The Society of Saint Francis (SSF) is an international Franciscan religious order within the Anglican Communion. [1] [2] It is the main recognised Anglican Franciscan order, but there are also other Franciscan orders in the Anglican Communion.
Francis of Assisi and Clare of Assisi, the founders of the Franciscan movement, produced separate rules for three parallel orders, which still co-exist as parts of the Franciscan family today: [3]
Within Anglicanism, the Brothers of the First Order are called the Society of Saint Francis (SSF); the Sisters of the First Order are called the Community of Saint Francis (CSF); the Sisters of the Second Order are called the Community of Saint Clare (OSC); and the Brothers and Sisters of the Third Order are called the Third Order of the Society of Saint Francis (TSSF). [4] Men and women who wish to associate themselves with the Society of Saint Francis without taking formal vows may become Companions (CompSSF). [5]
During the English Reformation all religious orders, including Franciscans, were banished from Britain. [6] Not until the mid-nineteenth century were the first sisterhoods refounded in the Church of England, in response to the social needs of the time. Then came a revival of interest in Francis. The Community of St Francis (CSF) was founded in 1905 with sisters living in poverty and working in the East End of London.
Shortly after World War I, the Revd Douglas Downes, an economics don at Oxford University, and a few friends gave practical expression to their sympathy with and concern for victims of the depression by going out onto the roads and sharing the life of the homeless men and boys, looking for work from town to town. [1] In 1921, a Dorset landowner, Lord Sandwich, offered a small farm property (now Hilfield Friary), [7] and here the group of friends was able to offer shelter to the exhausted wayfarers and others in temporary need of help.
Towards the end of the 1920s a number of religious groups had formed with a Franciscan spirit and to bear witness to the extreme poverty in England at the time. [8] In 1934, Father Algy Robertson who had a clearer idea of forming a religious order, having been part of the Christa Seva Sangha in India and England, joined Brother Douglas (as he liked to be called). [9] Together they held meetings with Father George Potter, who was vicar of the south London St Chrysostom's Church, Hill Street in Peckham. He had spent his time, since 1923, devoting himself to the lives of ordinary people and for the betterment of impoverished boys by creating the Brotherhood of the Holy Cross. [10] After some wrangling and discussions between the three men, the Rule and Constitution of the Society of St Francis was read in June 1936, and they agreed to remove the individual names of the brotherhoods, to form a single union. [8]
Gradually the little community took shape, modelling itself more consciously on the Franciscan tradition of prayer and study, as well as working with the poor. It started to look like a religious order in formal sense, with habits, a chapel, and regular worship. The Society of Saint Francis came into being, on the 9 October 1936, followed by the Third Order in the same year. [11] The Second Order was created in 1950 with the establishment of the Community of Saint Clare in Freeland, Witney.
Before long, invitations came to establish centres in other places and at the start of World War II, there were houses in south London and Cambridge. After the war other centres were opened in Britain. Establishments overseas followed and the Society now has friaries in the United States, Brazil, Australia, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Costa Rica, and the Solomon Islands. Other communities were made in (Germany), Italy, Africa and the West Indies.
The Daily Office SSF, the society's office book, was among the first to be fully updated with the Common Worship lectionary, so was used in the wider Anglican Communion. It provided the model for Morning and Evening Prayer in Common Worship. The creation of the office book is due to the dedication of the late Br Tristam SSF, and the revision editors: Br Colin Wilfred SSF, and Sr Joyce CSF. [12]
The Anglican Franciscan order comprises the Brothers of the First Order; the Sisters of the First Order; the Sisters of the Second Order; the Brothers and Sisters of the Third Order. [13] Each part of the order is under the leadership of a minister general, currently Br Christopher John SSF (elected in 2017) for the Brothers of the First Order Sr Sue Berry CSF (elected in 2020) for the Sisters of the First Order, and John Hebenton TSSF (elected in 2017) for the Brothers and Sisters of the Third Order. Under the minister general the order is divided into provinces, each governed by a minister provincial. The Second Order, being enclosed, elect an abbess, and are currently active only in the United Kingdom. In 2012 the membership stood at approximately 200 members in community (combined First and Second Orders) and 3,000 dispersed members (Third Order). [14]
The European Province currently has the following houses of the order:
The American Province currently has the following house:
The Divine Compassion Province has the following houses of the order:
The Solomon Islands Province has the following houses of the order:
The Papua New Guinea Province has the following houses of the order:
The European Province currently has the following houses of the order:
The American Province, established in 1974, is currently located in a single house:
The semi-autonomous mission in Korea is not yet large enough to achieve provincial status, and the single convent at Gumi is part of the European Province, and under the authority of the European Minister Provincial.
