Because of the reform of the order by Saints Teresa of Avila and John of the Cross, the Carmelite order has two major branches, popularly known as the “Calced” (with shoes) and the “Discalced” (shoeless). Each of these branches of the Carmelite family has its own group that is open to secular priests and to laypeople. The Calced tertiaries are called “lay Carmelites” and use the initials TOC (Third Order Carmelites). The Discalced are called “secular Carmelites” use the initials OCDS to indicate that they are members of the Secular Order of Discalced Carmelites.
It should be noted that, properly speaking, the Calced tertiaries are indeed a third order but the secular Discalced are not. The Calced tertiaries (the word tertiary means “third”) are members of the Third Order of Our Lady of Mount Carmel, established in 1476 as a tertiary branch of the Carmelite order as it existed before the Teresian reform in the 16th century. On the other hand, while secular Discalced are sometimes referred to as part of a “third order” that is no longer strictly accurate. Originally, the secular Discalced belonged to the Third Secular Order of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Mount Carmel, but it is now officially known as the Order of Carmelites Discalced Secular (OCDS). One reason for this was to fully integrate the secular Carmelites as members of the Discalced Carmelites.
