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So what good is a hermitage? Decide for yourself.Here is what we are about.We are a colony of hermits,men and women who for many reasons have deliberately withdrawn from the ordinary treadmill of daily life.Although our Archbishop-Abbot maintains a connection with an Orthodox Synod in which he has been active for 28 years,we are NOT an Orthodox institution in the usual sense.We ARE officially recognized by the Archbishop's Synod and thus a religious,non-profit corporation so that our benefactors can enjoy exemption from federal taxation.BUT our mission goes far beyound the scope of what has proven itself to be a rather narrow religious tradition.Orthodox Churches have just not kept up with what we feel The Spirit is saying to the church and society at large today.Thus both here at home and in our interactions with those outside our eremetical enclosures,we have a broader vision of spiritual life which admits the Truth of all great spiritual traditions.Many of these are older than Judaism or Christianity and contain great riches which need to be plumbed by anyone seeking a spiritual life which is to say,a REAL life.The world today is full of "seekers".The press often ridicules them and some of the directions in which they go. Indeed it is funny sometime and sad,too.Underneath all their efforts is a desperate need for meaning and purpose and a thirst for Something/Someone who is greater than themselves.It is,above all,our Mission to present to any who look at us,a living witness that this seeking is valid,essential and worthwhile.We do not preach.We are solitaries. We simply LIVE THE SEARCH!Our lives here are an affirmation of the value of it.Indeed,our Abbot constantly reminds us that it is The Search which counts.We are NOT a community in the traditional sense of the word.Some of us live on the main grounds but others live elsewhere and keep in contact with the main center in varying degrees of proximity. We al SEEK. Some of us are professed Christians,others belong to non-Christian groups and some of us do not care to be affiliated with any.Our Abbot encourages this flexibility.It has been part of the "vision" he has had for this Foundation for many years.We do interact in varying degrees.That too is essential.For this foundation to work it is vital that we share our insights with the other Hermits and,according to our desires,with the outside world.We each have our very flexible "rules of practice",our spiritual exercises and our preferred courses of study.We share the fruit of these on weekends when we come together in SYNAXIS.We also share with visitors who have been invited and approved by our mutual agreement.Our interest,our paths are usually very different.We must struggle sometime to stay open to other hermits whose paths are radically different than ours.That is our asceticism-to be open,loving and understanding with each other even though our ideas may radically differ.PLURALISM is NOT an option with us but our Way of Life.Obviously,anyone tied in intellect or spirit to one particular path would not make it among us.The Way of the Hermit is a BROAD PATH.A true hermit seeks truth and accepts it where he/she finds it regardless of the source.We are firmly committed to the idea that a true hermit today must seek to be free of all mindless adherence to old,outdated dogmatism and beliefs of any kind: spiritual,cultural or political.Our challenge is that of the requirement of total openess and commitment to Truth. |
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