Anchoress and Author

Julian of Norwich

Begin in silence…
Be still for several minutes and pay attention to your breath. Ask the Lord to make you aware of his presence now and throughout the rest of the day.

Set the scene…
Today's story is part of a series of devotional reflections about women from the centuries following the New Testament. The women we will meet committed their lives to sharing the gospel

For today’s scene, we visit the town of Norwich, England, in the mid-1300s. An anchoress from this community became the first woman known to write a book in English. Her actual name remains unknown; her community called her after the church where she lived, the Church of St Julian. We know her as Julian of Norwich.

Similar to a nun in a religious order, an anchoress was a woman who chose to live a solitary life in a small cell, known as an anchorage, attached to a church. Her cell featured two windows: one opening into the church so she could participate in services, and another opening to the outside, through which she offered counsel to those seeking spiritual guidance. Often these women were theologians and spiritual leaders. This role was one of the few roles women were able to hold in the Church from the 11th to the 16th centuries.