THE ORATIO PROJECT

A BEAUTIFUL PROJECT

I post this note to thank all of you who have purchased a copy of the album Oratio – Contemporary Celtic Poems.

For the benefit of those who do not already know, this album of spiritual and mystical poetry was created by men and women living the contemplative life whilst dwelling in the secular world. Each poem on the album has been read by its author, with a musical arrangement provided by Juan Jose Lopez at the Utopia Studio in the UK. The album was primarily conceived as a means of sharing with other people something of the intimacy of the spiritual life, and secondly, to raise funds to realise a wonderful project; a project called THE ORATIO PROJECT.

The ORATIO PROJECT began in March 2014. The objective of the project is to establish a monastic settlement here in the UK, based upon the patterns set by the ancient British Church, where men and women interested in the contemplative life can gather together to spend time in the silence, and to engage in spiritual discourse. Thereby following the example set by the monastic communities established in the Levantine deserts from the late third century onward; followed with great enthusiasm by the ancient British Church before the collapse of Romano-British society in the fifth century.

It goes without saying that the spiritual heart of the project is the inner temple of the soul; an invisible temple wherein the soul enters into the presence of the Divine. This inner temple will hopefully be reflected in the physical form of this project (see illustration), a simple construction wherein people can join in prayer and meditation, and group activities such as discussion, seminars, study etc. Sleeping accommodation in the form of small cells will be located around the walls outside of the compound.

It is our intention to erect this building using low-tech, low-impact straw-bale technology, resulting in an organic structure that harmonises with the environment and minimises the energy used and carbon dioxide generated in its construction. This low-tech approach will significantly reduces the amount of energy required to construct the building, and, because of the insulating properties of the materials used, will save energy and minimise carbon dioxide in heating and cooling. Energy will be generated using solar panels for both hot water and electricity (see Illustration).

The proceeds of the album will go towards realising this vision. The target is £250.000. So far we have raised £30.000. Every album sold will increase the fund by £4.50.

If you wish to acquire a copy you can sample these wonderful performances by using the links to Amazon and iTunes; they are:

Amazon: see: http://www.amazon.com/Oratio-Contemporary-Order-Dionysis-Paul/dp/B00Q7PNIQU/ref=sr_1_1?s=dmusic&ie=UTF8&qid=1417188439&sr=1-1&keywords=oratio

iTunes page is: Oratio: Contemporary Celtic Poems by The Order of Dionysis and Paul https://itun.es/gb/6tKx4

 For information about the Holy Celtic Church and the Order of Dionysis and Paul then see: http://ecclesiasticaceltica.org.uk

For further information about the Order of Dionysis and Paul then listen to the audio on http://youtu.be/yHM-ZadfhR8

For information about the primitive British Church see the Imagier Publishing blog: http://imagierpublishing.blogspot.com/ 

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