Quebec Monastery Prepares for Romanian Orthodox Monastic Gathering

The Monastery of the Holy Protection in Wentworth, Quebec, is preparing to host a gathering of the abbots and monks of the various monastic communities under the jurisdiction of the Romanian Orthodox Archdiocese of the Two Americas. During their time in Wentworth the monks will meet with Archbishop Nicolae (Condrea) of Chicago and also discuss the various cultural, disciplinary, financial, and spiritual challenges facing them in North America. More (in Romanian) here.

St. Dunstan of Canterbury

Christ is risen!!! Joyous feast! St. Dunstan is one of the lights of the Roman Orthodox Church in England. He successively lived as a monk in Glastonbury and (Ghent in the Netherlands), served as a royal counselor in England, became Bishop of Worcester in 957, and finally was appointed Archbishop of Canterbury in 961. He takes much of the credit for the revival of monasticism in 10th century England and fell asleep peacefully in Canterbury in 988. More on St. Dunstan's life can be found here. May his blessing and prayers be with us all!

"Young Bulgarians Turn to Monastic Life"

An interesting interview with the secretary of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church's Eparchy of Vidin concerning the growth of monasticism in Bulgaria since the fall of Communism can be found here.

Photo of the Day: Tonsuring in Central Bulgaria

Toshko Dilovski is brought forward by his sponsoring monk to be tonsured by Metropolitan Gabriel (Dinev) of Lovech into the little schema as the Monk Michael.

"West Virginia Monastic Life"

A lovely article on Holy Cross Monastery in Wayne, West Virginia, from West Virginia Public Broadcasting can be found here.

Antiochian Orthodox Church in North America Recognizes Monasticism as Necessary in the Church

The opening of the Antiochian Orthodox Archdiocese of North America to monasticism continues this month with an article on the necessity of monasticism in the life of the Church in the archdiocesan magazine The Word, a link to which can be found here.

Hermitage to be Founded in Scotland

Metropolitan Hilarion (Kapral) of New York of the Russian Orthodox Church Abroad has blessed the establishment of a hermitage in Scotland. The hermitage, which will be dedicated to St. Drostan, will be formally established later this year. More here.

St. Benedict of Nursia

Joyous feast! St. Benedict was one of the great organizers of monasticism in the Orthodox West, parallel to Sts. Anthony the Great and Basil the Great in the East, and is therefore known as the 'Patriarch of Western Monasticism.' His rule continues to be followed today by several Roman Catholic monastic orders as well as by Western Orthodox monastics under the Russian Orthodox Church Abroad. More on his life can be found here. May his blessing and prayers be with us all!

Speech of Metropolitan Elpidophoros at His Consecration

In his homily following his consecration to the episcopacy Metropolitan Elpidophoros () of Brusa laxed eloquent in his praise of Patriarch Bartholomew (Arhondonis) of Constantinople, even noting his "[love] of liturgy and of monasticism." This may strike members in the Church of Constantinople as somewhat ironic given the ongoing tensions between Patriarch Bartholomew and Mount Athos, tensions that very nearly prompted Elder Ephraim (Philotheotis) to establish his North American monasteries under the Russian Orthodox Church Abroad rather than the Ecumenical Patriarchate's dioceses on the continent.

Fortunately, Metropolitan Elpidophoros went on to matters more at the core of Patriarch Bartholomew's patriarchate, noting that, "Above and beyond all [in the Patriarch's labors] lies the good of the Phanar, the projection of the ecumenicity of the Throne." In thanking the various delegations of the Local Orthodox Churches, governments, and monasteries assembled for their presence the good metropolitan also overlooked the presence of representatives of the American Orthodox Church (OCA).

A full text of the new metropolitan's speech can be found here.

Pope Theodoros Blesses First Monastery in Uganda

Pope Theodoros II (Horeftakes) of Alexandria during his ongoing pastoral visit to Uganda has blessed the foundations of the first monastery in Uganda. The Monastery, which will be dedicated to St. Mary of Egypt, will be occupied by an Ugandan Orthodox sisterhood whose members were formed at a monastery in Chania, Crete. More here.

Interview with Metropolitan Hilarion on the Holy Land

An interesting interview with Metropolitan Hilarion (Alfeyev) of Volokolamsk on the Holy Lands, monasticism in Palestine, and the Russian Orthodox Ecclesiastical Mission in Jerusalem can be found here.

Interview with Archbishop Stefan of Ohrid

Archbishop Stefan (Veljanovski) of Ohrid of the independent Macedonian Orthodox Church has granted an interview about the renewal of monasticism and the spiritual life of the faithful in Macedonia that can be found here.

Monastic Life (and the Lack Thereof) in Metro Portland

Today is a testament to why the Portland area is in desperate need of a monastery. I woke up before 5am wide awake after six hours of sleep (what up, I know :-/ ) with nowhere to go. If I were still living in the Jackson area, then on a morning like this I'd take the opportunity to drive up to Holy Dormition and get an hour or two of prayer in (and maybe some awesome Romanian food too ;-) ) before my work day started. And I know plenty of other people who do the same thing, generally on a far more organized and disciplined basis than I do :-).

But here in Portland? God knows I'm perfectly capable of doing the reader services on my own, but do I? No. It's been over an hour now and so far I've putzed about the house and online, had my morning coffee, and generally just wasted time. I know the local Greek Orthodox church does some Matins services, but I don't go there generally and so when I wake up I don't know whether it's a day they have or don't have :-/. If there was a monastery, I would wake up on a day like this and be able to think, 'Okay, it's 4:42am. Matins starts in 18 minutes and it takes about 30 minutes to get there, so I could get most of Matins and the Hours in today!'

So, you see our great need ;-) (aka my laziness). Anyone else interested in starting a monastery in the Portland area should contact me here immediately! Once we've got enough popular demand and a few novices rounded up we can petition Holy Dormition to start a dependency out here. I don't care if it's a men's monastery or a women's (okay, I lie - women's monasteries are much cleaner and friendlier than men's in my experience :-) ) - we can go with whatever the novices' gender is :-).

Okay, instead of writing more ridiculous blogs I'm going to go and try to get a nap in before work now :-). Your prayers!

Ethiopian Monasticism Today

The CNEWA has posted an excellent article on monasticism in Ethiopia and the challenges that it has faced since the Revolution in 1974. More here.

Metropolitan Hilarion on Monasticism

Some excellent thoughts on monasticism from Metropolitan Hilarion (Alfeyev) of Volokolamsk can be found here.

New Monastery in Thailand

This is a bit dated (from July), but if you're a male Orthodox Christian interested in missionary monasticism, then you may want to look into the plans for Holy Dormition Monastery in Ratchaburi province in Thailand. More here.