Evangelical Sisterhood of Mary

The Evangelical Sisterhood of Mary is an ecumenical, Lutheran-based religious order founded in Darmstadt, Germany, in 1947. It emerged from Bible and youth work conducted by Klara Schlink and Erika Madauss during and after the Second World War. Known within the community as Mother Basilea and Mother Martyria, the two women established the sisterhood during a period of spiritual revival among young people in the devastated city. Methodist superintendent Paul Riedinger was involved in the foundation and gave the two founders their religious names. The order's principal settlement is Kanaan, a roughly nine-hectare site in Darmstadt-Eberstadt. The motherhouse and chapel were built by members using rubble from buildings destroyed during the war. Kanaan functions as the community's spiritual and organizational center and includes gardens and symbolic settings associated with biblical locations, including the Sea of Galilee, the Jordan River, Jacob's Well, Mount Tabor, and a Bethlehem grotto. A Garden of Jesus' Suffering presents scenes associated with the Passion of Jesus. The grounds are also open to visitors as a place for silence, prayer, and Christian reflection. Members seek to live according to evangelical counsels of obedience, poverty, and chastity. Mary, the mother of Jesus, is treated as a model of faithful devotion and obedience. The community describes its way of life as a path of faith, emphasizing reliance on divine providence rather than ordinary financial security. Daily prayer at 3 p.m., identified with the traditional hour of Christ's death, and meditation on the Passion are important elements of its spirituality. Worship, intercessory prayer, Christian music, and public devotional work are also central. A major theme in the order's history has been repentance for German crimes committed under National Socialism and prayerful solidarity with the Jewish people and Israel. Mother Basilea's book Israel – My People, published in 1958, expressed this orientation. In 1961 the sisterhood opened Beit Avraham in Jerusalem, a house intended to provide rest and recovery for Jewish people, particularly Holocaust survivors. After decades of operation, the Jerusalem house was closed in 2014 because the intended visitors had become increasingly elderly and frail and the building required extensive renovation. The property was sold, and the sisters moved to a smaller residence in Ein Karem. The community continued its regular prayers for Israel. The sisterhood has also established branches and smaller Kanaan centers in a number of countries. Since 1967, the Evangelical Kanaan Franciscan Brotherhood has been affiliated with the sisterhood and has lived on the Kanaan grounds. The brothers follow the community's general guidelines while drawing particular inspiration from Francis of Assisi. In addition to its residential and devotional work, the community publishes Christian writings and worship songs, places devotional plaques at pilgrimage sites, and distributes outdoor praise boards carrying biblical verses or lines from hymns. Its activities are religious and charitable rather than commercial, so conventional brand metrics such as sales, market share, and stock-market performance do not apply.

The Evangelical Sisterhood of Mary developed from the Bible and youth ministry of Klara Schlink and Erika Madauss in Darmstadt. After completing their education and studies, the two women returned to the city and believed they were being called to a specifically Christian communal vocation. Their anticipated Bible-course work did not immediately take shape, and the pair spent several years waiting and continuing their ministry. During the Second World War, Schlink and Madauss led girls' Bible groups in Darmstadt. The destruction of the city, particularly during the bombing of 11–12 September 1944, intensified the social and spiritual crisis around them. In the post-war period their youth work expanded despite severe material shortages. The resulting revival persuaded a number of participants that Christian faith and personal devotion to Jesus should become the basis of their lives. On 30 March 1947, the first seven sisters were formally received into the new community. Methodist superintendent Paul Riedinger participated in the foundation and gave Schlink and Madauss the religious names Mother Basilea and Mother Martyria. The early community established its motherhouse at what became known as Kanaan in Darmstadt-Eberstadt. The sisters built the motherhouse and chapel themselves, using rubble stones recovered from war-damaged buildings. Kanaan later developed into a larger spiritual compound with gardens and devotional settings referring to biblical geography and the Passion of Jesus. Its name alludes to the biblical land promised to Abraham and his descendants. The site became both the center of the order's communal life and a place that visitors could use for prayer, silence, and reflection. The order's religious discipline is shaped by the evangelical counsels of obedience, poverty, and chastity. Its name and spirituality draw on Mary as an example of loving fidelity, trust, and obedience. The sisters and affiliated brothers describe their communal life as a path of faith, relying on divine providence. Prayer at 3 p.m. each day, meditation on Christ's suffering, worship, and intercession are recurring practices. Mother Basilea's writings helped articulate this spirituality, including the emphasis on repentance and the desire to offer comfort to Christ through consecrated life. A distinctive element of the community's post-war identity was its response to Germany's responsibility for the crimes of National Socialism. Mother Basilea promoted repentance on behalf of Germany and prayerful reconciliation with the Jewish people and Israel. The book Israel – My People, published in 1958, expressed this concern. In 1961 the sisterhood opened Beit Avraham in Jerusalem. For approximately five decades, the residence offered Jewish visitors, especially Holocaust survivors, a place for rest and recovery. Changing visitor needs and the aging of the survivor population eventually led the sisters to reassess the property. In 2014 they closed and sold the house, which also required extensive renovation, and moved to a smaller residence in Ein Karem. Prayer for Israel remained part of the order's life. The sisterhood's international presence expanded through branch houses and smaller Kanaan centers in countries including Australia, Brazil, Finland, Israel, Canada, Norway, Paraguay, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, and the United States. Since 1967, the Evangelical Kanaan Franciscan Brotherhood has lived in affiliation with the sisterhood at Kanaan. The brothers follow the community's general principles and take Francis of Assisi as their spiritual model. The order has expressed its message beyond its residential communities. It has published devotional texts and worship songs, installed plaques with biblical verses and short meditations at pilgrimage sites such as the Mount of Beatitudes, Tabgha, and the Via Dolorosa, and distributed praise boards for outdoor placement. These artifacts are intended as quiet reminders of faith, repentance, reconciliation, and praise rather than as commercial products. The community also maintains praise chapels in Switzerland. Today, the Darmstadt Kanaan site remains the motherhouse and a public devotional destination, while the sisterhood continues its international religious and prayer ministry.

