Eligibility:
Membership in the Order is open to all bishops, priests, deacons, and laity who meet the following criteria:
Please email Fr Paul Castelli, OCS, Director of Vocations, at [email protected] to begin the discernment process. You may also submit the initial inquiry form at the bottom of the page. Please note that all inquirers will need to have the support of their spiritual director, parish clergy, and eventually their Bishop Diocesan.
- Be at least 24 years of age, unless granted a dispensation by the Provincial Council or Prelate.
- Be a baptized and confirmed communicant in good standing within The Episcopal Church, or another Church within communion of the See of Canterbury (Anglican Communion).
- Deacons, Priests, and Laity must obtain consent from their Bishop Ordinary in writing. Bishop applicants must only provide a letter of intent for requesting to join. Professed religious must have their vows released by their Prior, Abbot, or other authority prior to admission to aspirancy.
- Affirm the Nicene, Apostles’, and Athanasian Creeds. Affirm their fidelity to Jesus Christ as expressed through the one holy catholic and apostolic Church.
- Commit to regular sacramental participation in the Holy Eucharist and Reconciliation of a Penitent as often as one’s conscience and discernment dictates.
- Commit to regular observance of the Rule of Life of the Order.
- Undergo child and vulnerable adult safety training as prescribed by the Order. Alternatively, meeting one’s Diocesan requirements for Safe Church / Safe Communities satisfies this criterion.
Please email Fr Paul Castelli, OCS, Director of Vocations, at [email protected] to begin the discernment process. You may also submit the initial inquiry form at the bottom of the page. Please note that all inquirers will need to have the support of their spiritual director, parish clergy, and eventually their Bishop Diocesan.
Stages of Formation
Discernment and formation are lifelong, although the Order recognizes 6 stages of formation.
Inquiry
After a period of preliminary discernment, the Inquirer prepares the eligibility materials to submit to the Council and Director of Vocations, and an interview is conducted.
Aspirancy
Discerners who have been initially admitted are called Aspirants, and receive basic formation around what it is to be a religious in general. An Aspirant who discovers an interest in the charism and spirituality of the Order is invited to get to know the other members. (At least three months.)
Postulancy
If approved for postulancy, the Postulant enters a rigorous formation process. Postulancy is a learning time both spiritually and academically. The postulant receives formation around our charism— specifically, principles of Dominican spirituality and Thomistic Angelology. (At least six months.)
Novitiate
A novice receives practical formation around our apostolate of deliverance ministry, and prepares for Simple Profession. A novice is permitted to be called Brother or Sister and wear the habit of the Order without the pectoral cross. The Novice may wear a white scapular that is not yet consecrated. (At least one year.)
Simple Profession
Once a Novice has completed their coursework and receives the proper endorsements from outside the community, they may formally request to make simple profession to the Council. This lasts 3 years and may be renewed twice if it is prudent to do so and with consent of the Prelate.
Solemn Profession
After a member has completed the required formation requirements for Simple Profession, the member may request to make Solemn Profession to the Bishop Protector and Provincial Council, who will both need to provide consent. Solemn profession occurs during annual assembly. After solemn profession, the Dominican charism becomes a perpetual mark on one’s soul.
NOTE: The Order of Christ the Saviour does not commission, license, or ordain deliverance ministers-- this is the sole right of a Bishop Diocesan. We do, however, provide initial and continued formation, community, and ministerial support to members who have been properly authorized by their local Ordinary.
Our Rule of Life
Professed members commit to vows of chastity, poverty, and obedience. Influenced by the Rule of St. Augustine, members may choose the degree of solemnity of the vows they profess. Members are also expected to:
- Center life on the Holy Sacraments of the Church. The expectation is to receive the Holy Eucharist weekly and the Rite of Reconciliation monthly.
- Pray, at the minimum, Morning Prayer and Compline in accordance with the rubrics of the Book of Common Prayer or the Order’s Breviary. Additional prayers and prayer practices, such as the Holy Rosary and Lectio Divina, are highly encouraged.
- Receive Spiritual Direction monthly.
- Pray daily for the Order and its members using the Order’s Collect and the St Michael the Archangel prayer.
- Wear a St. Benedict Medal and/or Brown Scapular daily. These sacramentals must be properly blessed in accordance with the prescribed form of the Church.
- Observe a solemn fast during Fridays in Lent and on the eve of the Feast of St. Michael the Archangel as one’s health permits.
