LAMBETH PALACE is to open its doors to an international ecumenical community of young Christians.

The Community of St Anselm will be open to people from all Christian traditions, from all over the world. Sixteen people will be invited to live full-time at the Palace from next year, and up to 40 others will live and work in London, but join the community part-time.

Members of the community will enter a daily rhythm of silence, prayer, and study. There will also be some "practical service".

A prior is being recruited to lead the new community. The Archbishop of Canterbury said: "Living in a praying community is the ultimate wager on the existence of God, and is anything but comfortable or risk-free. Through it, people subject themselves to discipline, to each other in community, and, above all, to God.

"I expect this venture to have radical impact - not just for the individuals who participate, but for life at Lambeth, across the Church, and in the world we seek to serve. This is what we expect in following Jesus. I urge young people to step up: here is an open invitation to be transformed and to transform."

Four members of an ecumenical community, Chemin Neuf, last year moved into the Palace to pray for and encourage the Archbishop's ministry (News, 22 November).

The Archbishop's Chaplain, the Revd Dr Jo Wells, said that the only qualifications for joining the new community were "a longing to pray, to learn, to study together the things of God, and so to be stretched in body, mind, and spirit".