Requirements
All applicants must be under 50 years of age. No academic degree is required. If you are under 18, you must have permission from your parents. Those who have serious or terminal illnesses, or severe disabilities, can not be accepted as monastics. The spiritual leader of our Community, The Dasa, observes vows of poverty, obedience, chastity, and a day of silence once a week. The Dasa is married but celibate.
New monastics are not required to take these extreme vows. They are required to observe the 12 Marks of New Monasticism, the Oikos Constitution, and to accept Jesus Christ and make a life-long commitment to the community as a disciple - to live, practice, and teach as a community, and not as individuals. There is a 6-month novitiate before full ordination as an Oikourgous (pronounced ee-kuh-roos, a member of the community).
BECOMING A NEW MONASTIC
Those with a sincere aspiration to cultivate understanding and compassion, with new monasticism as their only career, are welcome to join our monastic community. You would live, learn, and practice in our Community either as a resident or non-resident. Our residential capacity is small for the time being, but our non-residential new monastics are growing daily.
Our New Monastics at Oikos
In the Oikos Intentional Community there are new monastics from many different countries, including India, Wales, Canada, and the United States. There is also a wide variety of ages, from age 15 to 70, though most of our Oikos new monastics are in their 20’s and 30’s.
Though our new monastic Community represents many countries, we are a Christian community devoted to studying the mysteries of ancient scripture, with integrated systems of Eastern thought and harmony among the major religions of the world. We are avowed Christian naturists and find an intimate relationship with our Divine Master and the Christ through our meditative and contemplative practices.
To become a new monastic in our community requires openness and the ability to embrace cultural diversity. It requires you to shed everything the institutional church and society has told you is acceptable, and to accept the authentic and radical Jesus who turned the world upside down with His love and compassion. We seek to stay in constant communion with through prayer, mediation, and recognizing that even our work and mission in the inner city are all forms of prayer and mediation. We follow Jesus Christ as our Divine Master.
Requesting Ordination
As a candidate for the novitiate (as non-resident) you will do physical work and study under ordered Oikourgous during inner city missions, mediation sessions, study classes, and training retreats. In this way you can have direct experience of monastic, communal life and the community can observe whether or not you have a strong discipleship vocation. The Dasa can also determine the level of your progress and understanding, and has the ability to grant ordination at his discretion.
When you are sure you want to be ordained you can write a letter to The Dasa. In the letter you should share about your personal background, your experiences with the practice, and your aspirations for becoming a new monastic. The Dasa will then enter into meditative prayer to seek discernment from God about your request. He may grant your request and at that time may offer you guidance - such as how to improve your positive qualities and how to transform your negative ones. After you have formally expressed your discipleship aspiration, requested an extended stay, and your aspiratios have been confirmed and supported by the Dasa, you will soon become an ordained minister of the Oikos Community and an ordered New Monastic. Until your ordination you are known as an Aspirant.
As a non-resident you are not required to contribute toward housing, food, and other communal needs. You will also be assigned a monastic mentor who will further assist you in your training. When you receive ordination as a Minister and New Monastic you become a member of The Oikos Intentional Community and your life will be in the care of your Oikos family. During the time of training, whether or not you are accepted as an ordered/ordained New Monastic, you are asked to participate in all activities and practices like a Community member, though certain activities are strictly reserved for the ordained and residential members of the community. All monastics are ordained by the Dasa, baptized and anointed with oil, except in special circumstances.
Life as a New Monastic (Novitiate)
As a novice you do not have to wait until full ordination - or until you are a Minister-teacher - in order to help people. Within the first few weeks you will be aiding the poorest of the poor under your teacher, and your practice of mindful walking, mindful breathing, and focus on your peace and happiness can already be inspiring to many people who come into contact with you. Even when a novice is still very young, he/she can already be a Disciple Builder, bringing happiness to many people in the Way of the Christ. When you are ordained as a new monastic you make a commitment to stay with the Oikos Intentional Community for the rest of your life in following Jesus Christ as His disciple.
In the event you question your calling, or you choose to no longer follow the Oikos standard, you may resign your ordination. For Resident new monastics, your immediate family is welcome to visit you, and they do not have to contribute to expenses. You can also have leave to visit your family by requesting permission from the Dasa. In the event of an emergency, immediate permission will be granted.
It is important to remember that, when you are present, your participation is mandatory and vital. The poor and homeless count on us to provide for their needs daily, so when a residential member is absent it will require proper planning.
May you fulfill your duty to God and to Christ Jesus as a new monastic here at Oikos, and for the benefit and happiness of all living beings!
Other Benefits of Becoming A Member (Oikourgous)
New Monastic Discipleship
Cultivate understanding and compassion as a New Monastic. Live, learn, and practice in our Community either as a resident or non-resident, taking the authentic gospel into the inner city and abandoned places of empire, following in the footsteps of Jesus Christ.
Center for Esoteric Studies
Participate in the Oikos school for those who want to advance their spirituality through the knowledge of the hidden mysteries of scripture and how they coexist with faith traditions from around the world, with a large concentration on metaphysical studies and mystical philosophy.
Meditation and Spiritual Empowerment
Learn in-depth, advanced meditation and prayer methods, along with various ways to channel your untapped spiritual energy, to reach new levels of spiritual empowerment and disciplines that allow the Spirit to govern the body, rather than the other way around.
Scholarships and Certification
Waivers are available for those without the financial means to study with the Center. Certificates programs in a number of concentrated studies and ordination for long term new monastics are offered.
Private Events
The Oikos Intentional Community hosts a number of annual events including retreats, Christian naturism outings, retreats, seminars, and special meditation sessions.
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