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44-535: Defunct groups The Ephrata Cloister or Ephrata Community was a religious community , established in 1732 by Johann Conrad Beissel at Ephrata , in what is now Lancaster County , Pennsylvania. The grounds of the community are now owned by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and are administered by the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission . Marie Kachel Bucher , the last surviving resident of

88-507: A Communist Church before becoming a Unitarian minister. The Simon Community in London is an example of social cooperation, made to ease homelessness within London. It provides food and religion and is staffed by homeless people and volunteers. Mildly nomadic, they run street "cafés" which distribute food to their known members and to the general public. The Bruderhof has three locations in

132-462: A combination of democratic and hierarchical structure, and 16 percent do not specify. The central characteristics of communes, or core principles that define communes, have been expressed in various forms over the years. The Suffolk-born radical John Goodwyn Barmby (1820-1881), subsequently a Unitarian minister, invented the term " communitarian " in 1840. At the start of the 1970s, The New Communes author Ron E. Roberts classified communes as

176-541: A declining membership. The monastic aspect was gradually abandoned, with the last celibate member dying in 1813. In 1814, the Society was incorporated as the German Seventh Day Baptist Church (or The German Religious Society of Seventh Day Baptists ). Branches were established in other locations; two of them still exist today. In 1941, a 28 acres (110,000 m) Ephrata tract of land with remaining buildings

220-559: A lesser degree, more influential in Russian society. Various patterns of Russian behavior — toloka (толока), pomochi (помочи), artel (артель) — are also based on communal ("мирские") traditions. In the years immediately following the revolutions of 1917 Tolstoyan communities proliferated in Russia, but later they were eventually wiped out or stripped of their independence as collectivisation and ideological purges got under way in

264-432: A natural response to the isolation and fragmentation of modern housing, offering a return to the social bonds and collaborative spirit found in traditional village life. The multitude of intentional communities includes collective households, cohousing communities, coliving , ecovillages , monasteries , survivalist retreats , kibbutzim , Hutterites , ashrams , and housing cooperatives . Ashrams are likely

308-443: A period of rapid urbanization between 1890 and 1930. About 100 intentional communities were started but data is unreliable. They often pursued nudism , vegetarian and organic agriculture, as well as various religious and political ideologies like anabaptism , theosophy , anarchism , socialism and eugenics . Historically, German emigrants were also influential in the creation of intentional communities in other countries, like

352-638: A semi-monastic community (the Camp of the Solitary) with a convent (the Sister House) and a monastery (the Brother House) was established, called "Ephrata" after Biblical Ephrath . The members of the order were celibate. Members were required to sleep on wooden benches 15 inches (380 mm) wide, with wooden blocks for pillows. They slept six hours per night, from 9 P.M. to midnight, and from 2 A.M. until 5 A.M., with

396-495: A subclass of a larger category of utopias . He listed three main characteristics: Twenty-five years later, Dr. Bill Metcalf, in his edited book Shared Visions, Shared Lives , defined communes as having the following core principles: Sharing everyday life and facilities, a commune is an idealized form of family , being a new sort of "primary group" (generally with fewer than 20 people, although there are examples of much larger communes). Commune members have emotional bonds to

440-465: A time and 29 new members joined. However, in 1833 the experiment collapsed due to the gambling debts of John Vandeleur. The members of the commune met for the last time on 23 November 1833 and placed on record a declaration of "the contentment, peace and happiness they had experienced for two years under the arrangements introduced by Mr. Vandeleur and Mr. Craig and which through no fault of the Association

484-430: A two-hour break to "watch" for the coming of Christ . They ate one small vegetarian meal a day. The only time the followers of Beissel were permitted to eat meat was during the celebration of communion when lamb was served. The members of the cloister spent much time at work or praying privately. Services every Saturday were led by Beissel, often being several hours long. During the time that this group formed, there

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528-576: Is communal meals . Egalitarian values can be combined with other values. Benjamin Zablocki categorized communities this way: Members of Christian intentional communities want to emulate the practices of the earliest believers. Using the biblical book of Acts (and, often, the Sermon on the Mount ) as a model, members of these communities strive to demonstrate their faith in a corporate context, and to live out

