Order of St Benedict (Anglican)

See also Order of Saint Benedict (Orthodox) for information on the Eastern Orthodox order of this name. The Roman Catholic equivalent may be found at the Order of Saint Benedict and the Benedictine Confederation.

St Benedict of Nursia (c. 480-543), detail from a fresco by Fra Angelico, San Marco, Florence (c. 1400-1455).

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 an order, but to a local incarnation of the order, hence each individual order is free to develop its own character and charism, yet each under a common rule of life after the precepts of St. Benedict. Most of the communities include a confraternity of oblates. The order consists of a number of independent communities:

OSB Anglican Benedictine communities

Australia

• St Mark's Abbey, Camperdown, Victoria. Men and women. Founded in 1975, women since 1993. www.benedictineabbey.com.au
• Benedictine Community of Christ the King, Taminick, Victoria. Women. Founded in 1993. A traditional Anglican Benedictine order, enclosed and contemplative. Its members endeavor to glorify God in a life of prayer under the threefold vow of stability, conversion of life, and obedience. They follow a rhythm of life centered on the worship of God in the Daily Eucharist and sevenfold Office.

England

• Alton Abbey, Alton, Hampshire. Men. Founded in 1884 as the Order of St Paul. www.altonabbey.org.uk
• Edgware Abbey (The Community of St. Mary at the Cross), Edgware, Greater London. Women. Founded 1866; dedicated to stand with Mary, the mother of Jesus, at the cross, thus sharing in her commitment to embrace all people in Christ's love. Black tunic and scapular with modernised headdress, black veil, and leather belt. Over the years the community's work has evolved to meet the present needs of elderly frail people for nursing or residential care. This care provision continues in Henry Nihill House at Edgware Abbey, where Residents enjoy close links with the community, its worship and its life. www.edgwareabbey.org.uk
• Salisbury Priory, Salisbury, Wiltshire. Men. Founded at Pershore 1914; resited at Nashdom Abbey, Buckinghamshire, 1926; resited at Elmore Abbey, Berkshire, 1987. In 2011 they relocated again to Salisbury.
• Malling Abbey, West Malling, Kent. Women. Original foundation c. 1090. Re-founded in London 1891; resited to Somerset 1906; resited to West Malling 1916. www.mallingabbey.org
• Mucknell Abbey, Stoulton, Worcestershire. A mixed-sex abbey with an ecumenical focus founded in 1941, and previously located at Burford Priory. www.mucknellabbey.org.uk

Republic of Korea

• Busan, Korea. A convent of the Anglican Church of Korea founded in 1993.

United States

• St. Gregory's Abbey, Three Rivers, Michigan. Men. Founded at Valparaiso, Indiana, 1939, as a dependency of Nashdom Abbey (England); resited to Three Rivers 1949; independent abbey 1969. www.saintgregorysthreerivers.org
• Companions of St. Luke (OSB). A non-cloistered community of both men and women; a non-traditional Christian Community of the Episcopal Church. www.csl-osb.org
• The Community of St. John Cassian, Order of St. Benedict. Men and women. Traditional religious order. Located in the San Francisco Bay Area. www.csjc-osb.org
• Community of Divine Love. Men and women. Traditional religious order. Located in Los Angeles County. www.communityofdivinelove.com

Other Anglican Benedictine communities

The following abbeys and communities follow the Benedictine Rule, but do not style themselves "OSB".

Canada

• Order of the Holy Cross (OHC), Toronto. Men. Order founded 1884; adopted Rule of Benedict 1987; priory established 1973. www.ohcpriory.com

Cameroon

• Benedictine Sisters of Bethany (EBSB), Bamenda, Cameroon. Women.

England

• Community of the Holy Cross (CHC), Costock, Loughborough. Women. Founded 1857 by Elizabeth Neale, sister of John Mason Neale, the hymnographer. www.holycrosschc.org.uk
• Community of St. Peter, Horbury (CSPH), Wakefield. Women. Following a revised Benedictine Rule since 1858.

Ghana

• Order of the Holy Paraclete (OHP), Ahinsan. Women. Founded 1915.Overseas, the Order's long-standing commitment to Africa has been extended in exciting new developments: raising awareness of Aids and providing a home for abused girls in Swaziland, and fostering vocations to Religious life in Ghana and South Africa. In response to perceived local interest and support, two new convents have been built, one in Jachie, Ashanti, where there is also an Eye Clinic run by a Ghanaian member, the other in Johannesburg alongside St Benedict's House, the retreat and conference centre run by the Sisters. www.ohpwhitby.org

South Africa

• Order of the Holy Cross (OHC), Grahamstown. Men. www.umaria.co.za

United States

• Brothers of St John the Evangelist, Freeland, WA. www.brothersofsaintjohn.org
• House of Initia Nova, Houston, Texas. www.houseofinitianova.org
• Order of the Holy Cross (OHC), Santa Barbara, California. www.mount-calvary.org
• Order of the Holy Cross (OHC), West Park, New York. www.holycrossmonastery.com

See also

• Aelred Carlyle
• Anglican religious order
• Gregory Dix
• Joseph Leycester Lyne

References

• Anglican Religious Life: 2008-9. Norwich: Canterbury Press, 2007.

External links

• Anglican Benedictines
• Alton Abbey
• OSB Burford
• Company of Jesus
• Abbey of Saint Benedict, Companions of Saint Luke
• St. Gregory's Abbey, Three Rivers, Michigan, USA
• St. Joseph's Monastery, Natchez, Mississippi, USA
• Order of the Holy Cross, West Park, New York, USA
• Order of the Holy Cross, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
• Order of the Holy Cross, Grahamstown, South Africa
• Order of the Holy Cross, Santa Barbara, California, USA