The Origins of Carmel The Carmelite Order began in the 12th century on Carmel’s Western Slope, the Wadi ‘ain es-Siah, in the Holy Land. Mount Carmel is where the prophet Elijah defended the true faith in the God of Israel, prevailing against the priests of Baal.

The hermits who formed a community there were solitaries, likely laymen, Crusaders and pilgrims from Europe. The hermits followed the life of Elijah and embraced three main values, community, service and contemplation, the silent communication with God. Between 1206 and 1214, the hermits asked Albert of Avogadro, the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, to write for them a “Way of Life”, a rule by which the Ancient Order Carmelites still order their lives today.

The “Rule of Albert,” as it came to be known, specified that the hermits were to live in separate cells, with the prior’s cell closest to the entrance, so that he might first meet those who came to the place. The hermits were to remain in or near their cells, “meditating day and night on the law of the Lord and being vigilant in prayers,’ unless lawfully occupied. The brothers claimed nothing individually. All was owned in common and distributed by the prior according to need. Meals were taken in a community refectory, accompanied by sacred readings.

The rules provided for the building of an oratory, where Mass was said daily. The first Carmelites were forced to leave Mount Carmel in approximately 1238. They went West, carrying with them the spirit of Carmel that had been forged on the Mount. The image of the mountain reaching to heaven remains important in Carmelite spirituality. A mountain appears inside the shield, representing Mount Carmel.