One of the Episcopal Church’s first dispersed religious communities has elected its second minister general in 55 years. The Brotherhood of St. Gregory, meeting August 26 to 31 in its annual convocation and chapter meeting at the Roslyn Conference and Retreat Center recognized the retirement of its long-serving founder and minister general, Richard Thomas Biernacki, BSG. The assembled brothers then elected Ciarán Anthony DellaFera, BSG, as minister general for a term of a five years.
The brotherhood was founded on Holy Cross Day in 1969 when Brother Richard Thomas and a group of companions made first vows in the chapel of the New York convent of a Roman Catholic women’s order, the Sisters of the Visitation. It was recognized more formally by Bishop Horace W.B. Donegan of the Diocese of New York in 1970.
Over six decades of Brother Richard Thomas’s leadership, the BSG’s brothers have carried out a wide variety of ministries in parishes, national church administration, organizational support, diaconal work, as artists and liturgists, and as musicians and spiritual directors. A history of its first 40 years was chronicled by Brother Karekin Madteos Yarian, BSG, in his 2009 In Love and Service Bound, available for free download in PDF.
The community is open to lay and ordained men without regard to marital status who live individually, in small groups, or with their families according to a common Rule. The Rule requires regular reception of the Holy Eucharist, the four Offices of the Book of Common Prayer, meditation, theological study, Embertide reports, a tithe, and participation in the brotherhood’s annual convocation and chapter. The BSG received 501(c)(3) status in 1992 and has administrative offices in Baltimore.
Brother Ciarán Anthony has held several leadership positions during his 36 years as a member of the brotherhood. He is a physician working in family practice in Lawrence, Massachusetts, and a member of the Parish of the Epiphany in nearby Winchester, Massachusetts. The brotherhood is also led by six regional ministers provincial.
Its most recent entry in the Anglican Religious Life Yearbook lists 38 professed members, and a novice. The brotherhood’s postulancy and novitiate periods each last one year, followed by eligibility for profession of annual vows. Life profession may be made after five years in annual vows.
