New Skete Monasteries News

By Ida Williams Staff Member of New Skete Monastery The sign says, “Closed.   No Guest. No Visitors. No Gift Shop.” This is the first time in almost nine years of employment at New Skete Monasteries that I cried when I arrived at work.      New Skete has always been a welcoming place.   A place of hospitality, warmth, and goodness.   And there it is.   The sign.   It might as well say, “Do Not Enter. No Trespassing.” If this is heartbreaking to me, how much more must it be for the monks and nuns?    No guests at meals to share stories with, no puppy socializers clapping their hands to encourage the puppies to come to them, and no parishioners to worship with during services.  What about spiritual direction with Brother Christopher and Sister Rebecca, Brother Gregory entertaining and educating groups about the history of New Skete during tours, and retreatants seeking the quiet and solitude of the guesthouse. Look up the definition of a monastery, an

By Sister Cecelia In January, Brother Christopher and I were invited to attend the ordination of the newly elected auxiliary bishop for Metropolitan Tikhon, Father Alexis (Trader), in Washington, D.C., at St Nicholas Cathedral. Bishop Alexis will help the Metropolitan with all the duties connected with Stavropegial institutions and monasteries in the OC A . While most of the monasteries in the OCA are directly under the bishop of the diocese, about six or seven, including New Skete, are directly under the Metropolitan.  Despite the unpredictable effect of winter weather on travel, we decided to fly, and fortunately everything worked out without a hitch. When we arrived at our hotel in the early afternoon, Br Christopher was able to get in his exercise regimen, and I enjoyed a few hours of quiet meditation before we walked to St Nicholas for the special Vesper service on the eve of the ordination. For many of us it was the first time we had seen Father Alexis. To help us k