Former religious orders in the churches of the
Anglican Communion
The Anglican Communion is the third largest Christian communion after the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox churches. Founded in 1867 in London, the communion has more than 85 million members within the Church of England and other ...
are those communities of monks, nuns, friars, or sisters, having a common life and rule under
vows, whose work has ended and whose community has been disbanded. In a very few cases this is due to the termination of the work for which the community was established, but in most cases it is due to amalgamation or the death of the final remaining member of the community.
Former communities for men
Brotherhood of the Epiphany (BE)
The Brotherhood of the Epiphany, also known as St. Paul's Brotherhood, was 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 ...
for men founded in 1879 by priests associated with the
Oxford Mission. The order was originally based in
Calcutta
Kolkata (, or , ; also known as Calcutta , List of renamed places in India#West Bengal, the official name until 2001) is the Capital city, capital of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of West Bengal, on the eastern ba ...
, and later expanded to include houses in other parts of northern
India
India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
and present-day Bangladesh. With the closure of the Indian houses, jurisdiction was transferred from the
Church of North India to the
Church of Bangladesh
The Church of Bangladesh is a united Protestant church formed by the union of various Protestant churches in Bangladesh, principally the Anglican and Presbyterian denominations. The Church of Bangladesh is a member of the Anglican Communion and Wor ...
. The final house of the order was at Bogra Road in
Barisal
Barisal ( or ; bn, বরিশাল, ), officially known as Barishal, is a major city that lies on the banks of the Kirtankhola river in south-central Bangladesh. It is the largest city and the administrative headquarter of both Barisal Di ...
,
Bangladesh
Bangladesh (}, ), officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the eighth-most populous country in the world, with a population exceeding 165 million people in an area of . Bangladesh is among the mos ...
. It oversaw
boarding schools, Christian youth
hostels, a medical centre, an
orphanage
An orphanage is a residential institution, total institution or group home, devoted to the care of orphans and children who, for various reasons, cannot be cared for by their biological families. The parents may be deceased, absent, or ab ...
, and a primary school. The community was reported as active in 2003, but by 2011 was no longer listed on the Anglican Communion directory of religious communities. The Oxford Mission, an associated body, states on its website "The brotherhood has come to an end, but in India the work continues under an Administrator appointed by the Bishop of Kolkata, and in Bangladesh under the supervision of the Diocese of Dhaka."
Ewell Monastery (OC)
Ewell Monastery was an experimental
Cistercian community of monks within the Anglican Church from 1966 to 2004, located at
West Malling
West Malling ( , historically Town Malling) is a market town in the Tonbridge and Malling district of Kent, England. It has a population of 2,590.
Landmarks
West Malling contains several historic buildings, including St Leonard's Tower, a Nor ...
in
Kent
Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...
. The revival of religious communities within the Anglican Communion during the 18th century, and more especially the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, was influenced by many of the traditional monastic rules, particularly those of the Benedictine, Franciscan, and Augustinian Orders. There were few attempts to revive the Cistercian Rule within the Anglican communion prior to 1966, and none that lasted more than a few years. In 1966 the Revd Fr Aelred Arneson OC, established his Cistercian community, which came to receive official recognition by both 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 Britai ...
and the world-wide Cistercian Order within the Roman Catholic Church. Fr Aelred OC was the Prior throughout the life of the monastery. The Abbey buildings were constructed on the site of a former farm, with an ancient Tithe Barn being developed into the community chapel. This chapel remains after the closure of the monastery, and is a Grade II* listed building. The Cistercian Rule was never popular within Anglicanism, and the community never numbered more than five members, although these were often strengthened by temporary residents at the monastery from amongst the associates of the Order. From 1987 to 2004 there were only two members in the community, and Fr Aelred made the decision in 2004 to close the monastery. Fr Aelred continued to live the religious life as a Cistercian solitary, with the distinction of being the sole member of the worldwide Anglican Communion to be living under the strict Cistercian Rule of life until his death, aged 96, on 7 January 2022, although some Anglican religious follow an adapted form of the Cistercian Rule. In 2010 a dispersed, uncloistered community was established as the Order of
Anglican Cistercians in the Church of England.
Former communities for women
Community of the Epiphany (CE)
The Community of the Epiphany was founded in 1883 by
George Wilkinson,
Bishop of Truro
The Bishop of Truro is the ordinary (diocesan bishop) of the Church of England Diocese of Truro in the Province of Canterbury.
History
There had been between the 9th and 11th centuries a Bishopric of Cornwall until it was merged with Credi ...