572-703: The Bruderhof in the United States of America and Kibbutzim in Israel. In the 1960s, there was a resurgence of communities calling themselves communes, starting with the Kommune 1 in Berlin , without knowledge of or influence by previous movements. A large number of contemporary intentional communities define themselves as communes, and there is a network of political communes called "Kommuja" with about 40 member groups (May 2023). In

616-549: The Fellowship for Intentional Community (FIC), reported that 54 percent of the communities choosing to list themselves were rural, 28 percent were urban, 10 percent had both rural and urban sites, and 8 percent did not specify. The most common form of governance in intentional communities is democratic (64 percent), with decisions made by some form of consensus decision-making or voting. A hierarchical or authoritarian structure governs 9 percent of communities, 11 percent are

660-611: The German school . Educating the young was one of the charity works that the Cloisters accomplished. They also helped the poor by passing around bread to the poor families. Other believing families settled near the community, accepted Beissel as their spiritual leader and worshipped with them on Sabbath . These families made an integral part to the cloister, which could not be self-sustaining without them. The brothers and sisters of Ephrata are famous for their writing and publishing of hymns , and

704-601: The 1890s. There is a long history of utopian communities in America that led to the rise in the communes of the hippie movement—the " back-to-the-land " ventures of the 1960s and 1970s. One commune that played a large role in the hippie movement was Kaliflower , a utopian living cooperative that existed in San Francisco between 1967 and 1973 built on values of free love and anti-capitalism . Andrew Jacobs of The New York Times wrote that "after decades of contraction,

748-541: The Afrikaans language and the Afrikaner culture. By 2022, the population was 2,500. The town was experiencing rapid growth and the population had climbed by 55% from 2018. They favour a model of strict Afrikaner self-sufficiency and have their own currency, bank, local government and only employ Afrikaners. A 19th century advocate and practitioner of communal living was the utopian socialist John Goodwyn Barmby , who founded

792-550: The American commune movement has been expanding since the mid-1990s, spurred by the growth of settlements that seek to marry the utopian-minded commune of the 1960s with the American predilection for privacy and capital appreciation". The Fellowship for Intentional Community (FIC) is one of the main sources for listings of and more information about communes in the United States. Although many American communes are short-lived, some have been in operation for over 50 years. The Bruderhof

836-694: The Ephrata Cloister, died on July 27, 2008, at the age of 98. The community descended from the pietistic Schwarzenau Brethren movement of Alexander Mack of Schwarzenau in Germany . The first schism from the general body occurred in 1728—the Seventh Day Dunkers , whose distinctive principle was that the seventh day was the true Sabbath . In 1732, Beissel arrived at the banks of Cocalico Creek in Lancaster County. Around this charismatic leader

880-599: The German commune book, Das KommuneBuch , communes are defined by Elisabeth Voß as communities which: Kibbutzim in Israel , (sing., kibbutz) are examples of officially organized communes, the first of which were based on agriculture. Other Israeli communities are Kvutza , Yishuv Kehilati , Moshavim and Kfar No'ar . Today, there are dozens of urban communes growing in the cities of Israel, often called urban kibbutzim . The urban kibbutzim are smaller and more anarchist . Most of

924-742: The UK. In Glandwr , near Crymych , Pembrokeshire , a co-op called Lammas Ecovillage focuses on planning and sustainable development . Granted planning permission by the Welsh Government in 2009, it has since created 9 holdings and is a central communal hub for its community. In Scotland , the Findhorn Foundation founded by Peter and Eileen Caddy and Dorothy Maclean in 1962 is prominent for its educational centre and experimental architectural community project based at The Park, in Moray , Scotland, near

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968-528: The book is The Bloody Theater or Martyrs Mirror of the Defenseless Christians who baptized only upon confession of faith, and who suffered and died for the testimony of Jesus, their Saviour, from the time of Christ to the year A.D. 1660 . The use of the word defenseless in this case refers to the Anabaptist belief in non-resistance . The book includes accounts of the martyrdom of the apostles and

1012-519: The cloisters famous for their writings and hymns on the printing press but they became very busy people especially when it came to chores. They manufactured clothing on a mill and kept their lives busy by creating duties and obligations. The Cloisters had a positive outlook on life; they respected their neighbors, land and environment. Education was also important in their society. It was important that every child maintain their education. Children that came from families were also encouraged to be educated in

