[TOPERink]

So I'm curious,

Does anyone know of any "Intentional Communities" that are made up of Orthodox Christians? (Of course, all monasteries are "intentional communities" but I'm asking about any for non-monastics - married couples and families, singles who have taken no vows, etc.).

What is an "intentional community"? The following website has a definition:

"Intentional Community is an inclusive term for ecovillages, cohousing, residential land trusts, communes, student co-ops, urban housing cooperatives, alternative communities, and other projects where people strive together with a common vision."

Source of definition: http://www.ic.org/

[Anneskobsen]

So I'm curious,

Does anyone know of any "Intentional Communities" that are made up of Orthodox Christians? (Of course, all monasteries are "intentional communities" but I'm asking about any for non-monastics - married couples and families, singles who have taken no vows, etc.).

What is an "intentional community"? The following website has a definition:

"Intentional Community is an inclusive term for ecovillages, cohousing, residential land trusts, communes, student co-ops, urban housing cooperatives, alternative communities, and other projects where people strive together with a common vision."

Source of definition: http://www.ic.org/

Off-hand, I think that the Companions of New Skete might serve as an example of what you are talking about.

Herman

[Anaedilla]

From experience with the whole concept of intentional communities or communal living, I can tell you that in order for such a thing to succeed beyond a short time, there must be some great external force that binds the members together. In monaticism the monastic life, routine and commitment serve that purpose. However, I have yet to see anything that will bind a group of laymen together in the same way. A lot of "intentional communities" begin with great zeal and energy, but within a few short years, so much changes (children, job demands, educational imperitives, extended family, etc) that the desire for community is overcome by the demands of living in the world. The best way to have an intentional community in the world is to have parish that fosters a communal/extended family spirit and let each family participate in its own way and to its own degree. The parish life becomes the focus of the communal life, but there is no commitment beyond being a part of the parish, thus allowing for the flexibility to incorporate all those changes which would otherwise destroy a community.

Sharing resources and labor sounds good on the surface, but I have yet to see it work (outside of an already existing organically formed community). I have seen (been part of and observed from near proximity) more than one community fall apart until it consists of one family (and even then the family fragments as the children grow to adulthood). OTOH I have seen many a cohesive parish that functions like an extended family with the sharing of resources and labor as a part of parish life, but with no committment to creating an "intentional community".

Fr David Moser

[flowersnewaho]

The website you linked is the best source. I used their search engine with the word "orthodox" and among many "orthodoxies" from different philosophies and religions, it came up with two that seem to be Christian Orthodox:

http://directory.ic.org/14/Agape_Community

http://wiki.ic.org/wiki/Fedorovtsy

[Arbinknit]

Interesting that you note Agape Community in Liberty TN. It is one that I have observed very closely (Fr Gregory and I are old friends etc). Although he hopes to have an intentional community, it has never (at least not in the 25+ years of our accquaintance) happened. Occasionally he would have people come who wanted to stay, but there were always personal conflicts which over-rode the desire for community. Looks good on paper, but not in reality. And as an additional note, the little tag on the Orthodox jursidictional affiliation (synod of Bp. Agafangel of Odessa) indicates that they are affiliated not with what you might assume to be ROCOR, but rather a splinter group that went into schism from ROCOR at the time of the reconciliation with the Moscow Patriarchate. Although we are friends, I would have a hard time saying that Agape community is really a community (since only Fr G an his wife remain on the property, as far as I know) and in fact was never what I would consider an "intentional community".

Fr David Moser

[Sillaycheg]

As I grew up back in the 60s I have witnessed many efforts at 'intentional community' which were very popular at the time. Most of these communal efforts were non-Christian but others were from Christians.

What must surely be a lesson is that every one of these communities either collapsed or never really got off the ground.

Why?

I wonder if there really is any precedent for communal living in the Church apart from monasticism. Even where lay communities have gotten by they seem to run according to semi-monastic principles.

Inevitably without this all of these communities have collapsed from personal conflict.

In Christ- Fr Raphael

[sStevenRitziI]

In Wales from the fifth to about the twelfth centuries, there was the 'clas' system. The clas was a lay community which might include a married priest. The clas was centred on a monastery and the community's settlements, which could include churches, were on land belonging to the monastery. I think something similar existed in Ireland but not in Scotland or England. It's the nearest thing to a Christian 'intentional community' I've ever read about that worked.