, who afterwards became
Bishop of St Andrews, Dunkeld and Dunblane
The Bishop of St Andrews, Dunkeld and Dunblane is the Ordinary of the Scottish Episcopal Diocese of St Andrews, Dunkeld and Dunblane. The see is located at St Ninian's Cathedral in Perth, Scotland.'' Crockford's Clerical Directory'', 100th edit ...
. The community was formed for work in the Truro diocese and was based at the
Convent of the Epiphany,
Truro
Truro (; kw, Truru) is a cathedral city and civil parish in Cornwall, England. It is Cornwall's county town, sole city and centre for administration, leisure and retail trading. Its population was 18,766 in the 2011 census. People of Truro ...
, Cornwall. The sisters were involved in pastoral and educational work, the care of
Truro Cathedral and St Paul's Church, and church needlework. The head of the community was the Mother Superior. There was for some forty years an active branch house in
Tokyo
Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and List of cities in Japan, largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, ...
,
Japan, and there was a more long-term branch house at
Penzance. Branch houses were also opened in
Newquay
Newquay ( ; kw, Tewynblustri) is a town on the north coast in Cornwall, in the south west of England. It is a civil parish, seaside resort, regional centre for aerospace industries, spaceport and a fishing port on the North Atlantic coast of ...
, and
Truro
Truro (; kw, Truru) is a cathedral city and civil parish in Cornwall, England. It is Cornwall's county town, sole city and centre for administration, leisure and retail trading. Its population was 18,766 in the 2011 census. People of Truro ...
(separate from the mother house). The sisters ran a convalescent home in
St Agnes, and in Truro (in addition to the main convent and the Truro branch house) they ran a small school (Rosewin School) and a retreat house (St Michael's House). The main convent was originally located at Alverton House in Tregolls Road. The house, built in the early nineteenth century, was extended for the convent, and the chapel was built in 1910 by
Edmund H. Sedding. After a century at Tregolls Road it moved to Copeland Court in
Kenwyn
Kenwyn ( kw, Keynwynn) is a settlement and civil parish in Cornwall, England. The settlement is a suburb of the city of Truro and lies 0.5 mi (1 km) north of the city centre, within Truro parish, whereas Kenwyn parish covers an area w ...
. After a very full history, covering 125 years, the community was reduced to its last surviving member. In 2008 Sr Elizabeth CE attracted some attention in the local and national press, as the last surviving member of the order; she was then 92, and living in a nursing home, but still engaged in charitable work; she died in 2017, aged 101. In 1936 the sisters founded a parallel community for Japanese women, the
Community of Nazareth, which achieved full independence in the 1960s. This community continues its work in Tokyo and Okinawa.
Community of Jesus of Nazareth
An Anglican order of sisters whose convent was in the small village of Westcote in
Gloucestershire
Gloucestershire ( abbreviated Glos) is a county in South West England. The county comprises part of the Cotswold Hills, part of the flat fertile valley of the River Severn and the entire Forest of Dean.
The county town is the city of Gl ...
. It was founded by Mother Geraldine Mott at the suggestion of Brother Edward Bulstrode, formerly a novice with the
Cowley Fathers, to support the establishment of a training centre for village evangelism. (Br. Edward went on to establish the Disciples of Jesus of Nazareth - later known as the Village Evangelists.) It was the only Anglican Order in the British Isles to live on faith and trust alone. The Sisters brought nothing with them, no dowry, and were allowed no income. They relied on prayer, hard work and donations to sustain them and their missions. The Sisters’ chief work was to provide help for priests in their parishes. As the years went by, the community was asked to work in many parishes including
Pentonville
Pentonville is an area on the northern fringe of Central London, in the London Borough of Islington. It is located north-northeast of Charing Cross on the Inner Ring Road. Pentonville developed in the northwestern edge of the ancient parish ...
,
Poplar,
Peckham,
Acton and
Knightsbridge
Knightsbridge is a residential and retail district in central London, south of Hyde Park. It is identified in the London Plan as one of two international retail centres in London, alongside the West End.
Toponymy
Knightsbridge is an ancien ...
in London,
Burgess Hill in Sussex and
St. Aidan’s Birmingham, St. Peter’s
Plymouth,
Grimsby
Grimsby or Great Grimsby is a port town and the administrative centre of North East Lincolnshire, Lincolnshire, England. Grimsby adjoins the town of Cleethorpes directly to the south-east forming a conurbation. Grimsby is north-east of L ...
