The Society of St John the Evangelist (SSJE) 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 t ...

for men. The members live under a rule of life and, at profession, make

monastic vows Monasticism (from Ancient Greek , , from , , 'alone'), also referred to as monachism, or monkhood, is a religious way of life in which one renounces worldly pursuits to devote oneself fully to spiritual work. Monastic life plays an important rol ...

of poverty, celibacy and obedience. SSJE was founded in 1866 at

Cowley, Oxford Cowley () is a residential and industrial area in Oxford, England. Cowley's neighbours are Rose Hill and Blackbird Leys to the south, Headington to the north and the villages of Horspath and Garsington across fields to the east. Internationa ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...

, by Richard Meux Benson,

Charles Chapman Grafton Charles Chapman Grafton (April 12, 1830 – August 30, 1912) was the second Episcopal Bishop of Fond du Lac, Wisconsin. Early life and education Born on April 12, 1830, in Boston, Massachusetts, he became an ardent supporter of the Oxford Mov ...

, and Simeon Wilberforce O'Neill. Known colloquially as the Cowley Fathers, the society was the first stable religious community of men to be established in 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 oth ...

since the English Reformation. For many years the society had houses in

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to th ...

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 ...

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring count ...

, Japan, and

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tota ...

British congregation

The society in England operated from Marston Street, Oxford from 1868 to 1980. The mother house of the Society occupied a large area of land bordered by Cowley Road on one side, and Iffley Road on the other. The site incorporated three chapels, a mission church, a song school, a community school, accommodation for the Brothers, and guest quarters. When the Society withdrew from Marston Street in 1980, the buildings were transferred to St Stephen's House theological college. A small SSJE monastery was opened further along the Iffley Road, where it operated for several years. In 1905 the Society opened St Edward's House in

Westminster Westminster is an area of Central London, part of the wider City of Westminster. The area, which extends from the River Thames to Oxford Street, has many visitor attractions and historic landmarks, including the Palace of Westminster, Buck ...

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, 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 dow ...

, where it provided retreats and other ministries until 2012. Oxford University professor

C. S. Lewis Clive Staples Lewis (29 November 1898 – 22 November 1963) was a British writer and Anglican lay theologian. He held academic positions in English literature at both Oxford University (Magdalen College, 1925–1954) and Cambridge Univer ...

visited Father Walter Adams, making confession to Father Adams as a spiritual discipline from 1940 until Father Adams died on March 3, 1952. Lewis gave much credit to Father Adams for his ministry. St. Edward's House closed in 2012 and the property was sold. Following the closure of St Edward's House in 2012, the Society no longer maintains a monastery in the British Isles. The British congregation has three professed Brothers, all of whom currently live as solitaries.

Fellowship of St John Trust

The society administers The Fellowship of St John (UK) Trust Association, a registered charity, which gives grants to UK and foreign agencies for education and missionary work.

North American congregation

In 1870 the society came to

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the capital city, state capital and List of municipalities in Massachusetts, most populous city of the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financ ...

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett language, Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut assachusett writing systems, məhswatʃəwiːsət'' English: , ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is the most populous U.S. state, state in the New England ...

, where it became part of the

Protestant Episcopal Church in the United States of America The Episcopal Church, based in the United States with additional dioceses elsewhere, is a member church of the worldwide Anglican Communion. It is a mainline Protestant denomination and is divided into nine provinces. The presiding bishop of ...

. The members of the North American congregation live in a

monastery A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in communities or alone ( hermits). A monastery generally includes a place reserved for prayer whic ...

Ralph Adams Cram Ralph Adams Cram (December 16, 1863 – September 22, 1942) was a prolific and influential American architect of collegiate and Church (building), ecclesiastical buildings, often in the Gothic Revival architecture, Gothic Revival style. Cram and ...

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cambridge beca ...

, near

Harvard Square Harvard Square is a triangular plaza at the intersection of Massachusetts Avenue, Brattle Street and John F. Kennedy Street near the center of Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. The term "Harvard Square" is also used to delineate the busin ...

. The guest house was built in memory of

Isabella Stewart Gardner Isabella Stewart Gardner (April 14, 1840 – July 17, 1924) was a leading American art collector, philanthropist, and patron of the arts. She founded the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston. Gardner possessed an energetic intellectual cur ...

. The society has a rural retreat centre, Emery House, in

West Newbury West Newbury is a town in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States. Situated on the Merrimack River, its population was 4,500 at the 2020 census. History Originally inhabited by Agawam or Naumkeag peoples, West Newbury was settled by Eng ...

, where guests can stay in small hermitages in the meadow. The community's chief ministries are preaching,

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 d ...

