History of the Carmelite Order

HISTORY OF THE CARMELITE ORDER

By Loretta Gallagher, OCDS

The Carmelite Order developed from a single community of hermits, of whom we first hear living “after the example of that holy man and solitary prophet Elijah” on Mount Carmel (according to one contemporary writer) in Palestine in the early 13th century. They were Latin (European) Christians and around 1210 they were given a Rule of Life by St. Albert, Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem. Their chapel and their whole institute were dedicated to Our Lady. Carmelites have always regarded themselves as daughters and sons, in a very special way, of the Blessed Virgin Mary, and also of Elijah, whom Scripture associates intimately with Mount Carmel​​ (See 1 Kings: 18). ​​

By 1238 the Saracens overran Mount Carmel, forcing the Carmelite friars to return to Europe, where they began establishing communities. The Rule of Life was adapted in 1247 to meet the needs of an Order spreading throughout Christendom. During the second half of the 13th century, circumstances conspired to lead the Carmelites ever further from their hermit origins and they finally became a mendicant Order, modeling themselves in many ways on the Dominicans, though the old hermit way of life (embracing solitude and community) was not forgotten; indeed, it was ever present to them in their Rule.

In 1562, a Spanish Carmelite nun, St. Teresa of Avila, reformed the Carmelite Order, assisted by another great Carmelite, St. John of the Cross. They established what was to become a completely new branch of the Carmelite Order: The Discalced Carmelites.

This reform was part of a general reform in the Church in the 16th century. “Discalced” comes from the Latin word meaning “unshod,” and they were so called because the most distinctive thing about their appearance was that, in keeping with their more austere way of life, they wore the rope sandals of the poor in place of leather shoes. This was also a sign to the world of their poverty of spirit and simplicity of life. It was a reminder of the biblical stories where the people removed their shoes to stand barefoot, humble, on holy ground in the presence of God.

The Discalced Carmelites, both nuns and friars, aimed at a more retired and contemplative form of life, in keeping with the spirit of the original 13th century Rule of Life. Thus, it is today that there are two branches of the Carmelite family: the Ancient Observance (O. Carm.) and the Discalced (OCD). Each branch has its own Secular Order.

Although updated by Vatican II, the reality of the Carmelite way of life remains the same today as almost five centuries ago: to live simply and always in the presence of God at the service of the Church.