,
Hull and
Sunderland where
Archbishop Ramsey visited the Sisters from York. He subsequently wrote to the Convent, asking for more help in the province. Their work ranged far and wide from
Tewkesbury Abbey
The Abbey Church of St Mary the Virgin, Tewkesbury–commonly known as Tewkesbury Abbey–is located in the English county of Gloucestershire. A former Benedictine monastery, it is now a parish church. Considered one of the finest examples of No ...
to
St. Albans
St Albans () is a cathedral city in Hertfordshire, England, east of Hemel Hempstead and west of Hatfield, north-west of London, south-west of Welwyn Garden City and south-east of Luton. St Albans was the first major town on the old Roman r ...
and to
St Ninian's Cathedral, Perth. The Community was active from 1927 to 1969, at which point it merged with the Little Sisters of Charity.
Community of the Presentation (CP)
Founded in 1927 as a nursing order, originally named the Nursing Community of Christ the Consoler, the sisters lived in a convent and nursing home in
Highgate
Highgate ( ) is a suburban area of north London at the northeastern corner of Hampstead Heath, north-northwest of Charing Cross.
Highgate is one of the most expensive London suburbs in which to live. It has two active conservation organisat ...
in north London, and maintained a convalescent home in
Hythe
Hythe, from Anglo-Saxon ''hȳð'', may refer to a landing-place, port or haven, either as an element in a toponym, such as Rotherhithe in London, or to:
Places Australia
* Hythe, Tasmania
Canada
*Hythe, Alberta, a village in Canada
England
* T ...
,
Kent
Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...
, and after a short time renamed themselves the Community of the Presentation. In 1935 they took over St Saviour's House from the Community of the Epiphany. This House, opened in Regents Park in 1845, and relocated to Osnaburgh Street, London, in 1852, was also a nursing home, and the Presentation sisters closed their original Highgate home. In 1960 St Saviour's House was subject to a
compulsory purchase order
A compulsory purchase order (CPO; , ) is a legal function in the United Kingdom and Ireland that allows certain bodies to obtain land or property without the consent of the owner. It may be enforced if a proposed development is considered one for p ...
, and the sisters decided to relocate to the site of their existing convalescent home in Hythe, opening a new thirteen-bed hospital, St Saviour's Hospital. Running the hospital alone until 1975, from January 1976 the sisters began to employ nurses who were not members of the community. Their numbers declined, and a Board of Trustees took over the running of the hospital. Brigadier Ronnie Winfield, appointed Chairman of the Trustees in 1981, began an expansion programme up to a modern standard 36-bed hospital, and in 1989 this was sold to a private hospital company. The sisters' chapel had already been sold and converted into a private clinic. The remaining assets of the Community of the Presentation were invested to form the St Saviour's Medical Charity, for the benefit of the people of Hythe. The last remaining sisters continued to live in the convent beside the hospital during these last changes, until only one sister remained. Sr May CP moved in 1997 to live with the
Community of St Francis in Birmingham, and died on 9 January 1999, ending the life of the Community. From 1960 until the 1980s the sisters were the owners and guardians of
The Buxheim Carvings.
Community of St Michael and All Angels (CSM&AA)
Bishop
Edward Twells
Edward Twells (1823 – 4 May 1898) was the first Bishop of Bloemfontein in South Africa from 1863 to 1869. He was the younger brother of Henry Twells. He died at the age of 70 at his house, Pembrokegate, at Clifton, Bristol.
Twells was consec ...
(
Bishop of Bloemfontein
The Diocese of the Free State is a diocese in the Anglican Church of Southern Africa.
History
The first service North of the Orange River to be taken by an Anglican clergyman was conducted in 1850 by † Robert Gray, the first Bishop of Cape Town ...
) wrote in 1868 highlighting the need for a Sisterhood to set up schools for girls in
Bloemfontein
Bloemfontein, ( ; , "fountain of flowers") also known as Bloem, is one of South Africa's three capital cities and the capital of the Free State province. It serves as the country's judicial capital, along with legislative capital Cape To ...
. The Community was founded by Twells' successor, Bishop
Allan Webb in 1874. A party of seven led by Mother Emma (Mother Superior) traveled from England to
Bloemfontein
Bloemfontein, ( ; , "fountain of flowers") also known as Bloem, is one of South Africa's three capital cities and the capital of the Free State province. It serves as the country's judicial capital, along with legislative capital Cape To ...
in 1874, and immediately opened a boarding school,
St Michael's, and a day school. St Michael's School exists to this day as one of the leading schools in South Africa. In 1877 the Community also established the St George's
Cottage Hospital A cottage hospital is a semi-obsolete type of small hospital, most commonly found in the United Kingdom.