1056-475: The commune. It was set up with a population of 22 adult single men, 7 married women and their 7 husbands, 5 single women, 4 orphan boys and 5 children under the age of 9 years. No money was employed, only credit notes which could be used in the commune shop. All occupants were committed to a life with no alcohol, tobacco, snuff or gambling. All were required to work for 12 hours a day during the summer and from dawn to dusk in winter. The social experiment prospered for

1100-520: The composition of tunes in four voices. Beissel served as the community's composer as well as spiritual leader, and devised his own system of composition. The Ephrata hymnal (words only) was printed in 1747. The Ephrata Cloister had the second German printing press in the American colonies and also published the largest book in Colonial America. The book, Martyrs Mirror , is a history of the deaths of Christian martyrs from 4 B.C. until 1660. Before

1144-407: The earliest intentional communities, founded around 1500 BCE. Buddhist monasteries appeared around 500 BCE. Pythagoras founded an intellectual vegetarian commune in about 525 BCE in southern Italy. Hundreds of modern intentional communities were formed across Europe, North and South America, Australia, and New Zealand out of the intellectual foment of utopianism . Intentional communities exhibit

1188-421: The education, employment, and daily lives of adults and children with developmental disabilities , mental health problems or other special needs . Many cultures naturally practice communal or tribal living, and would not designate their way of life as a planned "commune" per se, though their living situation may have many characteristics of a commune. In Australia , many intentional communities started with

1232-452: The everyday activities. Other than practicing quiet lives by praying and doing charity work, the Cloisters had a duty to keep up with the tasks of living at Ephrata. Farming and industrial work were the typical workload on a daily basis. Although the Cloisters often practiced their religion by interpreting Biblical works, they also engaged in carpentry and papermaking . Other tasks included gardening, preparing meals, and mending. Not only were

1276-598: The hippie movement and those searching for social alternatives to the nuclear family. One of the oldest continuously running communities is called " Moora Moora Co-operative Community" with about 47 members (Oct 2021). Located at the top of Mount Toolebewong , 65 km east of Melbourne, Victoria at an altitude of 600–800 m, this community has been entirely off the electricity grid since its inception in 1974. Founding members still resident include Peter and Sandra Cock. The first wave of utopian communities in Germany began during

1320-567: The late 1920s. Colonies, such as the Life and Labor Commune , relocated to Siberia to avoid being liquidated. Several Tolstoyan leaders, including Yakov Dragunovsky (1886-1937), were put on trial and then sent to the Gulag prison camps. In 1991, Afrikaners in South Africa founded the controversial Afrikaner-only town of Orania , with the goal of creating a stronghold for the Afrikaner minority group,

1364-567: The publication began at the request of a group of Mennonites from Montgomery County , it had to be translated from the original Holland Dutch into German , which was completed by Peter Miller of the Ephrata Community. Work began in 1748 and was finished about three years later. Many of the books were purchased by the Montgomery County Mennonites who had initiated the process. Beissel died in 1768, and this contributed to

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1408-716: The stories of martyrs from previous centuries with beliefs similar to the Anabaptists. Next to the Bible, the Martyrs Mirror has historically held the most significant and prominent place in Amish and Mennonite homes. In 1745, Jacob Gottschalk arranged with the Ephrata Cloister to have them translate the Martyrs Mirror from Dutch into German and to print it. The work took 15 men three years to finish and in 1749, at 1,512 pages, it

1452-512: The teachings of the New Testament , practicing compassion and hospitality. Communities such as the Simple Way , the Bruderhof and Rutba House would fall into this category. Despite strict membership criteria, these communities are open to visitors and not reclusive to the extent of some other intentional communities. A survey in the 1995 edition of the " Communities Directory ", published by

1496-518: The urban communes in Israel emphasize social change, education, and local involvement in the cities where they live. Some of the urban communes have members who are graduates of zionist - socialist youth movements, like HaNoar HaOved VeHaLomed , HaMahanot HaOlim and Hashomer Hatsair . In 1831 John Vandeleur (a landlord) established a commune on his Ralahine Estate at Newmarket-on-Fergus , County Clare . Vandeleur asked Edward Thomas Craig, an English socialist, to formulate rules and regulations for

