The Order of St.Michael
The Order of Saint Michael is an ecumenical Christian community oriented toward self-knowledge and spiritual growth, including clergy as well as lay members. It is sacramental and liturgical in orientation, but non-dogmatic and non-denominational. The Order is not intended as a substitute for an individual's affiliation with any institutional church or denomination, but as an adjunct to and enrichment of his or her understanding of God. Members seek a mystical expression of Christianity in its universal or catholic sense, bringing the rich traditions of the past into a form meaningful for men and women on the brink of the twenty-first century.
The Order of Saint Michael offers those living in the world an opportunity to experience the support of a like-minded community in developing a personal, mystically oriented spiritual life without necessitating a break with family or worldly ties. Members aspire to the traditional Benedictine vows of STABILITY, seen as a personal commitment to the path the individual has chosen to follow; CONVERSION OF LIFE, which is the constant turning of the individual to God; and OBEDIENCE, from the Latin root -audire,- to hear, which means to listen and hear with the ears of the heart and to respond eagerly to the will of God as it becomes known in one's daily life. In a general sense, it is obedience to the foundation of a committed Christian life.
Within a Christian Trinitarian framework, the Order recognizes both the masculine and feminine attributes of God. Hence, the Order's liturgies and devotions seek to reflect this balance, incorporating reinterpretations of familiar Christian sources with restorations of previously "lost" or "hidden" Christian traditions. For example, the Holy Spirit may be addressed in certain contexts as the Paraclete or Comforter, the Holy Sophia or Divine Wisdom, and the -Ruach- that brooded upon the face of the waters in the beginning and brought forth life.
As a working basis of fellowship and a reflection of the nature of the Christian church, the Order of St. Michael recognizes the central value of shared community worship and other common devotions performed in unity of spirit and intention, even when separated by time and space. The community believes that every man and woman must also be free to seek the most appropriate individual expression of his or her relationship to the Divine. Therefore, the Order combines traditional forms of liturgical worship and a deep mystical awareness of the reality of sacramental grace with utmost respect for intellectual liberty and individual conscience. The Order regards the Holy Eucharist as Jesus Christ's supreme gift of Himself to the Church and to the world--continued in the Church as the centerpoint of communal worship and making present the sacred work of the eternal High Priest, Who offered Himself to be the eternal sacrifice for all and to bring the entire universe to its divine fulfillment. Clergy in the Order offer the Sacrament of Holy Communion to any who reverently desire it, who turn to Christ and are prompted by the Holy Spirit so to seek God.
The patron saint of the Order is the holy Archangel Michael who, as Prince of Heaven and commander of the Legions of Light, embodies the ideals of chivalry and service to the Light.
For more information on the Order of St. Michael visit: http://www.michaelines.net/