| James Otis Sargent Huntington (November 25th) was the founder of the first permanent Episcopal monastic community for men in the United States. Born in Boston in 1854, he graduated from Harvard and pursued theological studies. He was ordained in 1880 and began his parish ministry by serving a working-class congregation in Syracuse.
While attending a retreat, Huntington felt the call to monasticism. He considered joining the Society of St. John the Evangelist, an English Order which had a Province in the U.S., but he resolved to establish an indigenous American community instead. He and two other priests began a common life at Holy Cross Mission in New York's Lower East Side, ministering in the slums among poor immigrants. Soon however, his small community was no more, as one priest left due to poor health and the other decided against a monastic vocation. Huntington persisted alone, continuing his ministry to me immigrants and determined to grow an Order. He made his life vow as a monk to the Bishop of New York on Nov. 25,1884.
His ensuing ministry became increasingly committed to me social witness of the Church. This work attracted wider attention and he was joined by other vocations. The Order of me Holy Cross became a growing monastic community, and it was instrumental in the commitment of the Episcopal Church to social ministries. In 1902, the O.H.C. established a monastery in West Park, NY, as its "mother House." in their Rule of Life, Huntington wrote, "Holiness is me brightness of divine love, and love is never idle; it must accomplish great things." Huntington continued his energetic and internationally renowned life of ministry until his death in 1935. His Order now has communities in me U.S., Canada, and Ghana. |
