Evangelical Sisterhood of Mary

The Evangelical Sisterhood of Mary is an ecumenical, Lutheran based, religious order, founded in 1947 by Basilea Schlink and Erika Madauss in Darmstadt, Germany.

Darmstadt Motherhouse

History
Main article: Basilea Schlink

In 1948 both the founders and the first seven sisters became nuns. From then on, Dr. Klara Schlink called herself Mother Basilea and Erika Madaus adopted the name of Mother Martyria.

In 1961, the sisters opened in Jerusalem "Beit Avraham", a free kosher guesthouse for Holocaust survivors. The sisters spoke Hebrew offered their guests an opportunity to vacation in Jerusalem for eight days. Board and kosher meals were provided as well as free tours of Jerusalem. As the survivor population aged, and those still living too frail to come visit, In 2014, the sisters decided it was time to close the house.[1] Since the house was in need of extensive renovation, the property was sold, and the sisters relocated to a smaller residence in Ain Karim.[2]

The sisters arrived in Britain in 1969.[3] The Canadian Branch was founded in 1980.[4] In 1981, the community established a presence inn Australia.[5]

As of 2019, the Evangelical Sisterhood of Mary has eleven subdivisions all over the world, with in total approximately 200 sisters, about 130 of whom are situated at the motherhouse in Darmstadt,[2] where Shabbat candles are lit every Friday evening in the chapel “as a constant reminder of the guilt of the Third Reich and as a summons to pray for Israel.” There is no formal training for one to become a sister.[6]

There is a men's branch, the Evangelische Kanaan Franziskus-Bruderschaft (Kanaan Franciscan Brothers).

References
  1. Ghert-Zand, Renee. "Lutheran nuns end Jerusalem mission to Shoah survivors", The Times of Israel, April 17, 2014
  2. Adler, Rivkah Lambert. "A Small Group of Evangelical Sisters Fight Antisemitism In Jerusalem", Breaking Israel News, June 20, 2019
  3. Evangelical Sisterhood of Mary - British Branch
  4. Evangelical Sisterhood of Mary - Canadian Branch
  5. Canaan in Australia
  6. "Sisterly Love for Israel", Arizona Jewish Life, December 1, 2014

Sources


This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.