Society of St John the Evangelist

Society of St John the Evangelist
AbbreviationSSJE
Formation1866; 158 years ago (1866)
FounderRichard Meux Benson
Charles Chapman Grafton
TypeAnglican religious order
HeadquartersCambridge, Massachusetts, US
Websitessje.org

The Society of St John the Evangelist (SSJE) is an Anglican religious order for men. The members live under a rule of life and, at profession, make monastic vows of poverty, celibacy and obedience.

SSJE was founded in 1866 at Cowley, Oxford, England, by Richard Meux Benson, Charles Chapman Grafton, and Simeon Wilberforce O'Neill. Known colloquially as the Cowley Fathers, the society was the first stable religious community of men to be established in the Anglican Communion since the English Reformation.[1] For many years the society had houses in England, Scotland, India, South Africa, Japan, and Canada.[2]

  1. ^ "Society of St John the Evangelist". Fellowship of St John Trust Association. Retrieved 6 August 2016.
  2. ^ Coulombe, Charles (13 June 2019). "When Anglicans founded religious orders". Catholic Herald. Retrieved 19 June 2019.