Founded by Fr Herbert Kelly in 1893, and most commonly associated with Kelham Theological College (1903-1973), the Society of the Sacred Mission (SSM) boasted 85 members at its high point in 1961, and in 1969 Kelham had 76 students, more than any other theological college in the Church of England at the time.
Kelly had never really intended to found a religious order, as such; his aim was initially to train missionaries for Korea, and then priests for the Church of England. However, he felt that a religious community provided the best environment for priestly formation. Kelham was thus both a seminary and a monastery.
After the closure of Kelham in 1973, SSM moved to Willen, near Milton Keynes, and over subsequent years, also established Priories in various locations around the country. Although no longer involved in training clergy, SSM continued to engage, in various ways, in theological education and formation. The last Priory to be established was in Durham (1985); since the closure of Willen in 2019, this is now the only remaining SSM operation in the UK.
Today, just a small handful of professed brethren remain, and the Society has long since passed the point of being able to admit new novices. Inevitably, this means that SSM will one day cease to exist as a religious community.
So, is there a future for SSM beyond SSM? I believe the answer to be a resounding yes!
The motto of the Society of the Sacred Mission is: Ad gloriam Dei in eius voluntate (to the glory of God in the doing of his will). Its foundational aims, as given in the Constitution, refer to increasing the number of those ‘who give their lives to the divine service’, the ‘conversion and perfection of souls’, and the ‘cultivation of divine science’. These core principles, which can be summarised as ‘promoting vocation, nurturing faith and spirituality, and encouraging theological learning’, have shaped a new vision for St Antony’s, and everything we now do, as SSM transitions from being a religious order to a religious organisation.
So, let’s look at those foundational aims in a bit more detail. The opening paragraph of the Constitution, first drafted in 1894, states that:
Since its inception the aims of the Society have been first, to increase the number of those who give their lives to the divine service, especially by training those of whom at present use cannot be or is not made, whether through their lack of means or of education or through other causes, and to deepen the wholeness of sacrifice in them, where the vocation exists, by building them into the organisation of the religious life; next, to labour for the conversion and perfection of souls, especially among the heathen and in the Church abroad; thirdly, to have regard for the cultivation of divine science.
In seeking to fulfil its general object the Society shall interpret and apply the aims in the changing conditions of the world, considering not only the history of the Society but also any new opportunities of glorifying God which he may give.
The beauty of these objectives is that they are universal and timeless, as valid now as when they were first formulated. In other words, the imperative to ‘increase the number of those who give their lives to the divine service’, will always be relevant, at all times and in all places, even if the specific application of this aim will necessarily vary according to circumstances.
For the best part of eighty years, increasing the number of those giving their lives to the divine service primarily meant training men for ordained ministry in the Church of England. But vocation can be understood much more broadly than this. All Christians are called to the ‘divine service’, in one way or another, because at its most basic, the call to divine service is about turning from serving the self to serving God, as a disciple of Christ.
This principal aim has two sub-clauses, which provide further elaboration and contextualisation. These are, first, to train ‘those of whom at present use cannot be or is not made, whether through their lack of means or of education or through other causes,’ and second, ‘to deepen the wholeness of sacrifice in them, where the vocation exists, by building them into the organisation of the religious life.’
These clauses say something about the circumstances and manner in which Kelly sought to fulfil the objective of increasing the number of those who give their lives to the divine service. At the time, only people with a university education could be ordained in the Church of England, and in practical terms, that meant Oxford or Cambridge. Kelly believed that this restriction meant that the church was denying the potential vocation of numerous men from working class backgrounds who might nevertheless make excellent priests.
Today, it is no longer the case that eligibility for ordination depends on attending Oxford or Cambridge. At the end of the 19th century there were only four universities in England, now there are over 100 (in England alone). Access to higher education has expanded to an extent quite unimaginable at the beginning of the 20th century, and in any case, a university degree (never mind Oxbridge) is no longer a pre-requisite for ordination. In this respect, at least, one could argue that Kelly’s agenda has been fulfilled.
However, there may still be people striving to answer a call to serving God who face obstacles – whether financial, educational or some other. Through our ministry of both training and providing spiritual directors, from many different walks of life, as well as providing grants towards the costs of ministerial training, we are actively encouraging the discernment of vocation, in whatever form it may take.
The second sub-clause relates to Kelly’s belief that the most appropriate context for priestly formation is the religious life. St Antony’s Priory is not a religious community in the traditional sense, but it is a praying community, with the worshiping life of the chapel, and its timetable of daily and weekly services, at the heart of everything we do. That community comprises whoever is present at any given time, including staff, visitors, local residents and guests on retreat.
The principal objective, of increasing ‘the number of those who give their lives to the divine service’, aligns closely with St Benedict’s conception of the monastery as a ‘school for the Lord’s service’. Kelly must surely have been familiar with the Rule of St Benedict, even though he does not directly refer to it in this context. Nevertheless, it is not hard to see how this notion of a ‘school for the Lord’s service’ encompasses all that we now do and aspire to be. The second of SSM’s foundational aims, to ‘labour for the conversion and perfection of souls’ is, if you like, the point of the divine service, and the ‘cultivation of divine science’ is the means – or, at least, one of them – by which these objectives are brought about. Thus, orienting our lives towards serving God rather than self surely entails conversion – arguably that’s precisely what conversion is – and engagement with theological learning provides the necessary underpinning for this endeavour.
The aim of labouring for ‘the conversion and perfection of souls’ is further contextualised by the following sub-clause: ‘especially among the heathen and in the Church abroad.’ Today, missionary activity, especially in other parts of the world, bears little resemblance to the situation at the end of the nineteenth century. For a start, it is no longer primarily concerned with converting local populations to Christianity. However, in common with much of western Europe, the UK is now a largely ‘post-Christian’ society. The missionary imperative thus remains more relevant than ever. The question is, what does it mean to labour for the conversion and perfection of souls in these circumstances? This is something we seek to address by providing engagement with Christian spirituality that is rooted in tradition and grounded in practice.
Finally, to ‘cultivate the divine science’ relates to the study of theology, the essential foundation for the fulfilment of the other two aims. We may not offer degree courses in theology, but we do maintain a significant specialist theological library, hold religious archives, and encourage theological research and engagement through seminars and publications.
Kelly described the Society as ‘an idea in the working’; an idea that continues to evolve as we seek to discern God’s will for his church in different times and places. The idea of a ‘society’, which we might define as a group of people united in a common purpose was, for Kelly, the means of implementing those foundational aims. Moreover, the essential ingredient that bound people together in that common aim was the spirit of sacrifice, modelled ultimately, of course, on the example of Christ.
Understood in this way, SSM will inevitably one day cease to exist as a ‘society’, as such. However, the foundational aims live on in the work to which the organisation, centred on St Antony’s Priory, remains committed. We will continue to advance the foundational aims of SSM in ways that are faithful to the legacy, but relevant to our present circumstances, such as through a ministry of Christian worship and hospitality, the training and provision of spiritual directors, and the emerging work of the Herbert Kelly Institute for Anglican Religious Life. We may not train priests anymore, but we do train spiritual directors; St Antony’s isn’t a monastery, but it is a praying community. Although SSM may, in time, cease to exist as a traditional religious order, the essential work of SSM continues, albeit – as the foundational aims themselves anticipate – in new ways.