The original concept was a small rural building having several beds.The Cottage Hospitals 1859–1990, Dr. Meyrick Emrys-Roberts, Tern Publicati ...
in Bloemfontein, the first hospital in the
Orange Free State
The Orange Free State ( nl, Oranje Vrijstaat; af, Oranje-Vrystaat;) was an independent Boer sovereign republic under British suzerainty in Southern Africa during the second half of the 19th century, which ceased to exist after it was defeat ...
. The Community also pioneered nursing ministry in
Kimberley, from 1876, where Sister
Henrietta Stockdale
Sister Henrietta, CSM and AA (9 July 1847 – 6 October 1911) was a British nursing pioneer and Anglican religious sister. Through her influence and pressure the first state registration of nurses and midwives in the world was brought about w ...
organised the training of nurses at the Carnarvon Hospital. She was later influential in securing the first state registration of nurses in the world, in 1891. Sister Joan Marsh, the last member of the Community, died aged 97 in Bloemfontein in May 2016.
Community of the Servants of the Cross
This community was founded in 1877 to nurse and care for the aged and infirm, and to live a life of prayer and hospitality.
It was unusual in aiming to recruit nuns from
working-class backgrounds, rather than the
upper middle class
In sociology, the upper middle class is the social group constituted by higher status members of the middle class. This is in contrast to the term ''lower middle class'', which is used for the group at the opposite end of the middle-class strat ...
from which many orders drew their sisters.
The community moved to
Sussex in 1895 where it remained for over 100 years. Their
Chichester
Chichester () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and civil parish in West Sussex, England.OS Explorer map 120: Chichester, South Harting and Selsey Scale: 1:25 000. Publisher:Ordnance Survey – Southampton B2 edition. Publi ...
convent closed in 1996, and the Sisters moved to a nursing home on the site of the former
Chichester Theological College
Chichester Theological College (1838–1994) was an Anglican theological college for the Diocese of Chichester in Sussex, England. Its churchmanship was high church and Anglo-Catholic.
History
Chichester Theological College college was foun ...
, and the last sister died in 2003.
Community of Reparation to Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament (CRJBS)
A community of nuns in the Church of England, founded in 1869, whose work came to an end in the early 1990s. The last remaining member, Sr Esther Mary CRJBS, lived for several years (and into the 21st century) with the sisters of 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 ...
(CSJB), and then for the final months of her life moved to St Peter's Convent, Woking. The order was founded following a meeting at
All Saints, Margaret Street
All Saints, Margaret Street, is a Grade I listed Anglo-Catholic church in London. The church was designed by the architect William Butterfield and built between 1850 and 1859. It has been hailed as Butterfield's masterpiece and a pioneering buil ...
, by members of the
Confraternity of the Blessed Sacrament
The Confraternity of the Blessed Sacrament (CBS), officially the Confraternity of the Blessed Sacrament of the Body and Blood of Christ, is a devotional society in the Anglican Communion dedicated to venerating the Real Presence of Christ in the Eu ...
(including the President,
Canon Carter of Clewer, and his friend Father Goulden), to make reparation for any dishonour perceived to have been done to Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament. From 1869 to 1872 the first sisters served as
novice
A novice is a person who has entered a religious order and is under probation, before taking vows. A ''novice'' can also refer to a person (or animal e.g. racehorse) who is entering a profession with no prior experience.
Religion Buddhism
...
s at CSJB, but from 1872 they worked together from a mission house in
Southwark, south London. In 1911 they were able to construct their own convent, the Convent of Reparation, Rushworth Street, Southwark. In 1948 they opened a second convent, the Convent of Reparation, White Rose Lane,
Woking (Surrey).
Congregation of the Servants of Christ (CSC)
From 1906 the community were based in
Pleshey
Pleshey is a historic village and civil parish in the Chelmsford district, in the county of Essex, England, north-west of Chelmsford. The Normans built a motte and bailey in the late 11th century; the motte is one of the largest of its kind in ...
, in what is now the
Chelmsford Diocesan House of Retreat, before moving to Potters Bar in 1914 after the
Evangelical
Evangelicalism (), also called evangelical Christianity or evangelical Protestantism, is a worldwide Interdenominationalism, interdenominational movement within Protestantism, Protestant Christianity that affirms the centrality of being "bor ...
first
Bishop of Chelmsford
The Bishop of Chelmsford is the Ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of Chelmsford in the Province of Canterbury.'' Crockford's Clerical Directory 2008/2009 (100th edition)'', Church House Publishing ().
