The Companions of St. Luke–OSB have elected Brother Basil Edwards as abbot for five years. The order’s constitution requires that its superior serves a single five-year term. Abbot Basil — who follows Abbot Robert Cotton — assumed his role immediately upon election on May 27.
Abbot Basil entered the community in 2008 and was solemnly professed in 2014. He is a member of St. Paul’s Church in Seattle, where he serves on the Evening Prayer team, sings in the choir, and sits on a discernment committee.
The abbot holds both PhD and MD degrees and has recently accepted a position on the Diocese of Olympia’s Medical Ethics Committee. He is professor emeritus of anesthesiology and pain medicine at the University of Washington School of Medicine and practices part time at Harborview Medical Center in Seattle.
The Companions of St. Luke is a dispersed Benedictine community with members in 22 states, the District of Columbia, England, Canada, and Brazil.
