Frequently Asked Questions

The word “order” (from the Latin ordo) is a fraught word throughout Christian history. By the Middle Ages, there were different meanings: the way things were or a mode of being; a legal term that described the way a government functioned; ecclesiastically, it referred to either sacramental acts (like marriage), major and minor ecclesial ranks (e.g., deacon, priest, bishop, sub-deacon and lector) or to ecclesiastical canons and rules (e.g., the canons laid out by the Fourth Lateran Council in 1215). For the purposes of this document, we note in particular that an ordo referred also to a religious order (an ordo monasticus or ordine religioso) or to monks or nuns in particular as an ordo separate from priests.

Because of this plurality of meanings historically and because of the modern tendency in the Church to use “order” imprecisely, the Religious Life Task Force desires to see the word “order” used primarily in reference to those religious communities that live together in community, under canonical vows (traditionally poverty, chastity and obedience; or, for Benedictines, obedience, stability and fidelity to the monastic life). For other forms of community life, words such as “society,” “brotherhood” or “sisterhood” are most appropriate.

The following categories, adapted from the 1983 Code of Canon Law of the Roman Catholic Church, defines the relevant distinctions between the different forms of consecrated life.

• An order is a community in which members, according to proper law, pronounce public vows, either perpetual or temporary which are to be renewed, however, when the period of time has elapsed, and lead a life of brothers or sisters in common.
• A secular institute (e.g., “society,” “brotherhood” or “sisterhood”) is a form of life in which the Christian faithful, living in the world, strive for the perfection of charity and seek to contribute to the sanctification of the world, especially from within.

 Section 3 - Concerning Affiliated Ministries

• An affiliated ministry may be an entity such as a seminary, mission agency, ministry organization, religious society or sodality. A diocese or other entity that is part of a jurisdiction other than the Anglican Church in North America may also apply for affiliated ministry status, so long as the requirements of Section 1 of this canon are met.

Section 4 - Concerning Religious Orders

• A Religious Order of The Anglican Church in North America is defined as a society of Christians who voluntarily commit themselves for life, or a term of years, to holding their possessions in common or in trust to a celibate life in community; and obedience to their Rule and Constitution. Other rules concerning Religious Orders are as established in the Rules of the College of Bishops.

Section 5 - Concerning Christian Communities or Societies

• A Christian Community or Society of The Anglican Church in North America under this Canon is defined as a society of Christians who voluntarily commit themselves for life or a term of years, in obedience to their Rule and Constitution. Other rules concerning Christian Communities or Societies are as established in the Rules of the College of Bishops.

Section 6 - Concerning Solitary Religious

• Vows of any solitary religious may be received and recorded by any Diocesan Bishop having jurisdiction over the congregation of which the vowed individual is a part, at the discretion of the Bishop. 

Religious Orders, Christian Communities or Societies and Solitary Religious – 

These are received and overseen according to Canon and the following
additional Rules:

Section 1 Concerning Religious Orders

1. A Religious Order of ACNA is defined as a society of Christians who
   voluntarily commit themselves for life, or a term of years, to holding their possessions in common or in trust; to a celibate life in community; and obedience to their Rule and Constitution.
2. To be officially recognized, a Religious Order must have at least six (6) professed members, and must be approved by the Bishop of the Diocese with the advice and consent of his Standing Committee.
3. Each Order shall have a Bishop Visitor or Protector, who shall not of necessity be the Bishop of the Diocese. If, however, the Bishop Visitor or Protector is not the Bishop of the Diocese in which the Mother House of the Order is established, he shall not accept election without the consent of the Bishop of the Diocese. The Bishop Visitor or Protector shall be the guardian of the Constitution of the Order, and shall serve as an arbiter in matters which the Order or its members cannot resolve through its normal processes.
4. Any persons under vows in a Religious Order, having exhausted the normal processes of the Order, may petition the Bishop Visitor or Protector for dispensation from those vows. In the event the petitioner is not satisfied with the ruling of the Bishop Visitor or Protector on such petition, he or she may file a petition with the Archbishop of ACNA, who shall have the highest dispensing power for Religious Orders, and his ruling on the petition shall be final.
5. A Religious Order may establish a house in a Diocese only with the permission of the Bishop of the Diocese. This permission once granted shall not be withdrawn by him or any succeeding Bishop except for good cause.
6. The Constitution of every Religious Order shall make provision for the legal ownership and administration of the temporal possessions of the Order, and in the event of the dissolution of the Order, or should it otherwise cease to exist, to provide for the disposition of its assets according to the laws governing nonprofit religious organizations in the State or Province wherein the Order is incorporated.
7. It is recognized that a Religious Order is not a Parish, Mission, or Institution of the Diocese, and the canonical provisions thereof shall not apply to Religious Orders, provided that if the Religious Order includes parishes and/or missions, by a covenant between the Diocese and the Order, those parishes and/or missions so identified shall be considered parishes and/or missions in the Diocese, and subject to the canons and other provisions applying to parishes and/or missions of the Diocese. 

Pending answer.

Pending answer.

Pending answer.

Pending answer.

Pending answer.

Pending answer.

Pending answer.

Pending answer.

Pending answer.

Pending answer.

Pending answer.

Pending answer.

Pending answer.

Pending answer.