1540-1076: The utopian ambition to create a better, more sustainable world for living. Nevertheless, the term utopian community as a synonym for an intentional community might be considered to be of pejorative nature and many intentional communities do not consider themselves to be utopian. Also the alternative term commune is considered to be non-neutral or even linked to leftist politics or hippies . Additional terms referring to an intentional community can be alternative lifestyle , intentional society , cooperative community , withdrawn community , enacted community , socialist colony , communistic society , collective settlement , communal society , commune , mutualistic community , communitarian experiment , experimental community , utopian experiment , practical utopia , and utopian society . The purposes of intentional communities vary and may be political, spiritual , economic, or environmental. In addition to spiritual communities, secular communities also exist. One common practice, particularly in spiritual communities,

1584-685: The village of Findhorn . The Findhorn Ecovillage community at The Park, Findhorn, a village in Moray, Scotland, and at Cluny Hill in Forres , now houses more than 400 people. Historic agricultural examples include the Diggers settlement on St George's Hill , Surrey during the English Civil War and the Clousden Hill Free Communist and Co-operative Colony near Newcastle upon Tyne during

1628-535: The whole group rather than to any sub-group, and the commune is experienced with emotions that go beyond just social collectivity . With the simple definition of a commune as an intentional community with 100% income sharing, the online directory of the Fellowship for Intentional Community (FIC) lists 222 communes worldwide (28 January 2019). Some of these are religious institutions such as abbeys and monasteries . Others are based in anthroposophic philosophy, including Camphill villages that provide support for

1672-462: Was a hint of dissatisfied intellectualism of churches. Many wanted to be away from state established churches. Strict religious lives caused these brothers and sisters to come together to worship God in other ways. Instead of practicing their religion, they applied it by helping others to become more spiritual and celibate. Among the sisterhood and brotherhood there included a married order of householders, which were families who supported and engaged in

1716-664: Was conveyed to the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania for use as a state historical site. The Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission led excavations there which, among other things, uncovered the Cloister's use as a hospital during the Revolutionary War (1775–83). Of special note, the only glass trumpet of its kind in North America was unearthed by archaeologists in 1998 at the Cloister. The trumpet, which likely came from Germany,

1760-623: Was established in the US in 1954, Twin Oaks in 1967 and Koinonia Farm in 1942. Twin Oaks is a rare example of a non-religious commune surviving for longer than 30 years. Martyrs Mirror Martyrs Mirror or The Bloody Theater , first published in Holland in 1660 in Dutch by Thieleman J. van Braght , documents the stories and testimonies of Christian martyrs , especially Anabaptists . The full title of

1804-585: Was found in excellent condition which led archaeologists to believe it was intentionally buried. The mouthpiece was the only part missing from the trumpet, so it is unknown if it has ever been played. At its height, the Ephrata community grew to 250 acres (1.0 km) inhabited by about 80 celibate men and women. The married congregation numbered approximately 200. Intentional community Although intentional communities are sometimes described as alternative lifestyles or social experiments , some see them as

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1848-471: Was now at an end". In imperial Russia , the vast majority of Russian peasants held their land in communal ownership within a mir community, which acted as a village government and a cooperative. The very widespread and influential pre-Soviet Russian tradition of monastic communities of both sexes could also be considered a form of communal living. After the end of communism in Russia , monastic communities have again become more common, populous and, to

1892-692: Was published by David Miller near Lampeter Square, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania , in 1837. An edition entitled A Martyrology of the Churches of Christ was translated and printed in England in 1850 in 2 volumes by Edward Bean Underhill under the auspices of the Hanserd Knollys Society in England. The Martyrs Mirror differs from Foxe's Book of Martyrs in that it only includes those martyrs which were considered nonresistant, while Foxe's book does not include many Anabaptist martyrs. The Martyrs Mirror

1936-769: Was the largest book printed in America before the Revolutionary War . An original volume is on display at the Ephrata Cloister. The 1685 edition of the book is illustrated with 104 copper etchings by Jan Luyken . Thirty-one of these plates survive and are part of the Mirror of the Martyrs exhibit at Bethel College in North Newton, Kansas. Two of the copper plates are located at the Muddy Creek Farm Library established by Amos B. Hoover in Ephrata, Pennsylvania. The first English edition, translated from German by I. Daniel Rupp,

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