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The Society of Saint Francis (SSF) is an international
Franciscan , image = FrancescoCoA PioM.svg , image_size = 200px , caption = A cross, Christ's arm and Saint Francis's arm, a universal symbol of the Franciscans , abbreviation = OFM , predecessor = , ...
religious order within 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 other ...
. It is the main recognised Anglican Franciscan order, but there are also other
Franciscan orders in the Anglican Communion Franciscan spirituality in Protestantism refers to spirituality in Protestantism inspired by the Catholic friar Saint Francis of Assisi. Emerging since the 19th century, there are several Protestant adherent and groups, sometimes organised as ...
.


Background

Francis of Assisi Giovanni di Pietro di Bernardone, better known as Saint Francis of Assisi ( it, Francesco d'Assisi; – 3 October 1226), was a mystic Italian Catholic friar, founder of the Franciscans, and one of the most venerated figures in Christian ...
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: * The First Order were to be mendicant friars, embracing poverty as a gift from God and living the community life in the world and serving the poor. * The Second Order were to be a parallel community of sisters living a more enclosed life of prayer and contemplation. * The Third Order was to consist of brothers and sisters not living in community, nor under full monastic vows, but nevertheless taking simple promises and following a rule of life in the world. 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). Men and women who wish to associate themselves with the Society of Saint Francis without taking formal vows may become Companions (CompSSF).


History

During the
English Reformation The English Reformation took place in 16th-century England when the Church of England broke away from the authority of the pope and the Catholic Church. These events were part of the wider European Protestant Reformation, a religious and p ...
all religious orders, including Franciscans, were banished from Britain. 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 Francis may refer to: People *Pope Francis, the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State and Bishop of Rome *Francis (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters *Francis (surname) Places *Rural Mu ...
. The Community of St Francis (CSF) was founded in 1905 with sisters living in poverty and working in the
East End The East End of London, often referred to within the London area simply as the East End, is the historic core of wider East London, east of the Roman and medieval walls of the City of London and north of the River Thames. It does not have univ ...
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. In 1921, a
Dorset Dorset ( ; archaically: Dorsetshire , ) is a county in South West England on the English Channel coast. The ceremonial county comprises the unitary authority areas of Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole and Dorset. Covering an area of , Do ...
landowner, Lord Sandwich, offered a small farm property (no
Hilfield Friary
, 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 Charism and to bear witness to the extreme poverty in England at the time. 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). 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. 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. 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. The Second Order was created in 1950 with the establishment of the Community of Saint Clare in Freeland,
Witney Witney is a market town on the River Windrush in West Oxfordshire in the county of Oxfordshire, England. It is west of Oxford. The place-name "Witney" is derived from the Old English for "Witta's island". The earliest known record of it is a ...
. 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 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 becam ...
. 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 New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island country ...
,
Papua New Guinea Papua New Guinea (abbreviated PNG; , ; tpi, Papua Niugini; ho, Papua Niu Gini), officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea ( tpi, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niugini; ho, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niu Gini), is a country i ...
, Costa Rica, and the
Solomon Islands Solomon Islands is an island country consisting of six major islands and over 900 smaller islands in Oceania, to the east of Papua New Guinea and north-west of Vanuatu. It has a land area of , and a population of approx. 700,000. Its capita ...
. Other communities were made in (Germany), Italy, Africa and the
West Indies The West Indies is a subregion of North America, surrounded by the North Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea that includes 13 independent island countries and 18 dependencies and other territories in three major archipelagos: the Greater ...
. 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 Morning is the period from sunrise to noon. There are no exact times for when morning begins (also true of evening and night) because it can vary according to one's lifestyle and the hours of daylight at each time of year. However, morning str ...
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.


Structure

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. 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).


