Lambeth Palace is to be home to a new religious community of people aged between 20 and 35, which will be known as the Community of St Anselm. According to the Lambeth press release members will be drawn from every walk of life with no formal requirements needed and will spend a year studying, praying and taking part in service of the community, although in an interview with the BBC the Archbishop spoke of a community of ”˜postgraduates’ who would be ”˜mainly Anglican’. The Community will be launched in September 2015 and will consist of 15 full-time members with a further 40 people who live and work in London joining part-time. Lambeth Palace is in the process of recruiting a Prior to pioneer the new venture and direct its worship and life. The Prior will act under the supervision of the Archbishop who will function as an ”˜Abbot’ to the community. A website has been set up asking for volunteers. It speaks of community members ”˜seeking to draw closer to God through a daily rhythm of silence, study and prayer’ but also promises potential recruits that ”˜they will be immersed in the modern challenges of the global 21st century church’.
A married Abbot? What will they think of next?