Taize community

Somewhere in the mountains hidden between the wonders of Burgundy there’s a small community of brothers and pilgrims living soothingly. The magical community is called Taize.

Geographically talking it is a small village in the central France surrounded by such important cities as Cluny (which is famous for its old abbey that used to be a residence for the Benedictines), Macon and etc.

Even though the city of Taize is not really popular, but from my point of view, the peace and quietness are the main factors that create the extraordinary feeling.

First of all, the community was created during the Second World War by a brother Roger who was trying to save the Jews and other refugees who were running from the awful German regime. So the village was established near to the demarcation line. Even from the war times, the village keeps its peaceful ideas and hospitality for everybody. Even though the establisher of the community was murdered by one of the guests, but the brothers still maintain the Christian ideas that the brother Roger once created.

Even today, when people are getting more and more liberal and believers-in-themselves, Taize is inviting everybody at least to live in a community and share friendship, work, trust, and loyalty.

The most fascinating thing that I saw was the mixture of Catholics and even some representatives of other religions. I could meet atheists, Protestants, Christians….

So the majority of people go to Taize not only to pray, but to live in a community with different cultures, religions, to work and have fun together.

The first picture shows how strong the community is. Even thought people there stay together for a week, but due to work and discussions together they build a common trust and friendship.

The second picture lets us know how simple the life in the community is. Of course, some may receive small houses, but the other have to sleep in the huge tents. I had the chance to sleep there too. That was how I felt the spirit of community. As we would share everything and live in the idea of simplicity.

Third picture is to show that even the food we shared was simply delicous. All of the times the partition of food was a huge celebration. It was welcomed with songs, request of volunteers (who were always gathering in lines), smiles and loads of friendship.

Lastly we can see how distant from the civilization is the community. It is like an oasis, hidden from the noisy and nasty city. Waiting for people to discover the inner peace within the outer community.