First Order Brothers (SSF)


European Province

The European Province currently has the following houses of the order: *
Alnmouth Alnmouth () is a coastal village in Northumberland, England, situated east-south-east of Alnwick. The population of the civil parish at the 2001 Census was 562, reducing to 445 at the 2011 Census. Located at the mouth of the River Aln, the vil ...
, Northumberland *
Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the West ...
, West Midlands. * Glasshampton, Worcestershire * Hilfield, Dorset * Leeds, Yorkshire * Plaistow (Balaam Street), London


Province of the Americas

The American Province currently has the following houses of the order: * San Francisco, California * Los Angeles, California


Province of Divine Compassion

The Divine Compassion Province, which covers Australia, New Zealand and Korea, has the following houses of the order: * Stroud, New South Wales * Brisbane, Queensland * Chuncheon, Korea * Matale, Sri Lanka * Hamilton, New Zealand – The Friary at Hamilton closed towards the end of 2016 bringing to an end after almost 50 years and the First Order's presence in NZ. (Anglican Communion News Service, 8 June 2016)


Province of the Solomon Islands

The Solomon Islands Province has the following houses of the order: * Honiara, Guadalcanal (Patteson House) * Honiara, Guadalcanal (Little Portion) * Honiara, Guadalcanal (St Bonaventure Friary) * Honiara, Guadalcanal (Michael Davis Friary) * Auki, Malaita * Kira Kira, Makira Ulawa * Lata, Temotu


Papua New Guinea Province

The Papua New Guinea Province has the following houses of the order: * Popondetta, Oro (St Mary of the Angels Friary) * Popondetta, Oro (Geoffrey's Friary) * Popondetta, Oro (Martyrs' House) * Port Moresby * Alotau, Milne Bay


First Order Sisters (CSF)


European Province

The European Province currently has the following houses of the order: *
Southwark Southwark ( ) is a district of Central London situated on the south bank of the River Thames, forming the north-western part of the wider modern London Borough of Southwark. The district, which is the oldest part of South London, developed ...
in south London. * Plaistow in east London. * Metheringham, Lincolnshire. *
Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the West ...
, West Midlands. *
Leicester Leicester ( ) is a city, unitary authority and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest settlement in the East Midlands. The city lies on the River Soar and close to the eastern end of the National ...
, Leicestershire.


American Province

The American Province, established in 1974, is currently located in a single house: * San Francisco, California.


Korea

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.


Second Order (OSC)


Third Order (TSSF)

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. 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.TSSF Province of the Americas
/ref>


Companions (CompSSF)

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 Giovanni di Pietro di Bernardone, better known as Saint Francis of Assisi ( it, Francesco d'Assisi; – 3 October 1226), was a mystic Italian Catholic friar, founder of the Franciscans, and one of the most venerated figures in Christian ...
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. 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.Companions of the Society of Saint Francis
online
, access date 15 July 2022


See also

* Community of St. Francis *
Franciscan orders in the Anglican Communion Franciscan spirituality in Protestantism refers to spirituality in Protestantism inspired by the Catholic friar Saint Francis of Assisi. Emerging since the 19th century, there are several Protestant adherent and groups, sometimes organised as ...
*
Franciscan orders in Lutheranism Franciscan spirituality in Protestantism refers to spirituality in Protestantism inspired by the Catholic friar Saint Francis of Assisi. Emerging since the 19th century, there are several Protestant adherent and groups, sometimes organised as ...
*
Little Brothers of Francis The Little Brothers of Francis are one of the family of Franciscan orders in the Anglican Communion. Whilst most Franciscans follow the First Order, Second Order, or Third Order Rule, the Little Brothers follow a lesser known Rule of Life (als ...


Footnotes


External links

First Order (Society of Saint Francis, SSF)
WorldWide links to Anglican Franciscans

European Province – Brothers (SSF) and Sisters (CSF)

Province of the Americas – Brothers

Australian Province

New Zealand Province

Brazilian Friary – Comunidade do Brasil, in Portuguese (Brazilian)

''A Life in Order: the memoirs of Brother Francis SSF''
2003 autobiography with photographs First Order (Community of Saint Francis, CSF)
Province of the Americas – Sisters
Second Order (Community of Saint Clare, OSC)

Third Order (TSSF)
European Province

Province of the AmericasAfrican Province

Province of Australia, Papua New Guinea and East Asia

New Zealand ProvinceRecords of the Society (1920–2005) at Lambeth Palace Library
Companions (CompSSF)
European Province

Province of the Americas
{{Francis of Assisi Christian organizations established in 1905 Anglican religious orders established in the 20th century 1905 establishments in England