Anamchara – Spiritual Friendship

“Anyone without a soulfriend is like a body without a head.” Brigid of Kildare

What is Anamchara?

Anamchara is a Gaelic word for spiritual friend. It was the style of formation given to a new monk or nun in a Celtic monastery, whereby the new member would be paired up with an older, more experienced monk for encouragement and help in the life of Christ ian discipleship.

Our approach to anamchara or spiritual friendship is more flexible at Saint Patrick’s. We define anamchara as 2 to 4 persons who meet regularly to listen, pray and encourage each other as Christ ian pilgrims. We see anamchara as a meeting of equals for mutual encouragement in Christ .

Anamchara and The 4 Practices

Living as a disciple is hard work. The only way to sustain it for the long haul is to do it in the context of Christ ian community and mutual encouragement. This is why anamchara is so important to The 4 Practices. Having someone you connect with on a regular basis who is living The 4 Practices and can encourage you in living them is a powerful way to stay on course. We all need others to help us along the path of discipleship. Anamchara is one to do that.

Implementing Anamchara

Anamchara is not a program in the traditional sense of the word. We do not have anamchara sign ups and we will not assign people spiritual friends. Spiritual friendship happens under the leadership of the Holy Spirit and grows up in the fertile soil of God’s providence.

We encourage three steps to implementing anamchara in your life:

1. Pray. This is not just a throwaway idea. Entering in to anamchara should be something one is led into by the Lord. Begin the process with serious prayer.

2. Ask someone. Sometimes the answer is as simple as that. After praying find someone who might be an anamchara and ask her/him.

3. Ask the pastor. He will be glad to help you connect with someone to practice anamchara.

There is flexibility regarding when, where and how often anamcharas meet. It is probably a good rule of thumb to meet at least once a month, although some anamcharas meet weekly. You have to find your own rhythm. Most anamcharas will want to meet face to face. However, there is no reason anamchara cannot happen over the phone or over the internet (email, IM, etc.). Also, anamchara does not have to happen only within Saint Patrick’s. If you already have an anamchara(s) outside of Saint Patrick’s, maintain that spiritual friendship. The key is to follow the leadership of the Holy Spirit.

Typically two people enter into anamchara relationships. Again, there is no rule. In some cases groups of 3 or 4 work. It would be difficult to imagine anamchara working well in a larger group.

Anamchara meetings are centered around mutual encouragement in Christ ian discipleship. Sometimes spiritual friends meet to talk and pray. Other times anamcharas meet to reflect upon scripture. Again, there is no hard and fast rule. The crucial thing is to be together and encourage each other to follow Christ .