CAROA includes 23 Religious Communities in the Americas that are part of the Worldwide Anglican (Episcopal) Communion. Some of these Orders are of men, some of women, and some include both. There is great diversity among our communities in terms of worship practice and standard of living, but all our communities embrace celibacy, community of goods, and obedience to a Rule and Constitution.
NAECC is a coalition of Christian Communities recognized under the canons of The Episcopal Church working with communities in formation, dedicated to sharing and communicating the fruits of the Gospel -- realized in community -- with the church and the world.
Communities of Women
An international community of women belonging to the Anglican Communion who seek to live the Gospel life fervently in the Church and the world, after the example of St. Francis of Assisi. Francis was afire with the love of Christ which impelled him to live with an attitude of humble respect and love for all of creation.
A Community made up of monastic women, who live together under the traditional vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience. Their life includes daily participation in the Eucharist and the Divine Office, prayer, and ministry to those in need. They live by an Augustinian Rule, which emphasizes Community spirit.
An Anglican/Episcopalian Religious Order for women with houses in upstate New York and northern Malawi, Africa, founded in 1865.
The Community of St. Mary, Southern Province, is a women’s Benedictine community within The Episcopal Church that expresses its way of life through care for the body, the soul, and the earth.
Located in New York, NY, the Sisters of this monastic community respond to that invitation by an intentional living out of the vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience within the structure of a modified Augustinian Rule. The Sisters also provide spiritual support for women and men who wish to be linked with our Community as Associates. By adopting a personal rule of life, they extend the Community's ministry through prayer, worship and service.
The Community of the Sisters of the Church is an international body of women within the Anglican Communion, living under the gospel values of Poverty, Chastity and Obedience, desiring to be faithful to the traditions of the Religious Life while exploring new ways of expressing them and of living community life and ministry today. By our worship, ministry, and life in community, we desire to be channels of the reconciling love and acceptance of Christ, to acknowledge the dignity of every person, and to enable others to encounter the living God whom we seek.
We are a dispersed community of Episcopal women over 50 years old who are living the Christian life within vows of simplicity, creativity, and balance. We are lay and ordained. We are single, married, partnered, divorced, and widowed. Some of us are retired, some work part-time, and some are working actively in full-time positions.
The mission of the Order of Saint Helena is to show forth Christ through a life of monastic prayer, hospitality and service. We are lay and ordained women living communally under a vow of monastic poverty, celibate chastity and obedience to God. From Benedictine roots, we discern new ways to interpret traditional monasticism, as we strive to grow in diversity and inclusivity.
The Sisterhood of St. John the Divine is a contemporary expression of the religious life for women within the Anglican Church of Canada. Nurtured by our founding vision of prayer, community and ministry, we are open and responsive to the needs of the church and the contemporary world, continually seeking the guidance of the Holy Spirit in our life and ministry.
Based in Ripon, Wisconsin, this Religious Order of women in The Episcopal Church has a dedication to the Incarnation of our Lord. The Sisters live in a community and observe daily monastic offices and the Holy Eucharist.
A small, multi-cultural community of women, committed to witnessing to the truth that as 21st century Christians, we belong to this age, this society; and that it is here and now that we demonstrate to the Church and the world that the religious life lived in community is relevant, fulfilling and needed in our world and times. We believe that God has a vision for each one of us and that opportunities to serve the Church and the world are abundant.
We are a traditional order of Anglican nuns in The Episcopal church. Since 1921, we have been an active presence in the heart of the city of Chicago. Currently we are called to parish work at The Episcopal Church of the Ascension, and active ministry to the local community. We invite you to be with us on your journey.
An Episcopal religious community of women seeking to find Jesus present in worship, in the common life, and ministries which concentrate on responding to the needs of time.
Communities of Men
The Order is a Benedictine Anglican monastic community founded in 1884 by James Otis Sargent Huntington to provide a specifically North American expression of monasticism.
A world-wide Franciscan community within the Anglican Communion. The American Province is part of The Episcopal Church. It is a society of men who live under vows of poverty, chastity and obedience. In addition to the work of prayer, most of the Brothers are engaged in work outside the friary.
SSJE was founded in the parish of Cowley in Oxford, England, by Richard Meux Benson in 1866. Brothers of the North American Congregation live in Cambridge, Massachusetts, near Harvard Square, and at Emery House in West Newbury, Massachusetts. They gather throughout the day to pray the Divine Office, and live under a modern Rule of Life, adopted in 1997. At profession, they take vows of poverty, celibacy and obedience
A community of men living under the Rule of Saint Benedict within The Episcopal Church. The center of the monastery's life is the Abbey Church, where God is worshiped in the daily round of Eucharist, Divine Office, and private prayer. Also offered to God are the monks' daily manual work, study and correspondence, ministry to guests, and occasional outside engagements.
