New Skete Monasteries News

  By Karen Gladstone   Whether it was your 20th New Skete Pilgrimage or your first, everyone was welcomed! For many, this annual event is a tradition that gives individuals and families the opportunity to come together from near and far to share in a special day of community.      It was perfect August weather: warm, dry, and not a cloud in the sky. The thin breeze barely shook the pop-up tents that dotted the circular drive surrounding the Transfiguration Chapel. Their shade provided welcome cover for volunteers, guests, and baked goods alike.     The hot sun shone on the procession of pilgrims, clergy, and choir members as they made their way from the lush meditation garden to the coolness of the Holy Wisdom church for Liturgy.   A common sentiment heard throughout this day was “Being at New Skete brings me such peace…as soon as I start the drive up the road, I feel a calmness.”   It’s as if New Skete itself is granting permission...

 The week of July 14th, Br. Christopher, Sr. Cecelia, and Carl Patka, a chapel community member, traveled to Phoenix, Arizona to attend the 21st All-American Council of the Orthodox Church in America. The reasons for a Council of the Church are many. One that affected us specifically as monastics was a request to report what we had done for ourselves and the rest of humanity in the previous three years since the last council. We also were asked to describe our plans for the next three years. Since many areas of church life were giving their reports, the three Stavropegial monastic communities were requested to keep their reports to only five minutes each for the Monks of New Skete, the Nuns of New Skete, and St Tikhon’s. Br. Christopher gave his spoken report first, and it follows. I’m grateful for the opportunity to share briefly with you a bit of the pulse of our life at New Skete, focusing on the monks’ community. We are taking seriously the challenge to create a viable future f...