Sophia Institute

-
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

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Liberty and Belonging

-
Image
  By Br Brennan Just over a year ago I was planning an early retirement with an eye to monastic life. While I can’t say that I had one of those great careers and was at the top of my game, I had come to know some really amazing people over my years in the last job. Among those, I always enjoyed truly close relationships marked by great mutual respect. However, I was also one of those artists with a day job, and as a dancer/instructor/choreographer I had come to notice in recent years a certain status of “esteemed eldership” of sorts (at least in my particular genre, that of East European ethnic dance), however awkward I felt about it. After numerous visits to New Skete over the years, I knew the transition to postulancy and novitiate would involve quite a shake-up in my sense of self. And I was correct. First, I was not going to jump in and wow anyone with any diligence, knowledge, or finesse, as I might try to do in a new job. All I could do was pay attention, and learn what this
Read more

A Strong Ministry Continues

-
By Brother Gregory   Back in 1983, a group of chapel community members at New Skete felt very strongly about the monastic witness lived by the monks and nuns of New Skete. These married couples wanted to join in a closer relationship with the monks and nuns as a third monastic community, and they became known as the Companions of New Skete. With their financial resources and the help of the monks and nuns, Emmaus House was built on the property of the monks’ monastery. For the next 30 years, the Companions at Emmaus House added their voices and zeal to the witness of New Skete as a monastic presence in America. The Companions helped in many ways with the hard work needed to keep New Skete alive. They painted icons, trained dogs in the Adult Dog Training Program, made dog biscuits, added their singing voices to the daily monastic services, offered hospitality to guests visiting New Skete, and gave in so many other ways that the Companions developed their own ministry identity. One
Read more

What Is New This Fall?

-
Image
  By Sister Cecelia September 1 begins the Orthodox liturgical new year, and that made think of all the NEW things that have happened and will happen in the near future. It is new that the foliage is not very spectacular this year. That is the first for me in over 50 years! For the first time, the eleven apple trees in our orchard produced only one apple because of the late freeze in the spring. For the first time, the three hazelnut trees bore nuts—and with a very bountiful crop. We will roast our own hazelnuts for the first time. It will be a tasty treat. In October the monks welcomed their second novice this year, and that is a welcome new sight. The nuns have recently received several inquiries seeking monastic life—so, new faces soon, perhaps. New faces reminds me that in September a beautiful well-mannered German Shepherd named Tori was lent to me to care for as long as she is in the breeding program.  Our walks are energized by her running gracefully through the fields chasing a
Read more