Welcome to this website. It is here to introduce you to some men and women whose response to God’s call brings them a radical freedom.

Christian communities are not new; from its earliest days the church has had at its heart groups who have chosen to make a common life of work, prayer and study. Dissolved by King Henry VIII they were born again in the Church of England in the nineteenth century focussing themselves on concerns such as health care and education for the needy or mission work at home and abroad, alongside their regular work of prayer.

Now, in the 21st Century, there are numerous communities across the worldwide Anglican Communion; their spiritual roots may be catholic, celtic, charismatic, or be elsewhere. Fresh expressions of religious community life are constantly being explored and new groups are formed even as some older ones complete their tasks.

On this website you will see examples of how Religious Communities live and work today. All who visit it will discover something about this distinctive pattern of Christian discipleship. Some, I know, will be inspired to consider it for themselves. I am grateful to our Religious Communities and a Trust Fund for financing this initiative, to all who feature in it or have helped in its production, and to Media 33 and Orriss Design our web designers.

Bishop David Walker - Bishop of Dudley
Acting Chairman: Advisory Committee for Bishops and Religious Communities