Many of the monastic cathedral communities of Great Britain were formed in the Benedictine tradition. To this day, the influence of the Benedictine spirit is obvious in the shared life of prayer, study, and work which characterizes the common life in many of the cathedral precincts in Great Britain. Grounded in an Anglican spirituality and influenced by the Benedictine Spirit, the Canterbury Way involves the intentional engagement of three important areas. Stability is the committment of one's whole being to Christ as he is incarnatonally experienced in the Christian community. Stability implies a wholehearted, covenantal pledge of one s life to the community and teh various members of it, in good times and in bad.
Conversion balances stability.
It involves a pledge to an ongoing process of change and growth. Just as stability gives an anchor, conversion provides a sail to catch the breath of God s Spirit. In embracing this life of collegial spirituality, members of the Canterbury Way affirm a desire to be open to the leading of the Holy Spirit. Acceptance of authority and mutual accountability are the necessary ingredients of being in relationship with one another in the community of faith. In the Canterbury Way, members seek to uphold, learn from, and challenge one another.