 The new friars have roots in five historic, radically missional movements dating from the 5th to the 17th century – Celtic, Nestorian, Franciscan, Moravian, and Jesuit – only one of which, the Franciscans, could technically be identified as an order of “friars.” The apostolic qualities which unify these divergent groups are more critical than the “friar” terminology.These include five distinctives.These groups were/are incarnational, devotional, communal, missional and marginal, the very qualities showing up in new missional communities.