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| Society of Mary (Anglican) | |
|---|---|
| Name | Society of Mary (Anglican) |
| Founded | 1931 |
| Founder | Father F. E. Brightman (associated figures) |
| Type | Anglican religious order |
| Headquarters | United Kingdom (convents and priories) |
| Parent organization | Church of England |
Society of Mary (Anglican)
The Society of Mary (Anglican) is an Anglican devotional society and religious order dedicated to devotion to the Virgin Mary within the Church of England, with branches and affiliated chapters in the Anglican Communion including the Episcopal Church (United States), Anglican Church of Canada, Church in Wales, and Scottish Episcopal Church. Founded in the early 20th century, it aligns with Anglo-Catholic spirituality and traditional Marian theology reflected in liturgical practice across parishes associated with the Oxford Movement, Anglican Papalism, and the Catholic Revival (Anglicanism). The society has influenced devotional life in chapels, cathedrals, and monastic communities connected to figures and institutions like Edward Bouverie Pusey, John Henry Newman, Charles Gore, Henry Edward Manning, and the Community of the Resurrection.
The society emerged during the revival of Anglo-Catholic piety that followed the Oxford Movement and the Tractarian movement with antecedents in confraternities such as the Guild of All Souls and the Confraternity of the Blessed Sacrament. Early 20th-century Anglican liturgical renewal, influenced by events like the Westminster Conference and publications from The Catholic Magazine (Anglican) and theologians including Charles Gore and Percy Dearmer, fostered interest in Marian devotion embodied by the Society. Formal establishment in the 1930s corresponded with parallel developments in Catholic Marian movements, the rise of Anglo-Papalist circles associated with C. S. Lewis's contemporaries and devotional orders like the Community of St Mary the Virgin and the Sisters of the Church. The society adapted through mid-century controversies involving the Lux Mundi debates, liturgical revisions tied to the Book of Common Prayer, and ecumenical dialogues with the Roman Catholic Church and Eastern Orthodox Church.
The Society is organized as a confraternity with regional priories, chapels, and associated religious houses modeled on Anglican religious orders such as the Community of the Resurrection and the Society of Saint John the Evangelist. Membership categories include professed religious, oblates, tertiaries, clergy, and lay associates similar to structures in the Order of Preachers (Anglican) and the Sisters of Charity (Anglican). Governance typically involves a Superior or Master, a council, regional wardens, and chapter meetings paralleling office-holders in the Church Assembly and diocesan synods of the Anglican Communion. Affiliations exist with diocesan bishops, cathedral chapters such as St Paul's Cathedral, and theological colleges like Westcott House, Ridley Hall, Cambridge, and St Stephen's House. The society maintains registers for oblates and communication with international provinces including relationships with the Episcopal Church (United States) provinces and missionary dioceses in Africa, Asia, and the Caribbean.
The Society's spirituality emphasizes Marian doctrines and devotional practices derived from Anglo-Catholic and pre-Reformation traditions, resonant with the devotional literature of Pope Pius X's era and Anglican mystics such as Julian of Norwich and Richard Rolle. The rule of life prescribes daily offices, recitation of the Angelus and the Rosary adapted for Anglican use, Eucharistic devotion, and pilgrimages to shrines comparable to visits to Lourdes, Walsingham, and local Marian chapels. Formation draws on sources like the Book of Common Prayer, devotional manuals by Edward Bouverie Pusey, and liturgical resources used in the Anglican Use liturgies. Spiritual direction often involves clergy trained at institutions such as St Mellitus College and guidance using patristic writers like Augustine of Hippo and scholastics referenced by Anglican theologians.
The Society sponsors choral and liturgical events, processions on Marian feasts such as Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Assumption of Mary, and Visitation (Christianity), and educational programs on Mariology for parishes and schools including those affiliated with King's College London chaplaincies. It supports pastoral care in parishes, retreat houses linked to the Society of Saint John the Evangelist (SSJE), and charitable works in partnership with organizations like Christian Aid and diocesan social ministries. The society has been active in producing devotional publications, hymnody collaborations with composers influenced by Ralph Vaughan Williams, and intercessory networks used in Cathedral liturgies at places such as Canterbury Cathedral and York Minster. It also participates in ecumenical events alongside Fellowship of Catholic Priests, Anglican–Roman Catholic International Commission, and Marian societies such as the Confraternity of the Immaculate Conception.
The Society maintains formal and informal ties with Roman Catholic and Orthodox Marian fraternities, ecumenical commissions like the Anglican–Roman Catholic International Commission (ARCIC), and Anglican devotional societies including the Guild of All Souls, Society of the Holy Cross, and the Confraternity of the Blessed Sacrament. It engages with diocesan structures in the Church of England, national synods, and international instruments of the Anglican Communion while preserving distinct Anglo-Catholic identity similar to that of the Forward in Faith movement and the Society of St Wilfrid and St Hilda. Collaborative liturgical and charitable initiatives have involved partnerships with cathedral chapters, theological colleges, and parish networks in cities like London, Oxford, Cambridge, Bristol, and Manchester.
Leaders and prominent members have included Anglican clergy and religious educators associated with Edward Bouverie Pusey's legacy, theologians like Charles Gore and Percy Dearmer, and monastic figures from the Community of the Resurrection and Community of St Mary the Virgin. Bishops, priors, and chaplains linked to the society have served in dioceses including Canterbury, London, Durham, and Birmingham and have been active in ecumenical dialogues with figures associated with ARCIC and the Lambeth Conference. Lay patrons and supporters have included academics from Oxford University, Cambridge University, and King's College London, musicians from the Cathedral music tradition, and authors engaged in Anglo-Catholic spirituality.
Category:Anglican religious orders Category:Anglo-Catholicism