[2] In 2012, the order had over 25,000 members from the Anglican, Episcopal, Lutheran (ELCA) and Roman Catholic churches.
[3] The order was founded in 1885 by Margaret J. Franklin and her Bible study class at the Church of the Holy Sepulcher in New York.
[5] The order has chapters both in the United States and in Augsburg, Germany, Rome, Italy, and Mostoles, Spain.
[5][7][8] Members also commit to praying daily for their clergy and offering assistance in building up the spiritual life of the parish.
[3] The order's emblem is a modified Greek cross inscribed with FHS, meaning “For His Sake”; the order's watchword is Magnanimiter Crucem Sustine, meaning “With heart, mind and spirit uphold and bear the cross".