The Society of St. Paul (SSP) is an Anglican monastic community in the United States. Founded in 1958, it was the first community for men recognized by the Episcopal Church in the United States of America. Other communities for men existed but were founded in England. It describes its mission as one of pilgrimage, prophecy, and exploration of "the emerging spirituality and ministry of the twenty-first century." The order includes a confraternity, The Fellowship of St. Paul. The house is located in San Diego, California.
Communities of Men and Women
A contemplative monastic order in The Episcopal Church. They are currently located in Waukesha, Wisconsin. The order is open to both men and women. It is contemplative in that its purpose and goal is simply the practice and teaching of silent and intercessory prayer. The Order follows the traditional monastic vows of Poverty, Chastity, and Obedience, and adds a fourth vow: Prayer. Monks and nuns live in the same monastery on equal status under the same vows.
Founded in 1983, the Order strives to ground and center its members in their daily life and their roles as parish leaders and developers. Members promise "to seek the presence of Jesus Christ in the people, things and circumstances of life through stability, obedience and conversion of life."
NAECC Communities
Canonically recognized communities
Founded in the tradition of The Episcopal Church, with a Celtic spirit. Anamchara fellowship has received canonical recognition by the House of Bishops' Committee on the Religious Life.
The Order of Preachers is a Christian religious order, and spiritual tradition founded by Saint Dominic de Guzman in the 13th century with roots in earlier monastic traditions, dating back to the earliest periods of Christianity. It was not until the last years of the 20th century that an expression of Dominican spirituality and life could be found outside of the Roman Catholic Church.
A Christian Community of The Episcopal Church, whose members follow a common rule and serve the church on parochial, diocesan, and national levels. Members--clergy and lay, without regard to marital status--live individually, in small groups, or with their families. They support themselves and the community through their secular or church-related work, making use of their God-given talents in the world while not being of the world.
The Community's home is in Aliquippa (near Pittsburgh), Pennsylvania, with members living in England. They are different from traditional orders and their membership includes men and women, married and single, adults and children, clergy and laity. Their rule of life is a modified Benedictine Rule.
We are a non-residential Monastic Community in North America whose members try to help each other build a closer relationship with Christ. We do this by living a monastic life of daily prayer, reflective study, and personal service in the secular world. We seek to demonstrate our faith in unique ways as best we can, while allowing our lives to be transformed by God.
This Order is comprised of men and women of all ages, both single and married. Paracletian religious life supports the search for God in all facets of existence, so that the whole of life becomes a single, integrated spiritual practice. They believe strongly in the importance of face-to-face community life for all members, and work hard to create local chapters wherever their members locate.
A community whose pursuit of union with God is hallmarked by individual prayer life, communal prayer offices, work and ministry. The community is rooted in the ancient tradition of the Rule of St. Benedict. Through the 1500 years since the writing of the Rule, Benedictines have taken the model of the Rule and modified it to meet historical and cultural needs.
We are a women's contemplative community desiring to bring the spirituality of St. Clare into our churches. Our primary ministry is prayer and it is molded by our Franciscan roots. We welcome inquiries from all women who discern a call to Christian community. We live independently and serve in various parishes in the Diocese of Olympia, Washington.
Rivendell is a Eucharistic community working and praying to renew the vision of the Church as a holy priesthood, in and on behalf of the world. The Community seeks to provide well-educated and holy priestly ministry for smaller, less affluent, struggling churches, and to create and serve houses of prayer and hospitality. The Motherhouse is in Dunnegan, Missouri. Members include women and men; celibate and married; lay, ordained, residential and non-residential.
A canonically recognized community of women in The Episcopal Church who have been called together by God to live the vowed life in a diversity of styles and spiritualities in the world.
We are a dispersed community of Episcopal women over 50 years old who are living the Christian life within vows of simplicity, creativity, and balance. We are lay and ordained. We are single, married, partnered, divorced, and widowed. Some of us are retired, some work part-time, and some are working actively in full-time positions.
The Third Order of the Society of St. Francis is an Anglican/Episcopal religious order for people of all kinds—single and in committed relationships, lay and ordained—who live by Franciscan principles “in the world.” This is the order founded by Francis himself for those who were drawn to his way but felt called to live it out right where they were.
The Worker Brothers of the Holy Spirit, named for the Worker Priests of France who sought to be workers-among-workers on docks and in factories, is a Covenant Community which offers women and men, regardless of marital status, a path for individual spiritual growth through prayer, worship, becoming, discovery, belonging, relating, commitment, and mission.
