The Ecumenical order of St Francis. (First Order Friars and Second Order Sisters.
Our Ecumenical Franciscan Order is open to men and women, single, married or with a partner, under the protection of the Australian Church of Antioch in the Diocese of Tasmania. We following the same rule as the Third Order Regular Brothers and Sisters World Wide and approved by Pope John Paul II and our first Bishop Protector the Right Reverend Phillip K Newell of the Anglican Church in Tasmania. On his retirement the Minister general after looking for a new Bishop Protector approached the Presiding Archbishop The Most Rev Frank Buggé, of the Australian Church of Antioch, and so in 2002 the Ecumenical Order of St. Francis came under the protection for The Australian Church of Antioch. Glenn Clark who became known in Religion as Brother Paul Francis founded the order in 1991.
In 2018 Br Paul Francis (eosf) added to the rule of the ecumenical Order of St Francis, three new paragraphs and was approved by the presiding Archbishop the Most Reverend Frank R Buggé on the 24th of July 2018.
The changes were:-
The brothers and sisters promise obedience and reverence to the Bishop Protector. In this same spirit they are to obey those called to be ministers and servants of their own fraternity. And where they are, or in whatever situation they are, they should diligently and fervently show reverence and honour to one another. They should also foster unity and communion with all the members of the Franciscan family.
The Second added paragraph gives the aim of the Ecumenical Order of St. Francis which is to foster the Ecumenical Spirit, by inviting those of all denominations and faith to join the fraternity, and strives to understand the religious beliefs and customs of others, looking for teachings on which we all agree, and put aside all prejudice, and foster the spirit of universal brotherhood in God our Father.
And the final Addition is to paragraph 18 and is marked 18b and is as follows:
Let the brothers and sisters who are married or with a partner are to profess fidelity to each other as well as the Order let them also remember the example of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Mother of God and of our Lord Jesus Christ, ever before their eyes.
The Ecumenical Order of St. Francis follows a modern religious life. The Community meets every six years for General Chapter and between each General chapter we have our Tri-Annual chapter meeting ever three years. These Chapter meetings are held on the feast of the Epiphany (Jan 6). Those who work and live in the same area meet more regularly to pray and study together, to help each other in their assignments and to support each other.
Membership is open to all Independent Catholic Churches, as well as the traditional churches such as the Roman Catholic, Anglican, and members form other churches not listed can apply to join and share alongside our members.
The Vision of the Ecumenical Order of St. Francis is to bring together in prayer, and apostolic service all Apostolic churches. To break down the barriers that separates--- and help bring unity and bring together a new Order – united in faith --- led by the Holy Spirit to serve the church of our Lord Jesus Christ as one voice.
We strive to foster the Ecumenical Spirit, by inviting those of all denominations and faith to join the fraternity, and strives to understand the religious beliefs and customs of others, looking for teachings on which we all agree, and put aside all prejudice, and foster the spirit of universal brotherhood in God our Father.
Therefore, our community is made up of men and Women from all Catholic Apostolic Churches, and Protestant Churches are called to show the universal Church that by the Leading of the Holy Spirit all denominations can live, work and worship together without any so called barriers or differences.
Jesus preached Peace, Love and Joy as St. Francis lived - Our Rule of life is to "Live the Gospel Life" - may we do that In His name and unite the church to a rebirth of following and living the Gospel of Jesus Christ, in unity.
We will provide a variety of ministries, which include - counseling, retreats for groups and for individuals, prayer and contemplative meditation workshops, and other educational programmes. These services are offered free of charge to all, so no person is excluded due to lack of income. The operation of the Ecumenical Order of St. Francis is funded by private donations and the income of the Brothers who are in the work force.
The Ecumenical Order of St. Francis is a community of Brothers and Sisters, which make up the First Order of Friars and Second Order of Sisters. As the religious life is changing all the time, it was felt that we needed to be more open to members, so we accept single, married or divorced members, and so we are in line with the Australian Church of Antioch, we also accept same sex married members, no one is discriminated in any way.