The current bishop is Guli Francis ...
Bishop
John Watts-Ditchfield would not allow them to reserve the Blessed Sacrament. From 1920 the Congregation of the Servants of Christ lived at Britwell Court near
Burnham, Buckinghamshire, renaming it The House of Prayer. The Sisters joined with the
Community of St Mary at the Cross at Edgware in October 1989.
Poor Clares of Reparation and Adoration (PCRep)
The 'Poor Clares' are the second order of the Franciscan religious movement, more formally known as the Order of St Clare. The Poor Clares of Reparation and Adoration were founded in 1922 and based at St Clare's Convent on Mount Sinai,
Long Island
Long Island is a densely populated island in the southeastern region of the U.S. state of New York (state), New York, part of the New York metropolitan area. With over 8 million people, Long Island is the most populous island in the United Sta ...
,
New York
New York most commonly refers to:
* New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York
* New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States
New York may also refer to:
Film and television
* '' ...
. Members of the Order of St Clare live an enclosed life, and the Poor Clares of Reparation and Adoration also maintained a perpetual watch before the Blessed Sacrament. The last remaining sister died in 2003, leaving the
Community of St. Clare The Community of St. Clare (OSC) is a Franciscan Anglican religious order of nuns, and part of the wider Franciscan movement within the Anglican Communion. The community, founded in 1950 and based at Freeland near Witney, Oxfordshire, England, is ...
in England as the only remaining Poor Clare community in the Anglican Communion. However, the
Little Sisters of St. Clare in the United States do have some members living the Poor Clare life and Rule, within the somewhat flexible bounds of that community's style.
Sisterhood of the Epiphany (SE)
The Sisterhood of the Epiphany (SE), more formally entitled the Oxford Mission Sisterhood of the Epiphany, was a companion body for women, working alongside the Brotherhood of the Epiphany (see above) in India and Bangladesh. The Sisterhood was founded in 1902 under the leadership of
Edith Langridge
Edith Langridge (21 March 1864 – 6 May 1959), commonly known as Mother Edith (her name in religion), was a British settlement worker and missionary based at Barishal in British India (now Bangladesh), where she was a founder member and first ...
, and followed a slightly adapted version of the Benedictine Rule. The mother house was located at
Barisal
Barisal ( or ; bn, বরিশাল, ), officially known as Barishal, is a major city that lies on the banks of the Kirtankhola river in south-central Bangladesh. It is the largest city and the administrative headquarter of both Barisal Di ...
(then British India, but now Bangladesh), and there were several branch houses, the largest at Calcutta. The work of the sisters was very broad in scope, including evangelism, medical work, educational activity amongst women, and (in Calcutta) the provision of both a primary school and an orphanage. In 1970 a parallel community was founded for sisters of Bangladeshi nationality, named the
Christa Sevika Sangha
The Christa Sevika Sangha (Handmaids of Christ), CSS, is an Anglican religious order for women based in Jobarpar, Barisal, Bangladesh. It is a part of the Anglican Church of Bangladesh.
History
In 1970 the Sisterhood of the Epiphany, a group o ...
(Handmaids of Christ), and in 1986 this order became fully independent. The foundress, Sr Susila SE, left the Sisterhood of the Epiphany to become the first Mother Superior CSS, an office she still held until her death on 16 May 2011. At the same time another sister (Sr Leonore SE) transferred to the
Community of St. Francis in order to follow the Franciscan Rule. By the early 1990s only three SE sisters remained, and they left Bangladesh (where the work in continued by CSS) and returned to England, taking up residence at Ditchingham with the
Community of All Hallows
The Community of All Hallows is an Anglican religious order based in Ditchingham, near Bungay, Suffolk, under the jurisdiction of the Church of England. The religious sisters lead a life of prayer and service providing hospitality and spiritual ...
. The last three sisters died there – Mother Joan in 1999, Sr Rosamund in 2003, and Mother Winifred on 26 May 2010, when the Sisterhood ended.
Society of the Most Holy Trinity (SHT)
The Society of the Most Holy Trinity, also known more simply as the Society of the Holy Trinity, was established by
Lydia Sellon
Lydia Sellon or Priscilla Lydia Sellon (1821 – 20 November 1876) was a British founder of an Anglican women's order. The Church of England established November 20 as a holy day to commemorate her work.
