Application and Becoming a Member

The process of becoming a Companion begins with an application to the Order, references from friends, and reflections on some basic questions about your understanding of religious life and the Order.  An interview team visits with you by phone, Skype, or Google Meet to help both you and us better understand your vocation. They then make their recommendations to the Director of the Foundation Program, Brother Phillip.  If a vocation is discerned, you are invited to join us and begin the Foundation Program, which is divided as follows:

1) Postulancy: Postulancy is a time of ongoing mutual discernment in which you get to know the community better and the community gets to know you. It is also a time dedicated to exploring prayer, spirituality (classical to modern), and contemporary religious life. Postulancy usually begins each year at General Assembly in June. It may begin no later than September 1 and lasts for a minimum of nine months. Postulancy is adapted to fit the background of the postulant.

2) Novitiate: Novitiate is a time where there is some level of mutual commitment on both the part of the novice and the community. It is a time during which you reflect on, interpret, and prepare to profess the Order’s five vows (Simplicity of Life, Purity of Heart, Obedience, Non-Violence and Universal Citizenship). Significant time is dedicated to exploring how they will be lived out in your daily life. Novitiate begins each year at General Assembly in June and lasts for a minimum of one year. 

If you have any questions or wish to start a dialog about possibly joining the Community, please send us an email through the Contact Us section of this website, or directly at eocvocations@gmail.com and the Director of the Foundation Program, Brother Phillip, will begin that conversation with you.  Do not hesitate to refer to our Community website anyone you know who also is traveling the journey of discernment to a religious vocation.