The First Order Friars and the Second Order Sisters may elect to remain in their own independent dwelling and choose to join the community as and when possible, or to live in a community house that other members have formed should they be accepted by those in that community home. All First and Second Order members will come together at the mother house in Launceston, every six years to hold the General Chapter of Mats and every three years for the Tri-Annual chapter, plus the two day retreat of the Order on 4th to the 6th of January.
All First Order Friars, and Second Order Sisters will spend six months as a Postulant, before entering the two year Novitiate, and then Temporary Life Profession for two more years, before taking Continued life Profession at the end of that. The Vows of the First and Second Order are four fold: -
Our Third Order is called the Ecumenical Franciscan Oblates of Penitence. This order is not a vowed order but the Oblates live by a rule of life and as the First and Second Order the members can be of any gender and any marital status. They live in their own home and when possible come together in fraternal groups once a month for prayer and sacramental life of the community in their areas.
Our Local Third Order Oblates can attend Chapter, however, our overseas members are not obliged to attend unless they are able to be here. Should there be any changes to the Third Order Constitution and canons or any business at chapter that will involve the third order, they will receive a copy of the proposed changes well in advance. Once they receive this they can send in their comments, and vote for or against the changes by email to the Minister General, two weeks before chapter commences.
All members of the First, Second, and Third Orders are self-supporting members and hold a full-time or part time job in the community at large. We do not tithe, but we do expect our members to meet their own needs and expenses and assist with the general needs of the Community. No one is asked to contribute to the community more than what they can financially can afford, as we are not a money-orientated order.
The Ecumenical Order of St. Francis follows the same Rule as all the Third Order Regular Orders around the world, with a couple of added paragraphs to be uniquely ours, this covers areas of the rule that pertain to the Pope as we are not in communion with the Church of Rome.
The Remainder of the rule is as used by the our Roman Catholic Third Order brothers and sisters.
Our Ecumenical Franciscan Order is open to men and women, single, married or with a partner, under the protection of the Australian Church of Antioch in the Diocese of Tasmania. We following the same rule as the Third Order Regular Brothers and Sisters World Wide and approved by Pope John Paul II and our first Bishop Protector the Right Reverend Phillip K Newell of the Anglican Church in Tasmania. On his retirement the Minister general after looking for a new Bishop Protector approached the Presiding Archbishop The Most Rev Frank Buggé, of the Australian Church of Antioch, and so in 2002 the Ecumenical Order of St. Francis came under the protection for The Australian Church of Antioch. Glenn Clark who became known in Religion as Brother Paul Francis founded the order in 1991.
In 2018 Br Paul Francis (eosf) added to the rule of the ecumenical Order of St Francis, three new paragraphs and was approved by the presiding Archbishop the Most Reverend Frank R Buggé on the 24th of July 2018.
The changes were:-
The brothers and sisters promise obedience and reverence to the Bishop Protector. In this same spirit they are to obey those called to be ministers and servants of their own fraternity. And where they are, or in whatever situation they are, they should diligently and fervently show reverence and honour to one another. They should also foster unity and communion with all the members of the Franciscan family.
The Second added paragraph gives the aim of the Ecumenical Order of St. Francis which is to foster the Ecumenical Spirit, by inviting those of all denominations and faith to join the fraternity, and strives to understand the religious beliefs and customs of others, looking for teachings on which we all agree, and put aside all prejudice, and foster the spirit of universal brotherhood in God our Father.
And the final Addition is to paragraph 18 and is marked 18b and is as follows:
Let the brothers and sisters who are married or with a partner are to profess fidelity to each other as well as the Order let them also remember the example of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Mother of God and of our Lord Jesus Christ, ever before their eyes.
The Ecumenical Order of St. Francis follows a modern religious life. The Community meets every six years for General Chapter and between each General chapter we have our Tri-Annual chapter meeting ever three years. These Chapter meetings are held on the feast of the Epiphany (Jan 6). Those who work and live in the same area meet more regularly to pray and study together, to help each other in their assignments and to support each other.