The Worker Sisters of the Holy Spirit, named for the Worker Priests of France who sought to be workers-among-workers on docks and in factories, is a Covenant Community which offers women and men, regardless of marital status, a path for individual spiritual growth through prayer, worship, becoming, discovery, belonging, relating, commitment, and mission
Associates
Seeking canonical recognition
The Community of Francis and Clare is a contemporary vowed community of religious women and men who live a common life of prayer and service within The Episcopal Church, its Communion Partners, and the worldwide Anglican Communion. We seek to follow Jesus in the Franciscan tradition by living simply and humbly, serving and praying with and for the marginalized members of our communities, and by helping to rebuild the church in our day to day contexts. As a contemporary expression of the Franciscan tradition, members are lay and clergy, partnered or single, live individually or in common with their families and support themselves through a secular or church-related employment. We have diverse ministries in our communities, as the Spirit and the needs of the church lead us.
Companions of Our Lady of Walsingham is a modern Marian and Benedictine Monastic Community, and heirs of the Anglican Tradition and Benedictine Monasticism. The Holy Rule of St. Benedict is a foundation source of inspiration and spirituality. We profess the ancient Monastic vows of Stability, Obedience, and Conversion of Life. In imitation of Our Lady of Walsingham and Saints Benedict and Scholastica, we seek to live our charism of hospitality as we, "Welcome all as Christ." Companions include lay and ordained women and men of diverse ages, social statuses, sexual orientations, and gender identities. Companions may be married, partnered, single, or celibate. The balance of the Via Media is our guiding principle: "All may, some should, none must."
The Community of Saint John Cassian is an apostolic religious order of the Episcopal Church committed to fully and authentically living the Gospel life through the ancient Christian traditions of contemplation, solitude (in community), liturgical prayer, and pastoral ministry—with particular emphasis on the Eastern and early Celtic roots of monastic spirituality, as embodied in the works of Saint John Cassian, the Mothers and Fathers of the Egyptian desert, and the writings and folklore of the Celtic saints. Above all, our aim is a total divine transformation of heart, mind, body, and soul—and, by extension, of the world around us. We are an active religious community with a contemplative focus, living in dispersion and working in a variety of apostolates. Each vowed member of our community strives for a balanced and holy life, with a focus on a daily and annual rhythm that privileges solitude and retreat. In our various ministries in the world, we aim to “relieve the lot of the poor, clothe the naked, visit the sick, bury the dead…help the troubled, and console the sorrowing,” as Saint Benedict instructed in his Rule for monastic life, and to provide education and formation in contemplative Christian practice and mystical theology, both in the Church and the broader world. We strive to be an authentic witness to the ancient and powerfully transformational stream of mysticism in the Catholic Christian tradition and to facilitate the work of our Divine Mother, Holy Wisdom, in our own hearts, in the hearts of those we serve and those we encounter as Christ along the wayside.
We follow Jesus by imitating the model of discipleship lived by Mary, his mother. We minister to our neighbors who are in need and profess the vows of Justice, Tenderness, Humility, and Contemplation. We follow a community rule called, Mary's Way of Discipleship and prayer the daily office, and the rosary. We live and work in the world and come together frequently to experience the community through prayer, study, service, and the Eucharist. We welcome women and men, lay and ordained, regardless of age, citizenship, sexual orientation, marital status, or socioeconomic status. We wear habits of light grey and blue for liturgical and ministerial use.
Observers
Not currently seeking canonical recognition
The Companions of Dorothy the Worker is an ecumenical Christian community, dispersed or under one roof; encouraging each other and supporting each other in ministry; living by the work of our own hands; depending on God as we strive to make God’s love felt in the queer community, which has been marginalized by the Church and the World. We accomplish this ministry by being active companions, living and participating with the people we serve; modeling Christ’s love.
Our mission is to assist in the revitalization of the church in a period of cultural transition and uncertainty and to transform individuals from spiritual awareness into incarnational practice. As New-Monastics we seek members who are or can be trained in specific ministries such as evangelization in the post-Christian world, liturgy development for alternatives in worship and prayer, and community building. We are totally inclusive in membership and strive to achieve respect for equality among the gifts and talents of all. We welcome the contribution of children and adolescents to the mission of the community and appropriate events.
A growing community where Christ and recovery are shared and the lives of addicts transformed. Our Principles are that we draw closer to God and to one another through the practice of Two Way Prayer and the Four Standards of Absolute Honesty, Purity, Unselfishness, and Love; we follow the ancient, monastic tradition of carrying the Good News to those living on the edges of society - be they spiritual, social, or economic; We practice “the spirituality of descent” known as kenosis; the same “self-emptying” found in the mind of Christ and at the heart of the 12-Step journey, and We keep alive for new generations the Christian roots of the 12-Steps through our personal Service Fields to which we are called. Sam Shoemaker Community is a ministry of the Episcopal Diocese of Texas.
St. Hildegard's Community follows a three-fold path of contemplation, non-violent engagement, and intimacy in community. We sing, dance, and point the way of Jesus in our weekly Eucharists and offer transformative classes and retreats in our Servant Leadership School. We have been an intentional non-residential community within St. George's parish in Austin, Texas since 1996. Members include women and men, single, married, and partnered.