The Third Order, Society of St. Francis (TSSF), was founded in 1936. It consists of individual men and women, lay and ordained, married and single, who have taken vows and are followers of a version of the Franciscan rule but do not live together in community or wear habits. [15] [16] As many secular Franciscans have family and work responsibilities, they do not live a life of literal poverty as Francis chose it for himself and his friars minor. TSSF is divided into five provinces: Africa, Australia, New Zealand, Europe, and the Americas. [17]
The Companions of the Society of St Francis (CompSSF) are individual men and women, lay and ordained, married and single, who wish to follow the spirituality of Francis of Assisi together with the Sisters and Brothers of the Society but without taking formal vows. Instead they undertake to pray for the Sisters and Brothers of the Society and support their work through giving alms. [5]
Companions of the Society of St Francis are encouraged to pray and read the Bible each day, to aim at simplicity of life, and to help those in need. In some areas, CompSSF regularly meet for fellowship, prayer and mutual support. Meetings are not obligatory but are valuable in the exchange of ideas and thoughts of those following the same Christian commitment and service. In the European Province, CompSSF are currently led from Alnmouth Friary in Northumberland. [5]
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First Order (Society of Saint Francis, SSF)
First Order (Community of Saint Francis, CSF)
Second Order (Community of Saint Clare, OSC)
Third Order (TSSF)
Companions (CompSSF)
The Franciscans are a group of related mendicant religious orders of the Catholic Church. Founded in 1209 by the Italian saint Francis of Assisi, these orders include three independent orders for men, orders for nuns such as the Order of Saint Clare, and the Third Order of Saint Francis open to male and female members. They adhere to the teachings and spiritual disciplines of the founder and of his main associates and followers, such as Clare of Assisi, Anthony of Padua, and Elizabeth of Hungary. Several smaller Protestant Franciscan orders or other groups have been established since late 1800's as well, particularly in the Anglican and Lutheran traditions.
The Order of Friars Minor Capuchin is a religious order of Franciscan friars within the Catholic Church, one of three "First Orders" that reformed from the Franciscan Friars Minor Observant, the other being the Conventuals (OFMConv). Franciscans reformed as Capuchins in 1525 with the purpose of regaining the original Habit (tunic) of St. Francis of Assisi and also for returning to a stricter observance of the rule established by Francis of Assisi in 1209.
A friar is a member of one of the mendicant orders in the Roman Catholic church. There are also friars outside of the Roman Catholic church, such as within the Anglican Communion. The term, first used in the 12th or 13th century, distinguishes the mendicants' itinerant apostolic character, exercised broadly under the jurisdiction of a superior general, from the older monastic orders' allegiance to a single monastery formalized by their vow of stability. A friar may be in holy orders or be a non-ordained brother. The most significant orders of friars are the Dominicans, Franciscans, Augustinians, and Carmelites.
Hilfield is a small, scattered village and civil parish in west Dorset, England, situated under the scarp face of the Dorset Downs 7 miles (11 km) south of Sherborne. Dorset County Council's 2013 estimate of the parish population is 50.
