The Community of the Companions of Jesus the Good Shepherd (CJGS) is an

Anglican religious order Anglican religious orders are communities of men or women (or in some cases mixed communities of both men and women) in the Anglican Communion who live under a common rule of life. The members of religious orders take vows which often include ...

founded in 1920, part of the

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Britain ...

. It is currently based near

Kidlington Kidlington is a major village and Civil parishes in England, civil parish in Oxfordshire, England, between the River Cherwell and the Oxford Canal, north of Oxford and 7 miles (12 km) south-west of Bicester. It remains officially a village ...

Oxfordshire Oxfordshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the north west of South East England. It is a mainly rural county, with its largest settlement being the city of Oxford. The county is a centre of research and development, primarily ...

. Originally, the sisters were teachers living alone or in small groups, but in 1943 a mother house was established in

Devon Devon ( , historically known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South West England. The most populous settlement in Devon is the city of Plymouth, followed by Devon's county town, the city of Exeter. Devon is ...

under a

monastic rule A religious order is a lineage of communities and organizations of people who live in some way set apart from society in accordance with their specific religious devotion, usually characterized by the principles of its founder's religious practic ...

. Christian education continues to be the primary focus of the community's work, mainly through ministry training and

spiritual direction Spiritual direction is the practice of being with people as they attempt to deepen their relationship with the divine, or to learn and grow in their personal spirituality. The person seeking direction shares stories of their encounters of the div ...

. The community has decreased in size and its novitiate is now closed. In 1996 the remaining sisters elected to move to

Clewer Clewer (also known as Clewer Village) is an ecclesiastical parish and an area of Windsor, Berkshire, Windsor in the county of Berkshire, England. Clewer makes up three Ward (electoral subdivision), wards of the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maid ...

and share accommodation with another Order of sisters, the

Community of St John Baptist The Community of St John Baptist (CSJB), also known as the Sisters of Mercy, or formerly Clewer Sisters, is an Anglican religious order of Augustinian nuns. History The Community was founded in England in 1852 by Harriet Monsell (the first Supe ...

. The two Orders remain separate and distinct, but share the same

priory A priory is a monastery of men or women under religious vows that is headed by a prior or prioress. Priories may be houses of mendicant friars or nuns (such as the Dominicans, Augustinians, Franciscans, and Carmelites), or monasteries of mon ...

house. In 2001 they moved to

Begbroke Begbroke ( ) is a village and civil parish in Oxfordshire about west of Kidlington and northwest of Oxford. The 2011 Census recorded the parish's population as 783. Archaeology Fragments of early pottery have been found in the parish, as wel ...

, near Kidlington.

References

*''Anglican Religious Communities Yearbook: 2004-2005''. Norwich: Canterbury Press, 2003.

External links

Information from the Anglican Communion office
Christian organizations established in 1920 Anglican religious orders established in the 20th century {{anglican-stub