Sophia Institute

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by Brother Stavros


An Ethiopian style mural at Emmaus House of Harlem
 
On the feast of St. Nicholas, Brothers Christopher and Stavros participated in the 6th Annual Scholarly Conference of the Sophia Institute, hosted by Union Theological Seminary at Columbia University on Manhattan’s Morningside Heights. The conference title was “Monasticism, Asceticism, and Holiness in Eastern Orthodox Christianity.” They made a slide presentation on New Skete’s monastic witness at one of the many afternoon sessions. The night before the event, the two monks were the guests of Fr. Michael Plekon, a Fellow of the Institute, and his wife, Jean Plekon.
Informal discussion following lunch in the Bonhoeffer Room

 The four keynote addresses afforded some welcome stimulation and insight, as the Cambridge monastics are undertaking a review and possible revision of their own Typicon, first published in 1980.

They were invited to the Fellow’s Lunch and enjoyed the opportunity to catch up with friends from St. Vladimir’s and Holy Cross.

Br. Stavros was able to visit Emmaus House of Harlem, an Orthodox witness, food pantry, and outreach center, as the guest of Michael Taylor, a former novice at New Skete, who has an executive staff position there.

Palisades from the train north along the Hudson
Before taking Amtrak back to Albany, Br. Stavros was able to get a quick view of the new Freedom Tower at the World Trade Center. He had last visited the site with Br. Luke a few months after the attack, when there were still heaps of rubble.


Freedom Tower

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