The term third order signifies, in general, lay members of Christian religious orders, who do not necessarily live in a religious community such as a monastery or a nunnery, and yet can claim to wear the religious habit and participate in the good works of a great order. Roman Catholicism, Lutheranism and Anglicanism all recognize third orders.
The Melanesian Brotherhood is an Anglican religious community of men in simple vows based primarily in the Solomon Islands, Vanuatu, and Papua New Guinea.
A religious is, in the terminology of many Western Christian denominations, such as the Catholic Church, Lutheran Churches, and Anglican Communion, what in common language one would call a "monk" or "nun".
Anglican religious orders are communities of men or women in the Anglican Communion who live under a common rule of life. The members of religious orders take vows which often include the traditional monastic vows of poverty, chastity and obedience, or the ancient vow of stability, or sometimes a modern interpretation of some or all of these vows. Members may be laity or clergy, but most commonly include a mixture of both. They lead a common life of work and prayer, sometimes on a single site, sometimes spread over multiple locations. Though many Anglicans are members of religious orders recognized by the Anglican Communion, others may be members of ecumenical Protestant or Old Catholic religious orders while maintaining their Anglican identity and parochial membership in Anglican churches.
The Brotherhood of Saint Gregory is a community of friars within the Anglican Communion. The community's members, known as Gregorians, include clergy and laymen. Since 1987 there has also been a parallel order of sisters, the Sisters of Saint Gregory.
The Third Order of Saint Francis is a third order in the Franciscan tradition of Christianity, founded by the medieval Italian Catholic friar Francis of Assisi.
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 one of several associated with the Society of Saint Francis. It forms the 'Second Order' of the Anglican Franciscan movement, commonly known as the 'Poor Clares'. The community, in common with other Second Order Franciscan communities, is an enclosed and contemplative one, and the sisters provide for their own needs through a variety of activities. The sisters believe that their 'enclosed' life does not mean being 'shut in', but rather an opportunity to live and work together on one site in real community. The community runs a guest house and retreat centre, and the sisters engage in various works including sewing, painting, printing, and manufacturing altar breads.
The Community of St. Francis (CSF) is a Franciscan Anglican religious order of sisters founded in 1905, and is the oldest surviving Anglican Franciscan religious community. As First Order sisters, the CSF is an autonomous part of the Society of St. Francis, which also includes the Order of St. Clare, and a Third Order of secular members living as a dispersed community. Living under a Franciscan Rule, the sisters' primary vocation is prayer, study, and work in the context of community life. Some sisters serve as priests, and others live a solitary life.
The Third Order Regular of St. Francis of Penance or simply the Third Order Regular of St. Francis is a mendicant order rooted in the Third Order of St. Francis which was founded in 1221. The members add the nominal letters T.O.R. after their names to indicate their membership in the congregation.
The Community of the Sisters of Melanesia, more usually called The Sisters of Melanesia, is the third order for women to be established in the Church of Melanesia, which is the Anglican Church of Solomon Islands and Vanuatu.
Emerging since the 19th century, there are several Protestant adherent and groups, sometimes organised as religious orders, which strive to adhere to the teachings and spiritual disciplines of Saint Francis of Assisi.
William Quinlan Lash was the Bishop of Bombay from 1947 to 1961.
Brother Michael SSF was the second Anglican Bishop of St Germans in the modern era.
Chiara Offreduccio, known as Clare of Assisi, was an Italian saint who was one of the first followers of Francis of Assisi.
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 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.
Ennis Friary was a Franciscan friary in the town of Ennis, County Clare, Ireland. It was established in the middle of the 13th century by the ruling O'Brien dynasty who supported it for most of its existence. Following the suppression of the monasteries in the 16th century, the friary continued to function for a while despite the loss of its lands. In the early 17th century, the buildings were handed over to the Church of Ireland as a place of worship. It was used as such until the late 19th century. After the construction of a new Church of Ireland building, the friary fell into ruin. Managed by the Office of Public Works since the late 19th century, it was formally returned to the Franciscan Order in 1969.
