The revival and contemporary state of Anglican Monasticism

Abstract

The article offers an overview of the history of the revival and an assessment of the current state of Anglican Monasticism, an institution little studied in Russian theological science. A brief overview of available sources is provided, the study of which shows that the popularity of the Catholic Sisters of Charity and Lutheran Deaconesses in connection with the plight of the population, as well as the ideas of the Oxford Movement and its leaders, are important in the revival and rapid spread of religious communities, primarily women’s, in particular Edward Bouverie Pusey and John Henry Newman. Considerable attention in the article is paid to the consideration of the history of the canonical regulation of religious communities and the identification, on the basis of documents of the Anglican Church, of both the features of Anglican Monasticism, closely related to the features of the structure of the Anglican Church, its connection with state power, the lack of centralization and the enormous freedom of the churches of the Anglican Communion, and the insufficiency of accepted canons. The reasons for the decline of Anglican and, in general, Western Monasticism since the second half of the 20th century are given. The current problems of the existence and activities of communities, related, in particular, to the acceptance of the «female priesthood», are considered and prospects for further research are proposed.