GOC-K's new St. John of SF Monastery in New York

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Maria
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GOC-K's new St. John of SF Monastery in New York

Post by Maria »

http://www.saintjohnsmonastery.org/about/

The monastery was legally incorporated on September 11/24, the minor feast of St Xenia of St Petersburg, who is considered a second patron of the brotherhood. On September 30/October 13, the anniversary of the uncovering of the relics of Saint John Maximovitch, the papers were signed for the purchase of the new property. The brotherhood came together, for the first time, on the feast of St Nicholas of Myra, having migrated from Holy Ascension Monastery in Bearsville where the lack of space and infrastructure made it clear that a much larger facility was necessary in order to establish the organized, cenobitic life we desire to lead.

Saint John of San Francisco Orthodox Monastery is under the jurisdiction of the Holy Eparchial Synod of the Genuine Orthodox Christians in America (which is under the Church of the Genuine Orthodox Christians in Greece), and the President of the Eparchial Synod, Metropolitan Demetrius, is functioning as the Abbot. The monastery has four dependencies:

  • Holy Ascension Monastery, Bearsville, New York
    Hermitage of Saint Clement, Dawson, Georgia
    Monastery of the Dormition of the Theotokos , Preston Hollow, New York
    Saint Ignatius the God-bearer Hermitage, Guatemala

...

We did not choose Saint John as our Patron; we left the choice to the will of God. Following an ancient tradition in the Church, we decided to pray and draw lots from among the names of eight Saints especially revered by us. Thus, on the Apodisis of the Transfiguration of our Lord, during the Divine Liturgy, while “It is Truly Meet” was being chanted, the lot fell to Saint John. And the Saint has manifested his presence in our midst by the many benefactions and blessings showered upon the monastery.

Lord Jesus Christ, have mercy on me a sinner.

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Maria
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Re: GOC-K's new St. John of SF Monastery in New York

Post by Maria »

http://www.saintjohnsmonastery.org/octo ... eskill-ny/

October 2015

Dear children in the Lord,

It is my great pleasure to announce to all the faithful some wonderful news in the life of our Church. As you know, three years ago 14 monks, including myself, fled from heresy in Boston and moved to Holy Ascension Monastery in Bearsville, NY. This move gave us the opportunity to live the monastic life in a place already sanctified to God. But Holy Ascension Monastery was designed for a much smaller brotherhood; and we have struggled, with little success, to adapt the existing facilities to a much larger group of monastics. After much prayer on our part about the best way to proceed, God finally opened to us a way and showed us a large property in Cobleskill, NY, which we have just purchased. This 33-acre property has 24 bedrooms, a large court well adapted for use as a church, and other spacious accommodations which will allow our brotherhood to function in a proper monastic setting. The new monastery is set in a beautiful and strategic location, bordering thousands of acres of state forest. It is near to a hospital, an airport and other useful infrastructure, and is only ten minutes away from Mountain View, the spiritual center of the Russian Orthodox Church Abroad with which we are in communion. The divine hand of providence has been guiding every step of the way in this transition. Having negotiated an excellent price, we drew lots for the name of the new monastery, which resulted in St. John Maximovitch of San Francisco. To have this saint – probably the greatest of the saints who have lived in America – as our patron and heavenly protector is a special blessing. He was a friend of the GOC in America from the beginning, having visited St. Markella’s Cathedral many times and been a strong supporter of my predecessor, Bishop Petros of blessed memory. It can be no coincidence that the day of the closing on the property happened to fall on the commemoration of the transfer of his relics! Moreover, within a day of our agreeing to the purchase, St. John blessed us by allowing us to collect the entire sum needed for the down payment. Although the brotherhood is moving to the new monastery of St. John, Holy Ascension Monastery remains an important and historic spiritual center for the Metropolis. Unfortunately, the project to build a church based on Hagia Sophia came to a standstill as the result of structural problems; but with the agreement of the primary benefactors the funds that were raised in donations for the church and the surrounding cells will be used for the brotherhood’s new accommodations. Meanwhile, it is our earnest desire, if it be in accordance with God’s will, to allow Holy Ascension Monastery to become a convent for nuns, so that women in this part of the country will also have a spiritual refuge and home.

We are currently in the process of fixing the new property and making the alterations necessary for it to function as a large, coenobitic monastery. Several of the fathers from Holy Ascension have moved there to work on the conversion of the church and other rooms; while the rest of the brotherhood is planning to move in the middle of December. We ask the prayers of all the faithful that these exciting and momentous events continue with success; that God bless every aspect of our endeavor to serve Him with love and devotion in the spirit of true Orthodox monasticism; and that through the intercessions of St. John, the brotherhood flourish in its new and more adequate setting. We invoke the blessings of our Savior Jesus Christ upon you all.

Your fervent intercessor before the Lord,

[Metropolitan Demetrius Signature]

† Demetrius of America

Lord Jesus Christ, have mercy on me a sinner.

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Barbara
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Re: GOC-K's new St. John of SF Monastery in New York

Post by Barbara »

Very nice !

It's ironic, by the way, to read this account after I logged in to post about St Xenia's Church in Kanata, Canada.
Both because the secondary patroness of the Brotherhood is St Xenia and it is her major Feast Day today, and due to the similar process of drawing lots described here as the method to determine to whom to dedicate a new parish or monastic institution. I don't think I had heard of that method.

I think it's a good idea that the GOC-K wants to have the Holy Ascension premises be opened up as a Convent.

It's always good news when monasteries are expanding beyond their buildings' capacity and need to move to new grounds.

The location of the new St John Monastery sounds ideal for the GOC-K, with the Rocor-A [called ROCA sometimes] headquarters only 10 minutes away ! That is remarkable indeed how all was arranged so fortuitously.

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Re: GOC-K's new St. John of SF Monastery in New York

Post by Matthew »

Interesting information. Thank you.

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Maria
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Re: GOC-K's new St. John of SF Monastery in New York

Post by Maria »

Archimandrit Nilos wrote:

I cannot understand your agreement. How you can be an advocate for something what is coming from ... Kallinikos Sarantopoulos ? ...

Dear Father Nilos,

I was only announcing the news of this new monastery, not advocating or agreeing with their theology.

To make your quote comply with the forum rules, I have edited it, and then I have moved your original post to start a new thread in Intra-TOC Polemics.

In Christ,
Maria
Admin

p.s. If anyone wishes access to the Intra-TOC Polemics Private Forum, please contact me by PM.

Here is a link to the new thread, which I started for Arch. Nilos:

http://www.euphrosynoscafe.com/forum/vi ... 30&t=11687

Lord Jesus Christ, have mercy on me a sinner.

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Maria
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Re: GOC-K's new St. John of SF Monastery in New York

Post by Maria »

Another tangent has been split and moved into Intra-TOC Polemics

http://www.euphrosynoscafe.com/forum/vi ... 30&t=11712

Lord Jesus Christ, have mercy on me a sinner.

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