The English Followers of Elijah - Exploring Carmelite History 1

As a part of a new series of books, exploring Carmelite History, the British Province historian Fr. Richard Copsey, O.Carm has written a fascinating new book on the English followers of Elijah. The Carmelite Order began as a small group of hermits who settled in a valley on Mount Carmel around 1200. As their numbers grew and the Holy Land became subject to increasing attacks from the Arabs, they spread westwards, making foundations in Cyprus, Messina in Sicily and then in 1242, a group reached England and settled at Hulne Priory in Northumberland and Aylesford in Kent. Over the years, the English Province flourished and reached a peak of thirty-nine houses with nearly 1,000 friars by the end of the 14th century. Then, sadly, in 1538, like all the religious orders, the Carmelites were suppressed by King Henry VIII. During the penal days, individual Carmelites came secretly to care for those who still held to the Catholic faith but it was not until the Catholic Emancipation Act of 1829