Posted on 09/03/2015 3:38:16 PM PDT by NRx
(ROCOR-WAD) - ANNOUNCEMENT ON THE BLESSING OF THE NEW MONASTERY OF ST. SILOUAN. (The following announcement will soon be available on the Western American Diocese's web site, www.wadiocese.org, but as many are asking for details, I'm providing it here as well.)
By the grace of God, a new men’s monastery of the Western American Diocese will be formally blessed following a service of the Divine Liturgy on the new monastery’s patronal feast day of St. Silouan the Athonite (11th / 24th September 2015). The festal Divine Liturgy will be concelebrated by the Diocesan Hierarch, His Eminence Archbishop Kyrill of San Francisco and Western America, and His Eminence’s Auxiliary, His Grace Bishop Theodosy of Seattle. Following the Liturgy a moleben will be served, with a procession and blessing of the whole of the 47.5-acre monastery property.
The Holy Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia blessed the foundation of the Monastery of St. Silouan during its regular session in May 2015, and since that time work has been underway in earnest to prepare the property and facilities for its formal establishment by the Diocesan Hierarch. The large property, which is a generous benefaction given for the explicit purpose of founding the monastery, is ideal for monastic life: nestled in the Sonora Foothills at the edge of Yosemite National Park, it includes two wooded peaks separated by a valley with a small stream, its own well and a spring that all remain richly active even in the deepest drought, as well as ample land for building cells and structures, agriculture, and other monastic activities — all of which will form part of a Master Plan for the monastery’s development into the future. The property includes several existing buildings which, without requiring construction of any kind, are already being employed for monastery use: this includes a main monastery house, part of which has been converted into the monastery’s temporary chapel, kitchens and a refectory, cells and modest guest accommodations.
All are invited to the celebration of the Divine Liturgy for the Feastday of St. Silouan the Athonite and the blessing of the monastery, which will take place on September 24 2015. The founding of a new monastery is an infrequent event in the life of a Diocese, and we look forward to welcoming pilgrims not only from our own Diocese, but also from our fellow Orthodox jurisdictions in the area. By the mercy of God, we pray this new monastery may become a spiritual resource for Orthodox faithful for generations to come.
SCHEDULE OF SERVICES FOR THE BLESSING OF THE MONASTERY:
WEDNESDAY, 23rd SEPTEMBER 2015:
4.50 p.m. - All-Night Vigil of the Feast
Following the Vigil, a Pannikhida for the ever-memorable Schema-Archbishop Anthony will be served.
THURSDAY, 24th SEPTEMBER 2015:
8.30 a.m. - Hours
9.00 a.m. - Greeting of His Eminence Archbishop Kyrill, and Divine Liturgy. The Moleben and procession across the whole monastery grounds, including the blessing of the property and the planting of the cross on one of its highest peaks, will follow the Liturgy
11.30 a.m. (approx.) - Banquet
IMPORTANT NOTE ON ATTIRE:
While normal Church dress is requested for the Divine Services, please note that the procession across the monastery property after the Liturgy will involve hiking up some rather steep hills in the summer heat. For those wishing to participate in the procession, it is essential to bring good walking shoes / boots that have solid traction, walking sticks if desired, as well as hats or other head coverings to protect against the sun. Those who are unable to hike the terrain will be offered refreshments at the monastery house while procession takes place; and a common meal will be shared by all at its conclusion.
DIRECTIONS:
The monastery is located at 21285 Old Sonora Columbia Road, Sonora, CA 95370-8807, which is approximately a 2 hour 20 minute drive from Sacramento, and a 3 hour drive from the Bay Bridge in San Francisco. Accurate driving directions can generally be obtained from Google Maps or Apple Maps.
ACCOMMODATIONS:
On-site accommodation is at this time extremely limited, and places have already been reserved for those assisting with the preparations for the festal Divine Services. However, there are a plenitude of affordable hotels in Sonora, ranging in price from ~$40 per night higher — and all within only a few minutes of the monastery grounds.
A separate posting will follow shortly with information on local accommodations, ranging from hotel rooms to RV sites and camping facilities for pilgrims wishing to stay overnight for the festivities.
INFORMATION FOR CLERGY:
If you are an Orthodox cleric of any rank and would like to discuss arrangements for serving at either the Vigil, the Liturgy or both, please contact Archimandrite Irenei on fr.irenei@gmail.com for further details. We request that all clergy contact us in advance, as space in our chapel is quite limited and we will need to make appropriate arrangements to accommodate clerics.
O all-blessed Father Silouan, Flaming zealot of the seraphim's love for the Lord And fervent imitator of Jeremiah who wept for the people, Hearing the call of the Mother of the Lord of Hosts, With wise courage you spewed out the sinful serpent And withdrew from the snares of the world to the mountain of Athos, Where in labors and prayer, joined with tears, In abundance you acquired the grace of the holy Spirit with which our hearts are enflamed. Being strengthened by you, we cry out with compunction: My Lord, my Life and the Joy of your saint, Save the world and us from all cruel things!
Kontakion (Tone 8)
During your life on earth you served Christ and followed His path; Now in Heaven you contemplate Him Whom you have loved! Since you dwell with Him as He promised to His elect, holy Father Silouan, Instruct us now in the path that you have traveled.
Bump for reading the discussion.
Cool! The location seems very much in the tradition of ancient monasticism, isolated but the potential for self-sufficiency.
They’re going to have incredible views!
California: granola bar-land--that is, a land of fruits, nuts with flakes in between.
God certainly does work in mysterious ways.
You need to go to the Russian Cathedral on Geary St in San Francisco sometime. Right there in the heart of Sodom on the Pacific is a cathedral church so conservative that men and women commonly stand on different sides of the church during liturgy.
New monasteries are opened pretty often. There’s a traditional Latin Benedictine monastery in the Diocese of Tulsa. It opened about 15 years ago. They don’t have gorgeous views like this Orthodox Foundation will have ... just eastern Oklahoma scrubland.
http://www.clearcreekmonks.org/
I send them a donation occasionally. We were friends with Bishop Slattery in Tulsa, and he plans to retire there, so I always mark it “For Bishop Slattery’s room.”
Interesting, I learned something this evening, glad to know they exist.
Happy to help. Send them a few dollars if you have it to spare.
“A NEW monastery...who would have EVER thought that a new monastery of ANY kind would emerge? And in CALIFORNIA?!”
How about the new (re)building of an OLD monastery in California?
I have been to a Russian service. There is an orthodox church up on Diamond Heights. It USED to be Russian Orthodox. That was where I went for the service. It was a long time ago, so maybe my memory isn't quite right.
The service was endless long and we had to stand the entire 24 hours time. It was also very nice and I liked it very much. The entire service was conducted out of our sight. Odd, for me.
Muslim men and women who attend their mosque pray in separate parts of the building.
I always thought that odd, separating the genders as families would want to be together.
Nothing wrong with being with the opposite gender at that early age. It prepares them for the real world where genders mix all the time for work, sports, shopping, travel, etc. Maybe my vision is just too Western.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.
