www.byzcath.org Forums General Discussions Town Hall Intentional Byzantine retirement communities

Hi everyone! Christ is Risen!

I am a long way from retirement, but I'm always on the look out for a good place to retire that's affordable and, preferably, near a beach or in the middle of nowhere in the mountains (and also not too far from a beach, hehe). I'm pretty spoiled with the parish I go to, as in it has a great spiritual life, thoroughly Byzantine. It's definitely not the norm among Eastern Catholic parishes, I've sadly heard. I'm about 20-30 years from retirement, so I know many things can change between now and then, but I'm wondering if anybody would be interesting in creating an intentional community somewhere. It wouldn't need to be something exclusive to retirees (and actually, probably would be better if it weren't), but somewhere that retirees can go and have a strong parish life in an area that isn't so expensive to live in that it will wipe out their retirement.

A few things I've considered are:
- This will probably not appeal to enough people of one jurisdiction to make it viable, so it would probably have to be something that works for Melkites, Ruthenians, Ukrainians and Romanians (and any other stragglers).
- Climate - there are plenty of Byzantine parishes in Florida, but I, and I know many others, aren't so sure they can handle Florida summers. There doesn't seem to be a ton of really strong parishes in mid- or northern-climatic areas that meet the strong parish life in an affordable area criteria (at least, as far as I can tell from web searches). St. Elias in Brampton is great, but in the Toronto area, so expensive, and probably not feasible for many American citizens. I'm aware of St. George's in Birmingham, AL, and am keeping my eyes and ears to the ground on that one, but Alabama summers still kinda scare me

Has anyone else thought about this and have any interest in finding a place to set up shop?

Honestly, I wonder what the state of the Eastern Christianity will be like in 20-30 years in this country. But yes an intentional community would be wonderful. Pennsylvania has lots of parishes and is relatively cheap, but many of the parishes are dying. And the economic situation is variable.

St. Ann's in Harrisburg PA is a decently large parish. Not near the beach, but near the mountains. It also currently has a pastor that celebrates weekly vespers on Saturday evening and on Sundays during Lent. He also offers a wide range of services according to the Typikon. This however was started by the current pastor. He is here indefinitely but who knows what will continue after he is gone. And 20-30 years is a long time in secular America. The winters here are mild compared to Pittsburgh and the State College region and I suspect will become even milder in the upcoming decades. Summers though are humid.

I presume you go to the Melkite Church near D.C.? Well housing prices are relatively cheap in PA. I know there is a wonderfully active parish out in California, I think near San Diego. But you would have to keep an eye on the summers there. I firmly believe that the globe is warming, so places like San Diego, Alabama and Florida will only get hotter.

Christ is Risen!!

About a decade ago, we discussed the idea of creating a Byzantine Village of members here. It finally failed to materialize, but I see the idea is something that has crossed the minds of others.

Bob

Indeed He is Risen!

I love the idea of a Byzantine village! I've heard stories from Russia about all the church bells ringing on Pascha at various churches. I think that would be beautiful to experience the same in a small village or town with a handful of Catholic parishes - maybe one or two from each jurisdiction! And maybe with a shared monastery to unite them all.