Community of St Mary the Virgin
The Community of St Mary the Virgin (CSMV) is an Anglican religious order based at Wantage in Oxfordshire, England. It was founded in 1848 by the vicar of Wantage, the Reverend William John Butler and is one of the oldest surviving religious communities in the Church of England.
History
In the middle of the 19th century a spiritual revival known as the Oxford Movement began in the Church of England. Those involved came to be known as Anglo-Catholics whose aim was to recall the Church of England to its origins and to restore reverence and beauty in worship. Out of the Oxford Movement came the first religious orders to be founded since the Dissolution of the Monasteries by Henry VIII of England and among these the Community of St Mary the Virgin was one of the first.
The community was founded by William John Butler, the vicar of Wantage in 1848. He and Mother Harriet, the first superior, left their mark on the community. From the start there was an emphasis on simplicity of life. George Edmund Street designed the Convent House for the Community of St Mary the Virgin in 1850 in Wantage. Mary Ann Street became a nun in the community in about 1853. About ten years after Ann her freind Agnes Blencowe also professed. Ann and Agnes had founded the Ladies’ Ecclesiastical Embroidery Society which in 1863 merged with the Wantage Church Needlework Association.[1]
The community grew over the years, with ministries in schools, mission houses and homes for the elderly and mothers & babies. Other ministries involved people with learning difficulties, young offenders and the rehabilitation of people with alcohol or drug addictions. Branch houses were started elsewhere in the United Kingdom and in India and South Africa, opening up many new ministry opportunities. A notable Mother General from 1940 to 1953 was the sculptor and artist Mother Maribel (1887-1970). Sister Penelope Lawson, a member of CSMV, corresponded with C. S. Lewis between August 1939 and September 1963.
In more recent times, as numbers grew smaller and institutional works were given up in favour of smaller houses and more individual ministries, the community became engaged in spiritual direction and leading retreats, assisting as hospital chaplains and ministry in parishes and schools.
The five main Daily Offices said or sung in the CSMV chapel (Lauds, Terce, Sext, Vespers and Compline) were streamed live on the internet until 15 December 2012, when the streaming ended after Compline, the final office of the day.
On 1 January 2013, eleven of the sisters of the community, including the mother superior, left the convent at Wantage to join the Personal Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham, the Roman Catholic ordinariate in Britain established for former Anglicans.[2][3]
St Mary's Convent
The original convent building in Wantage was built in 1855-6 by G. E. Street, with the Chapel of St Mary Magdalene, also by Street, added in 1858-61. The construction of a larger chapel by J. L. Pearson began in 1887. In 1922, the stone statue of the Virgin Mary was installed at the west end, carved by Sister Maribel. The east end of the chapel was reconfigured by Ninian Comper in 1923. Many of the convent buildings are Grade II and the chapel is Grade II*.[4]
William John Butler
William John Butler (1818–1894), a high church Anglican priest, was Vicar of Wantage from 1846, and several of his curates became notable clerics (e.g. Henry Parry Liddon). In 1880 he became a canon of Worcester and in 1885 Dean of Lincoln. He was offered the bishopric of Natal in 1864 but did not accept it. He was the founder of the community and continued as warden until his death.
Work
Butler founded St Mary's School in Wantage, Oxfordshire in 1873. In 2007 St Mary's was absorbed into Heathfield School, an Anglican boarding school in Ascot, Berkshire.
The order founded St Helen's School in Abingdon in 1903. In 1938, St Helen's merged with the school of St Katharine in Wantage to become the School of St Helen and St Katharine, Abingdon.
Bibliography
- Butler, William John (1897) Life and Letters of William John Butler; ed. by A. J. Butler. London: Macmillan
- Annie Louisa, Mother C.S.M.V. (1948) Butler of Wantage: his inheritance and his legacy; an offering from his Community of S. Mary the Virgin. Westminster: Dacre Press (author identified as A. L. Hoare in ODCC)
- Cross, F. L. (ed.) (1957) The Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church. London: Oxford U. P.; p. 212 (gives foundation date as 1850)
References
- ^ Hulse, Lynn (11 July 2024), "Blencowe, Agnes (1817–1896), embroiderer and co-founder of the Ladies' Ecclesiastical Embroidery Society", Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, doi:10.1093/odnb/9780198614128.013.90000382470, ISBN 978-0-19-861412-8, retrieved 16 August 2024
- ^ "Permanent home found for Sisters who left Anglican community". 26 August 2013.
