Untitled - Electric Scotland

1863-67] SISTERHOODS 449
stances, is still at work ; and, in its general lines of action,
it has been copied in many
other dioceses.
This account of the Ladies Diocesan Association
leads naturally to the consideration of a kindred but much
larger subject, the .establishment of sisterhoods in the
Church of England.
When the time hereafter comes for estimating and
comparing the various Church movements of this century
in England, it is probable that the first place, as re
gards utility and strength, will be assigned
to the revival
of sisterhood life as an active constituent in the Church s
work. As with other changes, so with this, the motive
force behind has been complex. Although the re-estab
lished sisterhoods have for the most part been associated
with the so-called Oxford School within the Church,
that school cannot rightly be credited with the entire
responsibility for the new and admirable departure. Little
as the fact is recognised by some of the friends of these
communities, the movement forms part of a far wider
change affecting the position, the independence, the
training, and the responsibilities of educated English
women.
So far, however, as this book is concerned, the sister
hood question may be regarded as an inherent part of
the High Church revival. It was in this connection
that its difficulties arose in each of the three dioceses
in which the new attempt was made Exeter, Oxford,
and London. Although their aim was practically one,
these various revivals were independent in their origin.
A small community of women, desirous of living under
rule, had for some years been established, under Dr.
Pusey s care and influence, at Park Village, near Regent s
Park. But their object was mainly a devotional one,
and the settlement was scarcely known beyond its own
VOL. i. 2 F