Anglican religious order

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Background
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Nuns from Melanesia at Lambeth Palace, the official residence of the Archbishop of Canterbury, in 2006.

Anglican religious orders are organizations of laity and/or clergy in the Anglican Communion who live under a common rule. They are to be distinguished from Holy Orders, the sacrament which bishops, priests, and deacons receive.

What distinguishes members of religious orders from the rest of the laity and the clergy is that they try to imitate Jesus Christ by taking vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience. They may additionally profess to obey certain guidelines for living. The structure and function of religious orders in Anglicanism roughly parallels that which exists in Roman Catholicism. Religious communities are divided into orders proper, in which members take solemn vows and congregations, whose members take simple vows.

Religious communities were dissolved by King Henry VIII when he separated the Church of England from papal primacy. With the rise of the Catholic Revival and the Oxford Movement in Anglicanism in the early 1800s came interest in the revival of "religious life" in England. Between 1841 and 1855, several religious orders for women were begun, among them the Community of St. Mary at Wantage and the Community of St. Margaret at East Grinstead. Religious orders for men appeared later, beginning in 1866 with the Society of St. John the Evangelist (Cowley Fathers).

In the United States and Canada, the founding of Anglican religious orders began in 1842 with the Nashotah Community (men) in Wisconsin, followed in 1845 by the Sisterhood of the Holy Communion (now defunct) in New York. At present, there are approximately 168 Anglican religious orders for men and/or women throughout the world. Of these, approximately 38 are in the USA and about 7 in Canada.

In the Episcopal Church in the United States, there are two recognized types of religious communities, called Religious Orders and Christian Communities. The differences are as follows:

A Religious Order of this Church is a society of Christians (in communion with the See of Canterbury) who voluntarily commit themselves for life, or a term of years, to holding their possessions in common or in trust; to a celibate life in community; and obedience to their Rule and Constitution. (Title III, Canon 24, section 1)

A Christian Community of this Church is a society of Christians (in communion with the See of Canterbury) who voluntarily commit themselves for life, or a term of years, in obedience to their Rule and Constitution. (Title III, Canon 24, section 2)

[edit] List of active Anglican religious orders

The following is a partial list of the religious orders in the Anglican Communion and their initials:

Anglican Order of Preachers (OP)
Brotherhood of the Ascended Christ (BAC)
Brotherhood of the Epiphany (BE)
Brotherhood of Saint Gregory (BSG)
Chama Cha Mariamu Mtakatifu (CMM)
Chita che Zita Rinoyera (CZR)
Chita che Zvipo Zve Moto (CZM)
Christa Sevika Sangha (Handmaids of Christ) (CSS)
Community of All Hallows (CAH)
Community of Christ the King (CCK)
Community of Jesus' Compassion (CJC)
Community of Nazareth (CN)
Community of Our Lady & Saint John (OSB)
Community of St. Andrew (CSA)
Community of St. Clare (OSC)
Community of St. Denys (CSD)
Community of St. Francis (CSF)
Community of St. John Baptist (CSJB)
Community of St. John the Divine (CSJD)
Community of St. John the Evangelist (CSJE)
Community of St. Laurence (CSL)
Community of St. Mary (CSM)
Community of St. Mary at the Cross (OSB)
Community of St. Mary the Virgin (CSMV)
Community of St. Michael & All Angels (CSM&AA)
Community of St. Paul (CSP)
Community of St. Peter
Community of the Blessed Lady Mary (CBLM)
Community of the Companions of Jesus the Good Shepherd (CJGS)
Community of the Divine Compassion (CDC)
Community of the Glorious Ascension (CGA)
Community of the Good Shepherd (CGS)
Community of the Holy Cross (CHC)
Community of the Holy Family (CHF)
Community of the Holy Name (CHN)
Community of the Holy Spirit (CHS)
Community of the Holy Transfiguration (CHT)
Community of the Reparation to Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament (CRJBS)
Community of the Resurrection (CR)
Community of the Sacred Name (CSN)
Community of the Sacred Passion (CSP)
Community of the Servants of the Cross (CSC)
Community of the Servants of the Will of God (CSWG)
Community of the Sisters of Melanesia (CSM)
Community of the Sisters of the Church (CSC)
Community of the Sisters of the Love of God (SLG)
Community of the Transfiguration (CT)
Congregation of the Sisters of the Visitation of our Lady (CVL)
Daughters of St. Francis (DSF)
Ewell Monastery
Fikambanan'ny Mpanompovavin l Jesoa Kristy (FMJK)
Korean Franciscan Brotherhood (KFB)
Little Brothers of Francis (LBF)
Melanesian Brotherhood (MBH)
Oratory of the Good Shepherd (OGS)
Order of Julian of Norwich (OJN)
Order of St. Andrew (OSA)
Order of St. Anne at Bethany (OSA)
Order of St. Benedict (OSB)
Order of St. Francis (OSF)
Order of St. Helena (OSH)
Order of the Holy Cross(OHC)
Order of the Holy Paraclete (OHP)
Order of the Teachers of the Children of God (TCG)
Sisterhood of St. John the Divine (SSJD) Canada
Sisterhood of St. Mary, Bangladesh
Sisterhood of the Epiphany (SE)
Sisterhood of the Holy Nativity (SHN)
Sisters of Charity (SC)
Sisters of the Incarnation (SI)
Society of All Saints Sisters of the Poor (ASSP)
Society of Our Lady of the Isles (SOLI)
Society of Our Lady St. Mary (SLSM)
Society of St. Francis (SSF)
Society of St. John the Divine (SSJD)
Society of St. John the Evangelist (SSJE)
Society of St. Margaret (SSM)
Society of St. Paul (SSP)
Society of the Franciscan Servants of Jesus & Mary (FSJM)
Society of the Holy Cross (SHC)
Society of the Holy Trinity (Anglican) (SHT)
Society of the Precious Blood (SPB)
Society of the Sacred Advent (SSA)
Society of the Sacred Cross (SSC)
Society of the Sacred Mission (SSM)
Society of the Sisters of Bethany (SSB)

[edit] Gallery

Community of Saint Mary	Sisters of Bethany	Community of Saint Francis	Community of the Holy Name
Community of the Transfiguration	Order of Julian of Norwich	Order of the Holy Paraclete	Order of Saint Helena