• 2014

  Jerusalem ministry relocated

  [1]Evangelical Sisterhood of Maryen.wikipedia.org

  The Beit Avraham property was sold and the sisters moved to a smaller residence in Ein Karem as the original visitor population aged and the building required major renovation.

• 1967

  Franciscan Brotherhood becomes affiliated

  [1]Evangelical Sisterhood of Maryen.wikipedia.org

  The Evangelical Kanaan Franciscan Brotherhood became affiliated with the sisterhood and established a communal presence at Kanaan.

• 1961

  Opening of Beit Avraham in Jerusalem

  [1]Evangelical Sisterhood of Maryen.wikipedia.org

  The sisterhood established its first Jerusalem branch, Beit Avraham, as a place of rest and recovery for Jewish people, particularly Holocaust survivors.

• 1958

  Publication of Israel – My People

  [1]Evangelical Sisterhood of Maryen.wikipedia.org

  Mother Basilea published a work expressing the sisterhood's emphasis on repentance for Germany's National Socialist crimes and prayerful solidarity with Israel and the Jewish people.

• 1947

  Foundation of the sisterhood

  [1]Evangelical Sisterhood of Maryen.wikipedia.org

  The Evangelical Sisterhood of Mary was formally founded in Darmstadt on 30 March 1947 after a post-war revival among young people. The first seven sisters entered the community.

A contemplative and service-oriented Protestant religious community focused on communal consecrated life, prayer, repentance, worship, reconciliation, and Christian witness.

• Religious publishing

  Devotional books and writings

  The community publishes and distributes Christian devotional material associated with its spirituality. Mother Basilea's writings explain the order's path of faith, meditation on the Passion of Jesus, repentance, worship, and prayer for Israel. These works function as religious teaching and encouragement rather than commercial consumer goods.

• Religious music

  Worship songs

  Worship songs are part of the sisterhood's ministry of praise. The community publishes religious songs and uses music to support communal worship, private devotion, and public Christian witness.

• Religious objects

  Devotional plaques and praise boards

  The sisterhood has placed devotional plaques at pilgrimage locations and distributed outdoor praise boards bearing Bible verses or lines from hymns. These signs are intended to serve as quiet reminders of faith, repentance, reconciliation, and praise in public or natural settings.

• Prayer and repentance for Israel

  Germany · Israel · International

  The sisterhood developed a long-term religious ministry centered on repentance for Germany's historical guilt, prayer for the Jewish people, and solidarity with Israel. It includes regular intercessory prayer and related publications and devotional activity.

  Outcome. The theme became a continuing part of the community's identity and international prayer life.

  Source
• International praise-board ministry

  International

  The community distributes outdoor boards carrying biblical verses and hymn excerpts, extending its worship and devotional message into public natural settings.

  Outcome. Praise boards became one of the sisterhood's recognizable forms of public devotional outreach.

  Source

• 2014

  Close Beit Avraham and move the Jerusalem residenceStrategy

  Background

  The Jerusalem house had served Jewish visitors, especially Holocaust survivors, for around fifty years. The surviving visitor population had become older and less able to travel, while the property needed extensive renovation.

  Action taken

  The sisterhood sold the property, closed the Beit Avraham house, and relocated its sisters to a smaller residence in Ein Karem.

  Aftermath

  The community continued its prayers for Israel while adapting its Jerusalem presence to changing practical circumstances.

  Source

1. 1Evangelical Sisterhood of Maryen.wikipedia.org