Az ortodox kolostor mint önfenntartó ökológiai rendszer. Élet Besszarábia szerzetesi közösségeiben - The Ortodox Monastery as a Self-sustaining Ecological System-Life in the Monastic Communities of Bessarabia

Abstract

I have visited monasteries in Moldovaten times between 2004 and 2013. In this paper, I would like to present my experiences that I have gained there. I am going to start my account witha briefintroduction of the history of Eastern Monasticism and the general way of life in the monasteries. Nowadays, monks in Moldova live according to medieval laws and rules, but not in thespiritual, but in the practical sense of these regulations. They produce their own food, raw materials and ritual accessories. They are involved in several merchant activities,such as icon painting, candle pouring and wine production. How is a communityorganized, maintained and provided with the goods it requires? How do people become members of these communities? What are the most important factsto know about Ortodox monasteries? These are the questionsI tried toanswer in my presentation.

Keywords

• ecological system
• Ortodox monastery
• Bessarabia
• self-sustaining
• Bessarabia