Christ is Risen!
Welcome Basil! I think you hit some very good points.
We should become peasants.
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Justin Kissel
Peasant Life or Pleasant Life? (Part 2)
The other thread has a number of different types of "communities" being discussed, and some of it can get confusing. So, this new thread is to get a sense of where the majority are at, mindset wise, regarding this issue. If/when you vote in the poll, please post explaining why you voted the way you did, and possibly why you didn't/couldn't/wouldn't vote in another way. I'm serious about this stuff, I'm not just playing 
So if you're at least willing to give it serious thought, then throw your 2 cents in and let's talk some more The last thread, I think, helped us consider the different types of communities and their benefits/problems. Let's try to discuss the most popular community in some more detail in this thread if we can, or at least have a discussion about why certain communities would be preferrable to others.
Last edited by Justin Kissel on Tue 6 May 2003 7:25 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Justin Kissel
I voted for "Quiet (but not reclusive), normal modern conveniences, normal secular jobs permitted, etc." I had originally been all for the first option, and then later I was ok with the 2nd option. I guess I still am "ok" with them, it's just at this point, I'm not ready to choose them as the option I'd most want to see put into place.
From a personal standpoint, I think the first two options (and definately the first), while very attractive in a certain way, would be my undoing. To be blunt, I have a hard enough time with this spiritual stuff as it is, without having to war with the demons in such an austere environment. To be quite honest, I think it'd be nothing more than prelest if I thought myself capable of surviving (let alone thriving) in such a community... at this point in my life at least. So I chose the easier road. Still from the personal side, the easier road would also be better for my wife, who has heart disease, in addition to other health problems, and who would probably not do very well in a life that required so much physically from one 24/7.
From a non-personal standpoint, I think the option I chose is a balance that most seriously minded people could accept. Few people would be willing to leave electricity, indoor plumbing, etc. It's not that I'm worried about numbers as an end in itself, but I'm thinking about how such a community would come together and survive (and be large enough where the bishop would think it proper to assign a priest).
As I said, though, it's not so much that I wouldn't/couldn't do the other options, it's just that, in a vote, I would go with the one I went with. I think there would be struggle in this road as well: not nearly as much as in the first two, but perhaps more than enough for me to handle. I'm looking forward to what other people say.
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Justin Kissel
Just a clarification for those who didn't read the other thread. Nothing was mentioned of faith or religion in the poll, but this community would definately be based around Orthodoxy. That's the main point of the vision of the community, in fact: sincere, struggling, Orthodox Christians forming a community and living out their life in Christ with a bit more zeal (more services than a normal parish, accepting more hardships, etc.) than is normal in a typical parish setting. Orthodoxy would be the center of life, and fellowship/community would be embraced and permeate everything that would happen in the community (e.g., common meals, services, etc.)
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Justin Kissel
One last clarification The community, whatever the type, would be an Orthodox mission. When I said missionary in one of the options, I meant that this type of community would be involved in reaching out to people (through print, electronically, person to person evangelism, or whatever else). It would be the opposite of the first (the very reclusive) type of community.