We should become peasants.

[JohnMarq]

I think an important thing to keep in mind is that a monastery is a monastery, and those in the surrounding community need to make sure their own expectations are balanced. My family and I are only a fifteen minute walk from a monastery and benefit greatly from an open-to-the-public daily cycle of services. But I see too that with all the members of the surrounding Orthodox community and the regular influx of pilgrims, the monastics suffer quite a bit of disruption. I've heard Holy Cross in WV avoids this by only opening their services to those outside on feast days. Maybe someone more familiar with the situation there can correct me.

I wonder though, if this isn't best, where the surrounding lay community has it's own parish, while still benefiting from time to time by interaction with the monastery.

Which brings up another point, I don't think that lay people who soley attend church in a monastery can be said to belong to a parish. It's a situation my family is in and although we have a church so close by, we're considering joining a parish about 45 mins away. I think there are responsibilities inherent in parish membership that we don't currently bear, at least officially. Giving, voting, maintenance, hosting, to name a few. I've heard accusations in the past that some of those lay folk who attend the monastery here "Don't want to do anything". It's a charge that concerns me a bit.

Any ideas?

-John

[Mary Kissel]

Welcome to the forum Innocent and John Marq!
Innocent, I really like your idea of making a community around a monastery. I think that would be a good idea...that way we could be close enough to a Church and already have a priest available to us. We just need to find one that's open to the public for all the services like John Marq mentioned. What do others think of this?

MaryCecilia

[Mary Kissel]

Which brings up another point, I don't think that lay people who soley attend church in a monastery can be said to belong to a parish. It's a situation my family is in and although we have a church so close by, we're considering joining a parish about 45 mins away. I think there are responsibilities inherent in parish membership that we don't currently bear, at least officially. Giving, voting, maintenance, hosting, to name a few. I've heard accusations in the past that some of those lay folk who attend the monastery here "Don't want to do anything". It's a charge that concerns me a bit.

Any ideas?

-John

Why couldnt lay people who solely attend a monastery church be said to belong to a parish?? Is it really neccessary to vote? couldn't we keep up maintenance on the areas that we live on?

MaryCecilia

[尼古拉前执事]

So this should be our goal for the community, right?

[JohnMarq]

Why couldnt lay people who solely attend a monastery church be said to belong to a parish??

Well, it was one of the Archimandrites at the monastery here that first made this point to me. My personal understanding of it is that the local church (buildings, services held therein, etc) is produced and maintained by the community that founds it. In the case of a monastery, that community is a monastic one. If one is not part of that community, ie a monastic, one is simply a guest.

The same is true I think in a normal parish setting. There's a difference between simply attending, and taking the final step, with all it's commitments and responsibilities, of becoming a member.

As far as my family goes, I have something of a sense that we are being spoon-fed and aren't reciprocating as we should. Perhaps our background of intense church community has something to do with this.

Is it really neccessary to vote?

As far as salvation goes, I certainly hope not!

couldn't we keep up maintenance on the areas that we live on?

I was just refering to Church maintenance as one of many responsibilities of being part of a parish/Christian community.

Perhaps a good alternative to consider it trying to locate the community within a reasonable distance (let's say, an hour's drive) of both a monastery and a ROCOR Church, but having prayer and so forth in the community as well. The monastery could be visited as needed, though not continually, and the already existing parish could be visited as needed, for receiving the eucharist and such, but the main liturgical center would remain in the community.

I think this is a good idea, although for my own part I'd like to be closer than an hour's drive, especially if we have to go home after vigil. (been there, done that, 1.25 hours away)

The monastery could be visited as needed, though not continually, and the already existing parish could be visited as needed, for receiving the eucharist and such, but the main liturgical center would remain in the community.

Since I personally feel that "the main liturgical center" is the Eucharist itself, I can't help but think that the church, wherever it's located, will be utmost to the community. But perhaps by "the main liturgical center" you were refering to the community's daily cycle of prayers?

Anyway, do you think it might be unreasonable to have a community that is basically a village centered around a chapel/church? With a visiting, if not full-time priest? I worry a little that the weekly influx of 20/30+ intimately-connected people into a normal parish setting might bring on a whole host of temptations to those already there...

But perhaps some of my past experiences have made me overly pessimistic

I think that following Innocent's plan and locating near a monastery would at least provide a situation of regular spiritual direction for the individuals of the community, and that this would make a visiting-priest situation more practical.

Just a few thoughts...

-John

[尼古拉前执事]

As for myself, I would want to be in a church every Saturday night and on the Lord's Day as well. Thats why I prefer finding a priest that is willing to start a mission or moving near one.

[尼古拉前执事]

Okay. Please let us know what the priest said, if you can.