No Amish style for me. I am not a ROCOR member. Would a ROCOR priest even do this? I know my Synod would provide if we had numbers.
We should become peasants.
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Justin Kissel
Would a ROCOR priest even do this?
If you're asking generally, then the answer is: If God so willed.
If you're asking if we personally know anyone who would "go in for this sort of thing," then yes, some of us do know a Priest who would like to do something akin to what we are talking about here (and no, we won't name him at this point 
).
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Justin Kissel
Not that I want to discourage voting or anything! But... the problem is, if no one posts comments, we have no idea who is voting in what way. For instance, one option might get 5 votes total, but for all we know, 3 of the votes could have come from lurkers who really have no interest in actually going through with this, but were only giving their opinion of what they'd do if they could. There's nothing necessarily wrong with this, but we need posts of some type to get a feel for what people are thinking; the poll in itself is pretty much useless without posts explaining who voted in what way, and why. 
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Justin Kissel
In a normal parish, you're probably going to go to a particular Church because it's the closest. In this situation, you would be packing up your entire life and moving to the place that the Church is. This community/mission/church would have more services than a normal parish would (this would fall onto the shoulders of the lay people, to go in and do various services throughout the day). Meals would be eaten in a common area, and most people would be attending all the services they could... not because they are forced to, but that would be the whole reason for being there. If you want a "typical parish setting" where you can essentially come and go as you like, pick and choose which services to go to, and so forth, then this community being envisioned definately wouldn't be for you. This type of community would be for those who wanted to go to every possible service they could, not so that they could feel "spiritual" or like they accomplished something, but just because they wish to work out their salvation and grow closer to God.
Within both 3 and 4 we still see the exact same sense of community and devotion to religious praxis that there is in 1 and 2: the only differences between them are 1) the extent to which the community would reach out to others, and 2) the extent to which the things of the modern world would be allowed to enter into the community. Other than that, the essential goal of all of the options is the same: to create a tight-knit group of people who are dedicated to living their life in Christ, who wish to live and raise their children in an Orthodox society/atmosphere, and who are willing to take the chance of uprooting their lives to see it happen.
I glanced through posts on this topic briefly. Two things: I liked one of the original points made by Ludmilla (I think). I apologize if I misunderstood what you said, Ludmilla, but I also think that forming a secluded community would be in many ways "running away from our cross." The challenges of the modern life is our cross to bear it was God's will otherwise it wouldn't be. No? If a similar discussion already took place, then just ignore my comment. Otherwise, I'd like to know what everyone thinks.
Another thing. I'm not sure what the background of most people on this forum is. Well, I should preface everything by saying that I'm not American, but have lived here a number of years. One of the things I learned about ROCA is that it was formed by the DP's to preserve the faith and then take it back to Russia, their homeland, to those who were robbed of it for all past decades. So: there are hundreds if not thousands of small villages in Russia and other former Soviet republics that have or are dying out. Why not go there for the purpose of establishing this community? There are plenty of abandonded houses that could be bought and fixed up for a lot less than it would cost here to establish a community from scratch. The babushkas would be happy to teach you gardening, etc. Just a thought.
It's option 2 or 3, for me.
I lean toward option two, but three would be ok. My goal for myself and my family is theosis; which, I believe, is most possible in an ascetic setting in which the life of the Orthodox faith is the standard in the community as well as in each home. A community where many of the modern distractions are limited, being a much less influential factor in our lives.
Perhaps, many modern conviniences could be housed in a common hall for all to share, while each home could be kept more simple, with only some labor-saving devices. My ideal would be to cut off the extremely tenacious cultural influences of the modern world that are an affront to the Christian life. I do think hard work is valuable, but some labor-saving devices could free up time to put more energy into misson work, prayer, and in a business to help support the community (i.e. I'm thinking of dishwashers and clothes washers/dryers, etc).
I have a young family, two children both under age 3. I would love for this to materialize in time for them to be educated and grow up in an Orthodox community.
What would be the first step?
What would be the most advantageous part of the country to relocate?
Would moving into a small community and "taking over," so to speak, be an option or would all the infrastructure be new construction?
Basil