- Attend annual assembly meetings, whether in-person or virtual, unless granted a dispensation by the Prelate or Provincial Council.
Our Vows
Professed members commit to vows of chastity, poverty, and obedience. Influenced by the Rule of St. Augustine, members may choose the degree of solemnity of the vows they profess.
- Chastity. Chastity is defined as "the sexual behavior of a person acceptable to the moral standards and guidelines of a culture, civilization, or religion." It is also defined as "morality with respect to sexual relations." Morality is "concerned with the distinction between good and evil or right and wrong." All members are charged with obedience to the supreme Christian commandment to "love your neighbor as yourself" (Matthew 22:19). The sexual act is the chief physical expression of this commandment. With this in mind, all members of the Order commit to abstaining from harmful or exploitative sexual activity, or sexual activity that brings shame on the Order and on the name of Christ.
- The Lesser Vow of Chastity. The member is to remain celibate until marriage, but may pursue a monogamous relationship without sexual activity.
- The Greater Vow of Chastity. The member is to engage in sexual activity only within the confines of legally recognized marriage. This also includes those who are living within the confines of a legally recognized domestic partnership.
- The Superior Vow of Chastity. The member is to live a celibate life in perpetuity, remaining unmarried and not engaging in sexual activity.
- Poverty. A member of the Order shall recognize that they own nothing, but that all of their belongings belong to God, and must use this personal property as the executor of God's wealth. Thus, all members are to abstain from a life focused on material gain for the purpose of personal gratification and shall use their wealth to the glory of God. The Order’s primary expectations for poverty are that members avoid abundance whenever possible, and to be generous in our sharing.
- The Lesser Vow of Poverty. The member is to understand that all of their possessions belong to God, and to commit this wealth and possessions to a life lived in divine service lived in accordance with the Rule of the Order.
- The Greater Vow of Poverty. While the members may have secular employment, ministry activities are to be paid for by free donation. A member may not charge for their ministerial services.
- Obedience. By the vow of obedience, a person dedicates themselves totally to God, and its actions are closer to the purpose of profession, which is the perfection of charity. Through obedience, in short, everything else which pertains to the apostolic life is accepted at one and the same time. Since we are united to Christ by obedience, whatever work and hardship we sustain in its observance can be regarded as a continuation of Christ’s own offering and take on an aspect of sacrifice both for ourselves and for the Church in whose perfection the whole work of creation is fulfilled.
- The Greater Vow of Obedience. The member is to obey the superiors in the Order in all things pertaining to religious life above any ecclesiastical commitment.
- The Superior Vow of Obedience. The member is to live in common with his superiors obeying them above all things, to include familial commandments and employment obligations.
- If a member discerns it is prudent to do so, a member may petition the Provincial Council and/or the Bishop Protector to be released from these vows. In accordance with Title III Canon 14 Section 2d of the Constitutions of the General Convention, the Presiding Bishop of The Episcopal Church has the authority to dispense a member from their professed vows.
The Habit
The Habit of the Order consists of the following:
- Cassock & Collar (Brother's or Clerical)
- Leather Belt Cincture & Rosary (5 or 15 decade)
- White Scapular (Consecrated)
- Pectoral Cross of the Order (Not Picture)
- Black Capuche
OCS Designation
Members of the Order who have completed the required postulancy program and have been certified for the novitiate by the Director of Formation may be addressed as “Brother” or “Sister” and may place “OCS” after their name in communications both internally and externally. They may also wear the habit of the Order in accordance with prescribed guidelines. Customarily, men are received as friars, and women are received as religious sisters. There are no further gender-based distinctions. As a reminder, while Br./Sr. is indeed an ecclesiastical designation that is the right of the Order, it is not a title of reverence, rather, an invitation into sacred sibling-ship with one another. If the member is ordained to Holy Orders, they may use standard naming conventions if it is their preference.
“OCS” is a religious designation. After solemn profession, it becomes a perpetual mark on one’s soul. The designation always precedes any other post-nominals or degrees that may be earned.
Examples of approved styling are as follows:
The Rt. Rev. Jane Doe, OCS, DMin
The Rev. Br. John Doe, OCS
Sr. Janet Doe, OCS, PhD
“OCS” is a religious designation. After solemn profession, it becomes a perpetual mark on one’s soul. The designation always precedes any other post-nominals or degrees that may be earned.
Examples of approved styling are as follows:
The Rt. Rev. Jane Doe, OCS, DMin
The Rev. Br. John Doe, OCS
Sr. Janet Doe, OCS, PhD