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EMMAUS
HOUSE
HISTORY
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In 1979, New Skete Monastery
entered the Orthodox Church of America (OCA). A short time later, a number of
the regular worshipers of the monastery also joined the OCA. Among that group of
parishioners were those who would later become the married community.
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In May, 1982, Father Laurence
Mancuso, abbot of the monastery, initiated discussions with two couples and one
widow, who were seeking a closer relationship with the monastery. Initially, the
discussions centered on possibly establishing a modified monastic rule of life
to be practiced at home. As discussions continued, the possibility of building
individual dwellings on monastery property were begun, to allow participants to
more fully participate in daily worship at matins and vespers. The discussions
led to constructing one building, rather than individual buildings, but
apartments for each couple with separate cooking facilities, phones, etc.
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Over
the course of time, many other parishioners joined in the discussions. Finally,
the abbot determined that if the project was to go forward, the group would have
to form a monastic community: one dwelling with private space for each couple or
widow, but with the remainder of the dwelling as common space. Further, the
participants would lead a vowed monastic life, holding all things in common. At
this point, many who had expressed an interest dropped out of the discussions,
as they were not interested in such a radical move, but one additional couple
and one widow entered the discussions. These discussions, now centered primarily
on living monastic life, continued weekly.
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In March, 1983, three couples
and two widows signed a declaration of intent pledging the money to build the
dwelling, and construction was initiated within two weeks. Participants placed
their properties on the market to raise the money for construction and money was
borrowed from friends and relatives to purchase an additional 100+ acres
adjoining the chosen site, which was added to the monks’ property. The
participants purchased a small travel trailer, taking turns staying at the site
during construction. They worked with the contractor as much as possible to
assist with painting, insulating, etc.
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The members were of diverse
backgrounds. One was a home worker (seamstress), another a retired nurse,
another a retired teacher, one a factory worker, one a high school teacher,
another a real estate investor, one an attorney, and one a government employee.
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All were members of the
OCA,
worshiping at New Skete; however, they came from a variety of religious
backgrounds. Only one was a cradle
orthodox, four had been raised in the Roman Catholic tradition, one
Presbyterian, one Swedenborg, and one Episcopalian.
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In August, 1983, the members
elected their first
Superior
, one of the persons involved in the initial discussions. In
September, 1983, the three couples moved in, although the house was unfinished
– no kitchen, no carpeting, no sheet rock in common areas.
The two widows joined them in December. The house was furnished with
items selected from each household; the remainder was sold at a tag sale.
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We continued to meet on a weekly
basis with the abbot to discuss monastic life and our struggles to form a
community, not merely live together. Given the diverse backgrounds of our
members, this was no easy task. Virtually the only things that we had in common
were that we were part of the worshiping community of New Skete and our desire
to live monastic life at New Skete. In addition, we joined twice weekly
community meetings with the abbot, the monks and nuns.
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At the time of its founding,
four of its members were at home full time; the others still held outside jobs,
which were required to support the community, as well as to secure retirement
rights. As each member was able to retire, they did: one in 1984, one in 1986
and one in 1987. The last was unable to retire until 1998. Our goal was to be
able to develop work which could be done on the premises, rather than have
members engaged in work outside of the community. Over the course of years, we
worked at a variety of projects including: sewing, weaving, knitting,
calligraphy and cards, confections, and making preserves. None of these
activities were financially viable.
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In addition, we assisted the
monks with dog training, puppy socialization, raising puppies for the breeding
program, keeping and whelping bitches, working in the butcher shop and making
deliveries, transporting guests and dogs to and from the airport, railroad and
bus stations, and on various building projects. We also ran the monks’ gift
shop on Saturday mornings and cleaned the
Temple
of the Transfiguration. Assistance was also given to the nuns’ community in
their bakery and in making dried floral wreaths for sale in their shop. One of
our members began painting icons in 1985, and this activity proved beneficial to
New Skete, as many of her icons were installed the Temple of Holy Wisdom and the
monks’ refectory. In addition,
this provided a steady income from commissions for her work, which was highly
prized. In 1986, we started making dog beds, which were very popular. In 1994,
the community began making dog biscuits and selling them by mail order and to
retail outlets within a 50 mile radius of the community.
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Three of our members have died,
and others have left. We are currently a community of three: one married couple
and one widow. Living in a space planned for occupancy by five or six couples,
and responding to requests from visitors; we decided to offer retreat
accommodations, primarily for married couples. A family member assisted in
developing a web site to make the companions’ community known and also helped
prepare a retreat brochure. Retreats officially began in January, 2002, and
continue. This effort has become a ministry for us, and over time, many of our
guests have become good friends, and return frequently. In addition, we welcome
many newcomers on a regular basis.
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Encouraged by our own experience
of living monastic life within the context of marriage, together with the
enthusiasm of our retreatants, and the interest in married monasticism generated
by our web site, we hope that our community will continue beyond our lifetimes.
We are always hopeful that our witness may encourage others, who are interested
in this life, now and in the future, to not only seek, but also to find, and
flourish, and grow in the life, and persevere to the end. Ultimately, the
continued existence of the community is in Gods’ hands.
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