Tell us more! I felt quite envious of Norris’s development as an oblate considering she started from such a more distant place in Presbyterianism than mine from Orthodoxy.

Hello Heather, I have found it a godsend (so to speak)_ to read/chant the Psalter, for example, out loud with the monks because that oral/aural experience delivered a meaning I hardly every caught in solitary reading (where, for one thing, the eyes race along well ahead of the tongue). As for etymology: I am set to start reading the brand new new translation of the New Testament by the Eastern Orthodox scholar of biblical history, David Bentley Hart, that is causing quite a stir because he renders into English the precise equivalent of the original varieties of Greek the NT texts were written in, from rough-hewn not to mention ungrammatical to polished and even esoteric (I’m looking at you, St Paul of The Romans Epistle). But even he gave up on finding a more English word for Logos (St John). Just flitting through a couple of pages, I am delighted to see that he renders the Greek anthropoi as human beings, not men (andres) as so many other translations have it. I wonder what he does with the original Greek translated as “virgin”

Thank you, Carolyn…and, yes, very much just the start of a path that will have its own meanders. One of the challenges of the oblation is to find the connections with my everyday life in an Orthodox church. Stay tuned for Part Two.

At the heart of such a life is, as you say, the community/communion with others. Obviously, a lot of spiritual effort goes into solitary prayer and reading but the collective resources of the-work-we-do-together are inestimable.

Ah, Dr Booze, forced to imbibe a pretty good California red (let’s say) without the companionship of monks who are supposed to get a flagon of their own. Although I’ve not been offered wine at a monastic meal in years, I have been offered, in the visitors’ lounge of an evening, the occasional wee dram with one of the monks who used to enjoy the stuff himself.

Shchastlyvoho Novoho Roku to you too, Diana. It’s wonderful to hear of others’ experiences with Benedictine community. Couldn’t be further from Byzantine Christianity, except that the Rule of Benedict, the oldest in western Christianity, was inspired by earlier Rules in the Eastern Church. Of course we were all one Church back then. When I am in community at St Peter’s I feel the privilege of participating in that “unbroken” worship.

Happy Ukrainian New Year to you, Sharon. (Yes, our traditional calendar, the Julian, aka Julius Caesar, is 12 days behind.) Thank you for this note. Stay tuned for more heart-felt experiences.

Hi Eve, I’m not sure it’s “god” who is necessary even if you have a belief in him. I think it’s your own spirit that wants to follow the Rule for whatever reason: self-discipline, desire for community, need to keep a tradition, commitment to “work and pray” with lots of time to read as a way to spend one’s days (and other more overtly religious reasons too. Although she wasn’t a Benedictine, Karen Armstrong is particularly good, in her memoirs, at laying out and exposing the struggle to have motivations of religious faith for the monastic life.) For me, as I said in my piece, it was the recognition that would no longer be denied that I “yearned” to be a person who sought God, even if he is nowhere to be found (where I’m looking, at least.)