Societas Sanctae Crucis
The Society of the Holy Cross (SSC from the Latin Societas Sanctae Crucis). We are a congregation of priests in the Anglican Church who live and minister under a Common Rule of Life.
There are over 1,000 members around the world, mainly in the UK and North America. Our members work in parishes, missions, chaplaincies, schools and other areas of pastoral ministry. They are committed to witnessing to the Cross of Christ by their lives and ministry. The Society has a number of members here in Australasia.
The Society of the Holy Cross (SSC) was founded in London in 1855 by a small group of Anglo-Catholic priests led by Father Charles Lowder.
At a time when the Catholic Revival in the Church of England was threatened by persecution and misunderstanding. A group of priests came together for support, mutual prayer and encouragement. Fr Lowder spelled out the objects of SSC: "To defend and strengthen the spiritual life of the clergy, to defend the faith of the Church, and to carry on and aid Mission work both at home and abroad".
The members of this society, meeting together in prayer and conference, were deeply impressed with the evils existing in the Church, and saw also, in the remedies adopted by St Vincent de Paul, the hope of lessening them.
Society of the Holy Cross
Priests of the Society live under a common Rule of Life, and meet together in their local SSC Chapters every month or two for prayer, Mass, and some kind of study or conversation. Presiding over the Society worldwide is a Master-General who has a special responsibility to ensure an on-going fidelity among the Brethren to the spirit of the Society.
SSC is not a devotional guild, but takes its stance upon a shared vision of : “a disciplined priestly life fashioned after a definite spiritual rule". This Rule of Life unites the Brethren in our various priestly ministries and lives. We are required to: ‘consider our obligation to the Society as a close spiritual bond - and takes precedence to that of any other voluntary society.’
This obligation includes a commitment to attend local SSC Chapter meetings and annual Regional and Provincial Synods. The life of the Society is experienced primarily through the local Chapter. Attendance at Chapter is of obligation unless prevented by genuine pastoral duties.
Priests of the Society are recognized by the small gold lapel cross they generally wear. On it is inscribed the motto of the Society - in hoc signo vinces - in this sign, conquer!
In Hoc Signo Vinces
In this Sign Conquer
Saint Luke, evangelist - Feast
Saint Luke, the evangelist : « I have decided…to write it down in an orderly sequence» (1:3)
Saint John Chrysostom (c.345-407), priest at Antioch then Bishop of Constantinople, Doctor of the Church
3rd Homily on the inscriptionto the Acts of the Apostles; PG 51,87
The reading of holy Scripture is a spiritual meadow and paradise of pleasure, far more agreeable than the paradise of former times. God has not planted this paradise on earth but in the souls of the faithful. He has not set it in Eden nor in some precise location in the East (Gn 2:8) but has spread it all over the earth and displayed it to the ends of the inhabited world. And since you understand that he has spread out holy Scripture through all the inhabited world, listen to the prophet who says: “Their voice resounds through all the earth and their words to the ends of the world” (Ps 18:5; Rm 10:18)…
This paradise also has a source like the former one (Gn 2:6.10), a source from which innumerable rivers flow… Who says so ? God does, who made us the gift of all these rivers : « Whoever believes in me, » he says, « as Scripture says : rivers of water will flow from within him » (Jn 7:38)… This source has no equal, not only for its abundance but still more by its nature. In effect, these are not rivers of water but gifts of the Spirit. This source is shared amongst the souls of all the faithful yet it is not lessened. It is divided but not stanched… Wholly in all and wholly in each: these are indeed the gifts of the Spirit.
Do you want to know what the abundance of those rivers means ? Do you want to know the nature of these waters? How they differ from waters here below because they are superior and more splendid? To understand the abundance of the source listen again to Christ speaking to the Samaritan woman: “The water I shall give to one who believes will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life” (Jn 4:14)… Would you like to know its nature as well? Use it! In fact it is of no use for life here below but for eternal life. So let us spend our time in this paradise: let us receive an invitation to drink from this source.
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