www.byzcath.org Forums General Discussions Town Hall POLL: For the BYZVILLAGERS!

Yes, Wondering. As with the faculty of a good school, or any such endeavor, there has to be a basic shared vision, such as faith and a common goal for the community (ora et labora, as St. Benedict so well put it). Obviously the communal bond will be most strongly manifested in worship together according to our Byzantine tradition.

But that doesn't mean everyone is chanting a Stepfordian mantra or anything like that - but that everyone agrees to a vision, a big picture overall. The minutia can kill sometimes, and often in the details is where the disagreements can be the strongest (and overall the least significant).

Since families are involved, and each will have their own domestic church to attend to, there has to be a balance between the idiorrhythmic family obligations and the communal - this is the fine balancing act of any such venture.
FDD

Oh well I found it again, lost this thread for a while. I think there are some other factors here, that frankly need consideration. In the US , esp in Pennsylvania, the present modern idea of community and family is ..well perverted. It is very idealistic to think that with the corruption of the Christian world view...and for that matter...which 'christian' world view one takes, that drives the desires. If one is only interested in 'getting ahead', or, 'just surviving', or, 'making an impact'...or whatever, that may very well conflict with others' views. If this idyllic village idea is so good, then why for instance, did the Byz Cath/Orthodox/eastern rite communities of the coal and steel areas of Pennsylvania just kind of wither away. It is pitiable to see what was vibrant working towns now just virtual ghost towns, and the mills just rusting heaps awaiting the salvage man. Would like to live the dream, but don
t think I'll make this one. Regards, Mik

Many ethnic communities are wasting away as they are absorbed into the culture at large. How long had those communities been around? When considered in that context, they don't seem to be to be a failure. They just stopped serving the needs of the community inhabitants. However, an intentional community is different in that it is formed with the intention of serving the needs of the community. The Amish have the problem of no new blood which is causing genetic diseases among them. So long as we are not exclusionary like that and allow new people to join the community, then we will not encounter that problem. It ties in with evangelization as well. The Amish do zero evangelization. So long as we have a vibrant community and we evangelize, new people will want to join us. Perhaps it will not serve the needs of our great-grandchildren. We can hope that all of society will continue this gradual shift back to mainstream faiths and godly values. If that becomes a reality where our children's children can readily find a place where such a sense of community and faith are common, then I will rejoice in the "failure" of our community as they move away, and I will consider it a success that we pioneered a way of life for future generations that they wouldn't have had without people standing up for same.