, and hospitality. For some years they have been affiliated with

St. George's College, Jerusalem St George's College Jerusalem (SGCJ) is a continuing education center of the Anglican Communion. It is an agency of the Episcopal Diocese of Jerusalem, with a mission to the local church within the Diocese, to the wider Anglican Church in the Midd ...

, serving as chaplains on a number of pilgrimages to the

Holy Land The Holy Land; Arabic: or is an area roughly located between the Mediterranean Sea and the Eastern Bank of the Jordan River, traditionally synonymous both with the biblical Land of Israel and with the region of Palestine. The term "Ho ...

each year. They have also conducted mission trips to Africa. Individual brothers work in various local and regional ministries with students, prisoners, soldiers, the homeless, and persons affected by

HIV The human immunodeficiency viruses (HIV) are two species of '' Lentivirus'' (a subgroup of retrovirus) that infect humans. Over time, they cause acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), a condition in which progressive failure of the immu ...

and AIDS. One of the brothers,

M. Thomas Shaw Marvil Thomas Shaw III (August 28, 1945October 17, 2014) was an Episcopal bishop based in New England and a member of the Society of St. John the Evangelist. In 1995, he was called as the fifteenth Bishop of Massachusetts. Early life Marvil Tho ...

, SSJE, served as the 15th Bishop of the

Episcopal Diocese of Massachusetts The Episcopal Diocese of Massachusetts is one of the nine original dioceses of the Episcopal Church in the United States of America. History Massachusetts was founded by Puritans who did not accept such aspects of the Church of England as bisho ...

. The current superior, Br. James Koester SSJE, was born in Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada. He received his M.Div. from Trinity College, Toronto. He was ordained in Anglican Church of Canada in Diocese of British Columbia in 1985. He served in parish ministry for five years before coming to SSJE and was professed as a Brother in 1992. Br. James served in a variety of roles including Deputy Superior and Brother in Charge of Emery House. During his time there Grafton House was opened for monastic interns, men and women. Cowley Publications was run by the society until 2007, when it was sold to Rowman & Littlefield.

Fellowship of St John (USA)

The Fellowship of St John in the United States is a group of men and women who wish to live in a closer relation with the brothers of the Society of St John the Evangelist. They write and follow a rule of life similar to ''The Rule'' under which the brothers live. Members of the fellowship support the society through their friendship and prayers, even as they look to SSJE for support and inspiration. There are about 1,000 men and women in the fellowship. On July 3, 2014, it was announced that one of the members of the fellowship, Roy Cockrum, a former brother, had won $259 million in the Tennessee State Lottery. It was his intention to use it to fund an endowment for the performing arts, where he worked for 20 years, before being initiated to the Society of St John. Oxford SSMary&John SSJE cross

People associated with the society

* Richard Meux Benson, founder *

Spence Burton Spence Burton (4 October 1881 - 15 February 1966) was an Anglican bishop in the mid 20th century and the first American to be consecrated a bishop in the Church of England. Biography Born on 4 October 1881 in Cincinnati, Ohio, the son of Casp ...

, Lord Bishop of Nassau and The Bahamas 1942–61 *

Earle H. Maddux Earle Hewitt Maddux SSJE (June 18, 1906 – December 1974) was a notable American Anglo-Catholic liturgist in the Episcopal Church during the twentieth century. He was professed in the Society of St. John the Evangelist in 1936. He is known best f ...

Edward William Osborne Edward William Osborne (January 5, 1845 - July 5, 1926) was the second bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Springfield. Biography Edward William Osborne was born in Calcutta, India, on January 5, 1845, son of Francis Osborne and Louisa White. He ...

, Bishop of Springfield *

Kenneth Abbott Viall Kenneth Abbott Viall (December 19, 1893 – January 3, 1974) was born in Lynn, Massachusetts as the only son of Frederick Clarence Viall and Edith Laura (Robbins) Viall. He received his A.B. from Harvard College in 1915, and B.D. from the General ...

, Suffragan Bishop of Tokyo * Tom Shaw, former Bishop of Massachusetts *

Philip Waggett Philip Napier Waggett (27 February 1862 – 4 July 1939) was a British Anglican priest, scholar, and military chaplain. Early life and education Waggett was born on 27 February 1862 in Kensington, London, England. He was one of four sons of Jo ...

Oliver Sherman Prescott Oliver Sherman Prescott (March 24, 1824 - November 17, 1903) was a prominent American Anglo-Catholic priest and activist who was active in the foundation of the Society of St. John the Evangelist. He was born in New Haven, Connecticut, and baptized ...

References

External links

*
The Fellowship of St John Trust Association
official website * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Society Of St. John The Evangelist 1866 establishments in England Anglican monasteries in the United States Anglican orders and communities Anglican organizations established in the 19th century Christian religious orders established in the 19th century Religious organizations established in 1866