sisterhood of the Holy Cross, was founded in London at Park Village, in 1845. In the following 10 years the Society of the Holy Trinity at Devonport (1845); the Community of St. Mary the Virgin at Wantage, Berkshire (1848); the Community of St. John the Baptist at Clewer, near Windsor (1851); the Community of All Saints, London Colney, Hertfordshire (1851); and the Society of St. Margaret at East Grinstead, Sussex (1855), were founded. Notable among later 19th-century foundations were the Community of the Holy Name, Malvern Link, Worcestershire (1865); the Sisters of Bethany, London (1866); the Sisters of the Church, London (1870); and the Community of the Epiphany, Truro (1883).
Almost all the sisterhoods combined an active life (teaching, nursing, helping in parishes, etc.) with a life of prayer and worship. Anglican sisters were among those who accompanied Florence Nightingale during the Crimean War and took part in the work of raising the standards and status of the nursing profession. In various forms of social and educational work the Anglican sisterhoods offered opportunities of service not readily available to women in mid-19th-century England, but the religious motive predominated in the revival.
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Many English sisterhoods opened branch houses abroad, and independent communities were founded in other provinces of the Anglican Communion. In the United States the oldest surviving sisterhood is the Community of St. Mary at Peekskill, New York (1865); in Canada there is the Sisterhood of St. John the Divine (1884), at Willowdale, Ontario, and in Australia the Community of the Holy Name (1886), at Melbourne.
During the 20th century the foundation of new communities continued, though at a slower rate. A number of enclosed communities of contemplative nuns were established both in England and in the United States. A flourishing active community, the Order of the Holy Paraclete, was founded at Whitby, Yorkshire, in 1917.
The first Anglican religious community for men was the Society of St. John the Evangelist (the Cowley Fathers), founded in 1866 at Oxford. Since then numerous other communities or brotherhoods have been founded in England. The largest men’s communities are the Community of the Resurrection (Mirfield Fathers) founded in 1892 at Mirfield, Yorkshire; the Society of the Sacred Mission (Kelham Fathers), at Kelham, Nottinghamshire, founded in 1892; and the Society of St. Francis, Cerne Abbas, Dorset, founded in 1921. An Anglican Benedictine community was established at Pershore in 1914 and moved to Nashdom Abbey, Burnham, Buckinghamshire, in 1926. It has a branch house in the United States. The only indigenous men’s community of any size in the Protestant Episcopal Church in the U.S. is the Community of the Holy Cross, West Park, New York (1881).
In the late 20th century more than 50 Anglican religious communities for men and for women, many with several houses or branches, were in existence. Several English communities have branch houses overseas. In general the communities are not large.
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The Anglican Communion has never made provision for religious communities in canonical legislation, and the relations of the communities with the ecclesiastical authorities were at first vague and undefined. Since 1935 it has been possible for those in England to obtain formal recognition from the advisory council on religious communities established for the provinces of Canterbury and York.