- ^ Community website
- ^ Historic England. "Chapel attached to St Mary's Convent (Grade II*) (1048564)". National Heritage List for England.
External links
- Official website
- v
- t
- e
men
- Alton Abbey
- Brotherhood of the Ascended Christ
- Brotherhood of Saint Gregory
- Community of the Resurrection
- Company of Mission Priests
- Ewell Monastery
- Franciscan orders
- Korean Franciscan Brotherhood
- Little Brothers of Francis
- Melanesian Brotherhood
- Oratory of the Good Shepherd
- Benedictine orders
- Order of the Holy Cross
- Order of the Teachers of the Children of God
- Salisbury Priory
- St Gregory's Abbey
- Society of the Holy Cross
- Society of St. Francis
- Society of St John the Evangelist
- Society of St. Paul
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/6c/Anglican_rose.svg/80px-Anglican_rose.svg.png)
women
- Augustinian orders
- Benedictine Sisters of Bethany
- Chama Cha Mariamu Mtakatifu
- Chita che Zita Rinoyera
- Chita che Zvipo Zve Moto
- Christa Sevika Sangha
- Community of All Hallows
- Community of Christ the King
- Community of Jesus' Compassion
- Community of Nazareth
- Community of St. Andrew
- Community of St. Clare
- Community of St. Denys
- Community of St. Francis
- Community of St. John Baptist
- Community of St. John the Divine
- Community of St. John the Evangelist
- Community of St. Laurence
- Community of St. Mary
- Community of St. Mary at the Cross
- Community of St. Mary the Virgin
- Community of St. Mary of Nazareth and Calvary
- Community of St. Michael & All Angels
- Community of St. Paul
- Community of St. Peter
- Community of St. Peter, Horbury
- Community of the Blessed Lady Mary
- Community of the Companions of Jesus the Good Shepherd
- Community of the Good Shepherd
- Community of the Holy Cross
- Community of the Holy Family
- Community of the Holy Name (Europe & Africa)
- Community of the Holy Name (Australia)
- Community of the Holy Spirit
- Community of the Resurrection of Our Lord
- Community of the Sacred Name
- Community of the Sacred Passion
- Community of the Servants of the Cross
- Community of the Sisters of Melanesia
- Community of the Sisters of the Church
- Community of the Sisters of the Love of God
- Community of the Transfiguration
- Congregation of the Sisters of the Visitation of Our Lady
- Daughters of St. Francis
- Fikambanan'ny Mpanompovavin l Jesoa Kristy
- Franciscan orders
- Malling Abbey
- Order of St. Anne
- Order of St. Anne at Bethany
- Order of St. Benedict
- Order of St. Helena
- Order of the Holy Paraclete
- Order of Julian of Norwich
- Order of Women (South India)
- Sisterhood of St. John the Divine
- Sisterhood of St. Mary, Bangladesh
- Sisterhood of the Epiphany
- Sisterhood of the Holy Nativity
- Sisters of Charity
- Sisters of the Good Shepherd
- Sisters of the Incarnation
- Sisters of Jesus Way
- Sisters of St Francis (Korea)
- Society of All Saints Sisters of the Poor
- Society of Our Lady of the Isles
- Society of Our Lady St. Mary
- Society of St. John the Divine
- Society of St. Margaret
- Society of the Franciscan Servants of Jesus & Mary
- Society of the Holy Cross
- Society of the Holy Trinity
- Society of the Precious Blood
- Society of the Sacred Advent
- Society of the Sacred Cross
- Society of the Sisters of Bethany
- Anglican Order of Preachers (Dominican)
- Community of the Glorious Ascension
- Community of the Holy Transfiguration
- Community of the Servants of the Will of God
- Companions of Saint Luke (OSB)
- Franciscan orders
- Mucknell Abbey
- Order of Christ the Saviour (OCS Dominicans)
- Benedictine orders
- Society of the Sacred Mission
- St Mark's Abbey
articles