Life
Priscilla Lydia Smith was brought ...
in 1849, the second Anglican religious order established for women, to minister to the poor in the seafaring community of
Devonport, hence their popular name, the Devonport Sisters. The Society expanded rapidly, and in the 1850s absorbed several smaller London communities, including the first-established, the Sisterhood of the Holy Cross (or 'Park Village Community'). The order grew large and very active, from its work with
Florence Nightingale
Florence Nightingale (; 12 May 1820 – 13 August 1910) was an English Reform movement, social reformer, statistician and the founder of modern nursing. Nightingale came to prominence while serving as a manager and trainer of nurses during t ...
in the Crimea, to the establishing of a convalescent hospital and a grammar school (St Christopher's). The rule of the order was based on that of
St Francis de Sales
Francis de Sales (french: François de Sales; it, Francesco di Sales; 21 August 156728 December 1622) was a Bishop of Geneva and is revered as a saint in the Catholic Church. He became noted for his deep faith and his gentle approach to ...
. From 1860, the community was resident at
Ascot Priory
Ascot Priory is a former priory in Berkshire, England, established in 1861. It was the mother house of the Society of the Most Holy Trinity, a community of nuns within the Anglican Communion. It now serves as a church and spirituality centre.
A ...
in Berkshire, which remained its headquarters until the closure of the community in 2004. At the start of the 2000s the community had grown very small, and some sisters were placed with other (larger) orders, such as Sr Rosemary SHT who lived her final years with the
Community of the Holy Name
The Community of the Holy Name (CHN) is an international Anglican religious order for women. The full name of the community is The Community of the Mission Sisters of the Holy Name of Jesus, usually shortened to Community of the Holy Name. The o ...
. The last sister was Reverend Mother Cecilia SHT, who joined the community in 1935, having been born in 1914, and offered herself as a postulant at the age of 18. She died on 12 February 2004, aged 89, and thus ended the life of the Society. Before her death, Mother Cecilia established a trust to ensure that the buildings at Ascot Priory continued to be used for the good of the Church of England and of society in general, principally in the care of the elderly, but also through the provision of facilities for retreats and conferences.
Order of St Elizabeth of Hungary
The Order of St Elizabeth of Hungary was a
Franciscan
The Franciscans are a group of related Mendicant orders, mendicant Christianity, Christian Catholic religious order, religious orders within the Catholic Church. Founded in 1209 by Italian Catholic friar Francis of Assisi, these orders include t ...
Order, founded in
London
London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
in 1916; it took its name from the 13th-century saint and princess
Elizabeth of Hungary
Elizabeth of Hungary (german: Heilige Elisabeth von Thüringen, hu, Árpád-házi Szent Erzsébet, sk, Svätá Alžbeta Uhorská; 7 July 1207 – 17 November 1231), also known as Saint Elizabeth of Thuringia, or Saint Elisabeth of Thuringia, ...
(Elizabeth of Thuringia), who was influenced by the early Franciscans and lived a religious life in
Marburg
Marburg ( or ) is a university town in the German federal state (''Bundesland'') of Hesse, capital of the Marburg-Biedenkopf district (''Landkreis''). The town area spreads along the valley of the river Lahn and has a population of approximate ...
. The Order was founded as an offshoot of the
Confraternity of Divine Love, and Reverend Mother Elizabeth (Elizabeth Ann Hodges, 1869-1960) was the founder both of the Confraternity and of the Order in its final form. It retained three male priests to function as the Visitor, the Warden, and the Chaplain. In 1923 the Visitor was the
Bishop of London
A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution.
In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...
, and the Warden was the Revd and Hon E. Lyttleton DD.
The English Order of St Elizabeth of Hungary was devoted mainly to mission work among the poor of
Southwest London, and was based at the Convent of St Elizabeth, 94 Redcliffe Gardens,
London
London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
SW10, and had
retreat houses at
Oakhurst (Kent), and St Mary's Retreat,
Heathfield (Sussex). It also had a children's home and guest house at 10
Earl's Court Square
Earl's Court Square is a garden square in Earl's Court, London, England. It was developed from 1872 or 1873 on agricultural land belonging to the Edwardes family. It is primarily made up of stuccoed terraced houses with Italianate dressings but ...
, London, and a home for retired ladies at
Mayfield (Sussex). St Margaret's Guest House was also operated at Heathfield, near St Mary's Retreat. The Order also operated extensively in
Western Australia
Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding external territories. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to th ...
, with convents at
Bunbury,
Busselton
Busselton is a city in the South West region of the state of Western Australia approximately south-west of Perth. Busselton has a long history as a popular holiday destination for Western Australians; however, the closure of the Busselton ...
