Image and Pilgrimage in Christian Culture: Communitas

 Victor Turner and Edith Turner discuss the idea of "communitas" while on a pilgrimage in their book Image and Pilgrimage in Christian Culture. The pilgrims ditch things that they are familiar with in search of something deeper than themselves. Though they leave alone, pilgrims often find others who are on the same search as them forming a community between them. The community of pilgrims share food, shelter, and burdens. This support system reminds me of the "communitas" in the second chapter of the Acts of the Apostles. The individuals gathered under the Lord's name shared all they had, provided for any who was in need, and they broke bread together. Many of the apostle came from different walks of life but they were connected through Christ.

This level of communitas reminds me of the people I share a house with. We are all "pilgrims" of sorts. All of us left home and entered into Christopher Newport University (a new place) with our own projects and we banded together as we went along on the journey. Over the years of searching to figure out what we want to do with our lives, the unity between us became deep. Eight of us pilgrims now live together, share meals, and help one another to accomplish our projects. We also welcome other students in, providing a place to rest before they go back to their journey.

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