Membership is open to all Independent Catholic Churches, as well as the traditional churches such as the Roman Catholic, Anglican, and members form other churches not listed can apply to join and share alongside our members.
The Vision of the Ecumenical Order of St. Francis is to bring together in prayer, and apostolic service all Apostolic churches. To break down the barriers that separates--- and help bring unity and bring together a new Order – united in faith --- led by the Holy Spirit to serve the church of our Lord Jesus Christ as one voice.
We strive to foster the Ecumenical Spirit, by inviting those of all denominations and faith to join the fraternity, and strives to understand the religious beliefs and customs of others, looking for teachings on which we all agree, and put aside all prejudice, and foster the spirit of universal brotherhood in God our Father.
Therefore, our community is made up of men and Women from all Catholic Apostolic Churches, and Protestant Churches are called to show the universal Church that by the Leading of the Holy Spirit all denominations can live, work and worship together without any so called barriers or differences.
Jesus preached Peace, Love and Joy as St. Francis lived - Our Rule of life is to "Live the Gospel Life" - may we do that In His name and unite the church to a rebirth of following and living the Gospel of Jesus Christ, in unity.
We will provide a variety of ministries, which include - counseling, retreats for groups and for individuals, prayer and contemplative meditation workshops, and other educational programmes. These services are offered free of charge to all, so no person is excluded due to lack of income. The operation of the Ecumenical Order of St. Francis is funded by private donations and the income of the Brothers who are in the work force.
The Ecumenical Order of St. Francis is a community of Brothers and Sisters, which make up the First Order of Friars and Second Order of Sisters. As the religious life is changing all the time, it was felt that we needed to be more open to members, so we accept single, married or divorced members, and so we are in line with the Australian Church of Antioch, we also accept same sex married members, no one is discriminated in any way.
The First Order Friars and the Second Order Sisters may elect to remain in their own independent dwelling and choose to join the community as and when possible, or to live in a community house that other members have formed should they be accepted by those in that community home. All First and Second Order members will come together at the mother house in Launceston, every six years to hold the General Chapter of Mats and every three years for the Tri-Annual chapter, plus the two day retreat of the Order on 4th to the 6th of January.
All First Order Friars, and Second Order Sisters will spend six months as a Postulant, before entering the two year Novitiate, and then Temporary Life Profession for two more years, before taking Continued life Profession at the end of that. The Vows of the First and Second Order are four fold: -
- Poverty of spirit.
- Simplicity of Life.
- Fidelity (to the Order and to the partner)
- Obedience.
Our Third Order is called the Ecumenical Franciscan Oblates of Penitence. This order is not a vowed order but the Oblates live by a rule of life and as the First and Second Order the members can be of any gender and any marital status. They live in their own home and when possible come together in fraternal groups once a month for prayer and sacramental life of the community in their areas.
Our Local Third Order Oblates can attend Chapter, however, our overseas members are not obliged to attend unless they are able to be here. Should there be any changes to the Third Order Constitution and canons or any business at chapter that will involve the third order, they will receive a copy of the proposed changes well in advance. Once they receive this they can send in their comments, and vote for or against the changes by email to the Minister General, two weeks before chapter commences.
All members of the First, Second, and Third Orders are self-supporting members and hold a full-time or part time job in the community at large. We do not tithe, but we do expect our members to meet their own needs and expenses and assist with the general needs of the Community. No one is asked to contribute to the community more than what they can financially can afford, as we are not a money-orientated order.
The Ecumenical Order of St. Francis follows the same Rule as all the Third Order Regular Orders around the world, with a couple of added paragraphs to be uniquely ours, this covers areas of the rule that pertain to the Pope as we are not in communion with the Church of Rome.
The Remainder of the rule is as used by the our Roman Catholic Third Order brothers and sisters.