, and
Margaret River
The Margaret River is a river in southwest Western Australia. In a small catchment, it is the eponym of the town and tourist region of Margaret River.
The river arises from a catchment of just 40 square kilometres in the Whicher Range.
The ...
. The sisters undertook missions to women and girls, and were responsible for Church Girl's Institutes as well as Children's Homes. The sisters observed a
fruitarian
Fruitarianism () is a diet related to veganism that consists primarily of consuming fruits and possibly nuts and seeds, but without any animal products. Fruitarian diets are subject to criticism and health concerns.
Fruitarianism may be adopted ...
diet, and were committed to absolute
poverty
Poverty is the state of having few material possessions or little income. Poverty can have diverse social, economic, and political causes and effects. When evaluating poverty in ...
, owning no property or invested funds.
A short history of the Order and its work among the poor was published in 1967 entitled ''Into the Deep'' and subtitled "The story of the Confraternity of the Divine Love and the Order of St Elizabeth of Hungary by Mother Elizabeth of the Order of St Elizabeth of Hungary”. ''Little Grey Sparrows of the Anglican Diocese of Bunbury, Western Australia'' by Merle Bignall (1992) deals with the history of the Order with particular reference to its work in Australia, which began in the 1920s. The Sisters of the Order referred to themselves as Sparrows and wore grey habits.
The Order continued to appear in the Post Office Directory at 94 Redcliffe Gardens until 1971. By 2000, it was under the care of the Anglican
Community of St Peter Former religious orders in the churches of the Anglican Communion are those communities of monks, nuns, friars, or sisters, having a common life and rule under vows, whose work has ended and whose community has been disbanded. In a very few cases th ...
(founded 1861), which is based at St Peter’s Convent, Maybury Hill,
Woking,
Surrey
Surrey () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South East England, bordering Greater London to the south west. Surrey has a large rural area, and several significant urban areas which form part of the Greater London Built-up Area. ...
. The archives of the Order of St Elizabeth of Hungary for the period 1904–1990 are held at
Lambeth Palace Library
Lambeth Palace is the official London residence of the Archbishop of Canterbury. It is situated in north Lambeth, London, on the south bank of the River Thames, south-east of the Palace of Westminster, which houses Parliament, on the opposite ...
in London under referenc
3862-93
Community of St Wilfrid
The Community of St Wilfrid was founded in
Exeter
Exeter () is a city in Devon, South West England. It is situated on the River Exe, approximately northeast of Plymouth and southwest of Bristol.
In Roman Britain, Exeter was established as the base of Legio II Augusta under the personal comm ...
in 1866 by the Reverend John Gilberd Pearse, Rector of All Hallows-on-the-Wall Church in that city. From a convent in Bartholomew Street the sisters had a ministry to the poor and underprivileged, for whom they had been founded. The sisters lived in the convent for a hundred years from 1866 to 1966. In 1870, under the provisions of the
Elementary Education Act 1870
The Elementary Education Act 1870, commonly known as Forster's Education Act, set the framework for schooling of all children between the ages of 5 and 12 in England and Wales. It established local education authorities with defined powers, autho ...
, the sisters opened the Forty School to provide a basic education to 40 poor children in the city. The school grew in size and importance, and became the community's main work, eventually under the name St Wilfrid's School. The sisters also ran an orphanage, a soup kitchen, and outreach ministries amongst the poor and the destitute.
The sisters and the school had their own chapels, but on the Feast of
St Wilfrid
Wilfrid ( – 709 or 710) was an English bishop and saint. Born a Northumbrian noble, he entered religious life as a teenager and studied at Lindisfarne, at Canterbury, in Francia, and at Rome; he returned to Northumbria in about 660, and ...
each year the sisters and the children of the school all paraded through the streets to
Exeter Cathedral
Exeter Cathedral, properly known as the Cathedral Church of Saint Peter in Exeter, is an Anglican cathedral, and the seat of the Bishop of Exeter, in the city of Exeter, Devon, in South West England. The present building was complete by about 140 ...
for their patronal festival celebrations. The community gave up running the school in 1988 as the remaining teaching sisters were elderly, but the school was handed over to independent operation, and remains open, continuing the charism and history of the community. The noviciate of the community was closed, and following the death of the final sisters (Sister Elsie in 1997, and Mother Lillian in 2004, aged 107) the community closed.
