| Nicholas Ferrar (December 1st) established the first monastic-style community within the Church of England after its break from Rome.
Born in 1592, he attended Cambridge and won a wide reputation as a brilliant student. From 1618-1624 he worked in the Virginia Company. He was elected to Parliament in 1624, but served only a year before his call to the religious life won out.
He moved to his family's rural estate, "Little Gidding" in 1625 in order to live a life dedicated wholly to religious observance with family members and a few friends. Under his direction, the community of about 30 persons kept a strict rule of prayer and work. No fewer than fifteen daily offices were kept (each about 15 minutes), during which the entire Psalter was recited in the course of a day and the four Gospels traversed once per month. Additionally, there was a vigil kept from 9:00pm until 1:00am, again reciting the whole Psalter. Ferrar himself kept this vigil three times per week.
His own holiness of life was the exemplar for the community, and each member became noted for personal piety—fasting, private prayer, and meditation. The money each person saved by fasting was given to the poor. Ferrar was ordained a deacon in 1626, and he directed the community's good works, teaching the local children and looking after the poor and the sick in the area. For all of that, the community incurred the hostility of the Puritans (what a great bunch they were). After Ferrar's death in 1637, they denounced Little Gidding as an attempt to restore Roman Catholic practices in England. In 1646, the Puritan army raided the estate, destroying Ferrar's writings and putting the community to an end. Nonetheless, Ferrar's example became an important symbol when Anglican religious orders were revived in the 19th century. |
