The Society of St
John the Evangelist, otherwise known as the Cowley Fathers, was the first
men’s religious order to be founded in the Church of England since the
Reformation, as a result of the spread and influence of the Oxford Movement
and its Anglo-Catholic spirituality in the 19th century.
Established in Oxford in 1866, its charismatic founder, Richard Meux Benson
worked closely with American priests and just four years later a congregation
was founded in Massachusetts that flourishes to this day. The charism of the
order embraced high regard of theology
with practical service, fostered by an emphasis on prayer and personal
holiness. Cowley, a poor and rapidly expanding village on the outskirts of
Oxford, provided ample opportunity for service.
At its height, the English congregation had houses in Oxford (now St
Stephen’s House) and Westminster where figures such as C S Lewis sought
spiritual direction. Now no longer
operating as a community in Britain, this definitive and comprehensive
history records its significant contribution to Anglicanism then and now. |