Community of St Peter (CSP)
The Community (or Sisterhood) of St Peter was founded on 25 June 1861 by
Benjamin Lancaster
Benjamin Lancaster (1 December 1801 – 16 March 1887) was a 19th-century businessman and philanthropist. He was born in 1801, married Rosamira Bellairs on 5 June 1851 at Bedworth, Warwickshire, and died in Bournemouth in 1887 leaving an estate ...
and his wife Rosamira. He was a governor of
St George's Hospital
St George's Hospital is a large teaching hospital in Tooting, London. Founded in 1733, it is one of the UK's largest teaching hospitals and one of the largest hospitals in Europe. It is run by the St George's University Hospitals NHS Foundatio ...
, Hyde Park, and saw a need to provide for convalescent patients leaving hospital. The community was originally called "The Nursing Sisters of the Church of England", but in 1864, to avoid confusion with other orders, it was renamed "The Home and Sisterhood of St Peter". The sisters lived a life of regular prayer while caring for their convalescent patients. The first Superior was Susan Oldfield. Originally housed in Nos. 27 and 48
Brompton Square, London, the community moved their mother house to
Kilburn in 1869. In 1882 they were given land at Maybury Hill near
Woking, Surrey, where in 1885 they opened a Memorial Home in memory of Rosamira Lancaster (died 1874). This continued to expand, with a chapel being added in 1900, and the home became the mother house of the sisterhood in 1944 when the Kilburn convent was destroyed by bombing. The sisters also had a subsidiary site in Somerset for tuberculosis patients, and provided nursing care for cholera victims in London and a holiday home for poor children at
St Leonards-on-Sea
St Leonards-on-Sea (commonly known as St Leonards) is a town and seaside resort in the Borough of Hastings in East Sussex, England. It has been part of the borough since the late 19th century and lies to the west of central Hastings. The origina ...
. Beginning in 1892 at the request of
Bishop Corfe, 17 or 18 sisters were sent as missionaries to
Korea
Korea ( ko, 한국, or , ) is a peninsular region in East Asia. Since 1945, it has been divided at or near the 38th parallel, with North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) comprising its northern half and South Korea (Republic o ...
, and in 1925
Sister Mary Clare
Mother Mary Clare (born: Clare Emma Whitty, 30 May 1883 – 6 November 1950) was an Irish Anglican nun, missionary and botanist who died during a nine-day death march led by retreating North Korean soldiers during the Korean War.
She arrived ...
of the Woking community became the first superior of a new
Society of the Holy Cross (Korea)
The Society of the Holy Cross (SHC) is an order of women religious (or nuns) in the Anglican Church of Korea. It is not to be confused with the Society of the Holy Cross, SSC (Societas Sanctae Crucis), which is an international order of Anglo-Cath ...
.
As the need for convalescence lessened, St Peter's Home at Maybury Hill became a nursing home for the elderly, and at various times also included a guest house and a home for adults with learning difficulties. From the late 1960s there was also a separate retreat centre. By the late 1980s the number of sisters had declined and the original convent was sold. A new nursing home opened in 1988 and operated until 2002; a new convent was built in 1990 and closed in 2007, the community being dispersed and the building redeveloped as apartments. By 2020 there were only two surviving sisters (Mother Angela and Sister Margaret Paul), and the community was formally dissolved.
The retreat centre on the site at St Columba's Hous
remains in independent operation. The chapel of the former convent is now owned by the
Society of St Pius X
The Society of Saint Pius X (SSPX) ( la, Fraternitas Sacerdotalis Sancti Pii X; FSSPX) is an international fraternity of traditionalist Catholic priests founded in 1970 by Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre, a leading traditionalist voice at the Seco ...
.
See also
*
Anglican religious orders
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 ...
*
Augustinian nuns in the Anglican Communion
Augustinian nuns are named after Saint Augustine of Hippo (died AD 430) and exist in the Roman Catholic and Anglican churches. In the Roman Catholic Church there are both enclosed monastic orders of women living according to a guide to religious ...
*
Franciscan orders in the Anglican Communion
Franciscan spirituality in Protestantism refers to spirituality in Protestantism inspired by the Catholic friar Saint Francis of Assisi. Emerging since the 19th century, there are several Protestant adherent and groups, sometimes organised as ...
*
Order of St. Benedict (Anglican)
There are a number of Benedictine Anglican religious orders, some of them using the name Order of St. Benedict (OSB). Just like their Roman Catholic counterparts, each abbey/priory/convent is independent of each other. The vows are not made to ...
References
{{Anglican orders
Anglicanism
Anglican orders and communities