An Episcopal friend passes along to me the cover story from the August 21 issue of The Living Church magazine, titled, “Lambeth’s Benedict Option.” It’s an interview with the Rev. Anders Litzell, prior of the new Community of St. Anselm, living at Lambeth Palace, the headquarters of the Anglican Communion. The community consists of an ecumenical group of 16 residents and 20 other members who are committed to living in prayer, community, and service for one year. Excerpts:

In your doctoral work you have focused on the leadership of St. Benedict. Because of his creation of an intentional Christian community in a time of cultural change and political chaos, Benedict is considered a timely example for the church in a post-Christian culture (e.g., Rod Dreher’s “Benedict Option”). How has St. Benedict’s example guided you so far in creating the Community of St. Anselm?

St. Benedict is a great influence on me and Archbishop Justin alike (who is a Benedictine Oblate) and the flavour of our Rule is much inspired by St. Benedict, both in particular emphases (restating in our context St. Benedict’s exhortation to his monks to “prefer nothing whatever to Christ”) as well as the basic balance between work, study, prayer, rest — and the importance of silence in our daily schedule. Also St. Benedict’s wisdom in shaping and facilitating deep human relationships is a wealth of riches that continues to inspire and challenge me as we make the smaller, but ever so important, decisions that will guide our day-to-day life.

More:

Much has been said in recent months about millennials and their relationship (or lack thereof) to the church. The Community will be made up of people who are 20 to 35. You have received hundreds of applications for only a few spots, demonstrating a great interest among young people in such a community. What is it about this venture that appeals to millennials?

Just under 500 people from all over the world, and from a very great range of denominations, started the application process, applying for 16 resident and up to 40 non-resident places (the latter for people living and working in London). By any standard, that’s a phenomenal response.

Yet on one level there is nothing special about the millennials’ response to this at all; it is the call of the Holy Spirit to be shaped into the likeness of Christ. That call is the same and equally attractive in every generation, which is why we are able to draw on treasures from throughout the life of the Church in this formational year. Jesus Christ is the same, yesterday, today, and forever, and he calls a people to his name today as before, and it is not only attracting millennials. But for this to be a gift to future generations, we are inviting people in the earlier stages of their lives.

On another level, this year of community life is addressing a series of needs and wants in society, which the Holy Spirit is even today equipping the Church to respond to. The word community is being used widely by both Church and increasingly in secular society today (and it is even bent out of shape from time to time). It is a banner waved around by politicians, banks, even the police, at least in the U.K. There is a distinct need for a different way of relating to one another in life than transactional connections, than isolating individualism and self-identification, and I think that need and desire is what secular society is reflecting.

In that sense it is not about millennials per se, but about the signs of the times, perhaps most visibly embodied by the millennials. Community life in the name of Christ; a life shared in increasing transparency to one another, self-giving to each other, and to those most in need in society. A life shared in sacrifice, prayer, discipline, study: this kind of community life is not another add-on to be slapped onto Western individualism/consumerism. It is a different paradigm of social existence, and I am delighted that we can model that in such a visible place, and annually send more young people out into the world with a deep experience of that way of life.

Read the whole thing. The Community of St. Anselm is a project launched by Justin Welby, the Archbishop of Canterbury. Here’s the community’s website; they’re taking applications now for 2016-17. Here’s how the community describes its project:

We all know there’s a real need for integrity in our world today. In finance, business, politics and every other sphere, we need people whose actions are rooted in a deep commitment to the common good.

The non-residential programme of the Community of St Anselm is a year-long challenge to combine your job with a demanding Rule of Life that the ancient Christian monastics would have recognised. The idea is that you commit to one evening a week and regular weekends – plus several group retreats over the year – while maintaining your work commitments.

We like to think of it as a kind of ethical bootcamp – aimed at putting Jesus at the centre of your life.

With a group of young Christians from many different backgrounds, you’ll follow a pattern of prayer, study, deep self-reflection and service. Put simply it’s about doing whatever it takes to become more like Jesus – and living out that discipleship in your workplace and everywhere else.

You’ll swear off all kinds of habits and comforts to make space for the priorities of God – and make prayer your new bottom line. It’ll be really tough. But it will also be rewarding, fun and life-changing.

That’s fantastic! Here’s a video describing the vision:

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tp4kPXdgnUg?rel=0&w=530&h=325]

More video here.

This is really exciting. Congratulations to the Anglicans for trying this out. I’m grateful to Abp Justin for his vision. When I start researching the Benedict Option book, I hope to come visit the Community and find out what they’ve learned, and how it can help the rest of us.

The Benedict Option at Lambeth Palace. Whoever could have imagined such a thing? It makes me think at once of how helpful it would be to Christians students at college campuses if churches or ministries would buy a large house, or a series of apartments, and set up Benedict Option living arrangements, where Christian students can live together, pray together, study together, and serve together.