An Overview

 Mission Statement

We, the Brothers and Sisters of The Fellowship of the Holy Theotokos, continue the mission of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ for his people in many countries and diverse cultures where we serve him.

He Calls Us To Be

His Praying Presence: We respond with love, offering our lives of prayer and commitment so that the world in seeing us sees Him, in hearing us recognizes His voice, and in knowing us knows Him.

His Healing Presence: We respond with kindness and hospitality to those who are sick and needy, whether in body or spirit, dedicating ourselves in a special way for the reconciliation of those who live in the pain of darkness from Jesus and His church.

His Life Giving Presence: We respond with sincerity and willingness to share His gifts and goodness with those whose lives we touch, so that they may live more fully and be transformed in Him.

United in this common mission we journey forward, making known the Kingdom here on earth.

The General Governance of the Fellowship of the Holy Theotokos

The Fellowship is dedicated to the Holy Theotokos (the Birth Giver of Christ). It is an ecumenical group of Christians who wish to live out the hermitical life in their own homes and neighbourhoods. Each member continues to be active within their own denomination while sharing their love of Christ with others from different Christian backgrounds.

The name under the constitution of the organisation shall be The Fellowship of the Holy Theotokos.

The foundation for the life of the community will be the statutes, canons, customs and traditions of each member's denomination, whilst also sharing and drawing from the blessings of the ancient monastic traditions. The Fellowship of the Holy Theotokos is made up of three communities: the Community of St. Ita & St. Fillan, The Orthodox Catholic Community of the Cappadocian Hermits of St. Basil the Great and the Ecumenical Community of the Holy Theotokos.

The basic foundation of monasticism can be traced back to St. Basil the Great (circa 4th cent) and St. Benedict of Nursia (circa 6th cent). The monastic tradition among the Celtic peoples can be traced back even further to the 1st century A.D., in the Celtic areas of Asia Minor and later in the British Isles, but the first major rules and norms which affected Europe can be traced back to St. Basil and St. Benedict. By combining these elements of the early church fathers and many other ancient monastic spiritual rules, we share the blessings of both Eastern and Western monasticism.

Following the guidelines of both Eastern and Western monastic traditions represents to us simply cuttings from a single plant 'The Gospel': The one primary and fundamental Rule of Rules for our salvation and all others derive from it like springs from the one source. This spring of living water is the 'Good News' which was given by our Saviour to His apostles to be proclaimed throughout the world.

The Little Rule of Saint Benedict

The little rule is based on two activities: prayer and work. Little is known of the life of Saint Benedict. he was born at Nursia (North-central Italy, circa 6yh cent AD) and studied at Rome before withdrawing to live the life of a hermit. He founded several monasteries but had little success until he moved to the monastery at Monte Cassino. He wrote his Rule during the early years as a monk and was greatly influenced by the writings of St Baisl the Great and the influx of Greek monks in Italy at that time. His little rule is as follows: "Now is the hour for us to rise from sleep; let us open our eyes; let us hear with attentive ears; run while you have the light of life."

Here we see the urgency of Saint Benedict in his rule for the community in the 6th century. It is a call to prayer, to listen, to be aware of everything around us. It is an early wake-up call to take action. To run the race while you still have the light of life. This brief working document, which is fifteen hundred years old, has lost nothing of its freshness or urgency of that essential monastic vocation of commitment to watch and pray.