Order of the Holy Cross

The Order of the Holy Cross is an international Anglican monastic order that follows the Rule of St. Benedict.

This article is about the Anglican Benedictine monastic community known as the Order of the Holy Cross. For other organizations with the same name, see Order of the Holy Cross (disambiguation).

History

The order was founded in 1884 by the Rev. James Huntington,[1] an Episcopal priest, in New York City. The order moved to Maryland briefly before settling in West Park, New York, in 1902.

Houses

Today the Order operates four houses:

Mount Calvary House burned to the ground in a wildfire on the morning of November 14, 2008, and has since been rebuilt. It is the smallest of the four houses, having only three resident monks, and in July 2019 the Order announced that Mount Calvary House would be permanently closed within two years, and the brothers relocated to other houses.[2]

The Order has also announced the closure of Mariya uMama weThemba Monastery in South Africa by August 2019. The Order's school is expanding very considerably, and the school will take over the monastic enclosure as new classrooms. The monastic community will relocate to a new monastery, to be named St Benedict’s Priory, at Volmoed, near Hermanus in the Western Cape. St Benedict's Priory will be open by September 2019.[3]

Ministries
Monastic Church of St. Augustine at Holy Cross Monastery, West Park, NY

The monks of the order engage in various ministries, the chief being that of prayer (including the Divine Office and daily Mass), as well as hosting guests for individual and group retreats. The order estimates that more than 5,000 guests stay at Holy Cross Monastery, one of the largest monastic retreat centers in the Episcopal Church, each year. Holy Cross Monastery also makes and sells incense and religious literature. Mariya uMama weThemba Monastery operates a retreat house and is actively involved in the education of rural farm children through its scholarship programme. Holy Cross Priory in Toronto is an urban expression of the Benedictine life where, besides the offices and Eucharist, monks are actively involved in the work of the local church. Some members of the order engage in occupations such as being therapists or parish priests. Mt. Calvary is primarily a retreat house. All monasteries of the order offer spiritual direction and counsel.

Vows

Monks of the order follow a threefold vow of obedience, stability, and conversion to the monastic way of life. In general, monks of the order are encouraged to develop their own ministries within their monastic vocation. They undergo periods of discernment and formation when entering the Order. The daily life of the monastery revolves around a balance of prayer, work, study, and rest.

Associates

Lay people and diocesan clergy (male and female) may join the Associates of Holy Cross. According to the associates' website, members "intend to love and serve God through a relationship with the Order of the Holy Cross (Anglican), adapting to their lives the Benedictine principles on which the monks base their common life." Associates live under a rule of life developed with the help of a spiritual director and have an ongoing relationship with the order. Associates are entitled to use the post-nominal initials AHC. Notable associates include the Bishop of Central Pennsylvania, the Rt. Rev. Nathan D. Baxter, and the Bishop of Maryland, the Rt. Rev. Robert Ihloff.

Holy Cross Publishing

The order is known for its publishing of the Anglo-Catholic devotional guide Saint Augustine's Prayer Book in 1949. The order also co-published, with the sisters of the Order of St. Helena, A Monastic Breviary, which succeeded A Four Office Breviary.

In 1957 the order published Within the Green Wall: The Story of Holy Cross Liberia Mission 1922-1957 by the Rt. Rev. Robert Campbell, O.H.C. The book provides a detailed account of the Order of the Holy Cross's missionary efforts in Liberia.[4]

Personnel

Br. Robert Magliula, OHC, is the current superior of the order. The Rt. Rev. Mark Sisk is bishop visitor and the Rt Rev. Ann Tottenham is deputy bishop visitor.

See also

Footnotes
  1. Mariya uMama weThemba Monastery is located at 33.33413°S 26.46852°E / -33.33413; 26.46852

Notes
  1. Scudder 1940.
  2. "Order of the Holy Cross to close Santa Barbara monastery and retreat center, prior says". Anglican Link. 18 July 2019. Retrieved 19 July 2019.
  3. "Monastery News". OHC. June 2019. Retrieved 19 July 2019.
  4. Campbell 1957.

References
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