Our Resolution
WHO ARE WE?
We are Friars within the Autocephalous Byzantine Orthodox-Catholic Church – Western Rite Metropolia. (We are not yet under Rome – explained below***)
As Franciscan Friars, we are members of a Public Association of the Faithful that follow the Rule and teachings of St. Francis of Assisi. We live a life of poverty, chastity, and obedience, and dedicate ourselves to serving God and the poor. As a Mendicant society we depend for our survival on the goodwill of the people to whom we preach and serve. However since the poor we serve cannot afford to donate some of our friars work outside the friary as dishwashers and food delivery service to help keep out doors open.
As Franciscan Friars, we do not own our homes or any personal property. We live as a community in which the places we live are owned or rented and maintained by the order.
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We were invited twice by Rome to merge with them. First by then Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger when the Cardinal was Prefect of the Congregation of the Faith, and again by His Holiness Pope Benedict the XVI who was a personal friend of one of our Bishops.
At the time, we, after much prayer and discussion respectfully declined. His Holiness understood our reasons for declining at the time, but the door was left open for us to reconsider and said we would always be welcome.
Our New Franciscan Order was established by Old Catholic Episcopal Decree, who was himself a former Franciscan Conventual. Our Lineage succeeds from Canonical Orthodox Greek and Ukrainian Christian Authority. Our Jurisdiction while “Catholic” is Autocephalous and NOT YET under the Authority of Rome.
We live in imitation of St. Francis of Assisi, we seek to follow in the footsteps of Jesus, as a witness of faith, hope, and love of God and neighbor, made possible by the Holy Spirit. We participate in Christ’s renewal of all things through our prayer, fraternal life, service to the poor, and evangelization.
The Rule and Life of the Franciscan Friars of the Forsaken, namely is to observe the Holy Gospel of Our Lord Jesus Christ, living in Poverty, Chastity, and Obedience.” – According to the Rule of St. Francis. Through our life of prayer, fraternity, hospitality and penance. As friars our lives are oriented toward following the Holy Gospel of Our Lord Jesus Christ.
We do not own our home or any personal property. We live in communities called friaries, which are owned or rented and maintained by the order.
We do depend for our survival on the goodwill of the people to whom we preach and serve, but many of the people we serve cannot afford to donate therefore, some of our friars work secular jobs in the food delivery industry and as restaurant dishwashers outside of the friary to help support our own religious community so we can keep our doors open in order to serve others.
Our Life of Prayer
In our vocation to be disciples of Jesus Christ and true sons of Saint Francis, we strive to become authentic men of prayer.
Our Life
As we said on our main page, we are discalced Friars who observe Jesus’ commend when he sent out His Apostles with just one pair of Sandals on their feet (Matthew 10:10), we therefore go barefoot or wear nothing on our feet but sandals.
Living together as brothers united in the love of Christ, we place our natures and abilities to the service of our brotherly family.
As brothers in Christ seeking to be the least before others, we serve one another, supporting each other through prayer, mutual encouragement, honest communication, and sacrificial service.
Serving the Poor
First and foremost our mission is to love and serve the poor, most especially the homeless. Each member of our community is directly involved in hands-on work with the poor.. We follow Matthew 25: 35-40 “For I was hungry and you gave me food…” and We are also reminded in Matthew 25:40 “Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of these My brethren, you did it to me”
Preaching the Gospel
Our mission of evangelization in the Church is exercised through preaching the Holy Gospel to all, sometimes with words but mostly with actions.
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