No*s
Captain Obvious
The OCA celebrates the anniversary of the oldest Orthodox Monastery in North America.
http://www.orthodoxnews.netfirms.com/162/OLDEST.htm
SOUTH CANAAN, PA [OCA Communications] -- While it is estimated by some observers of the American scene that many churches and religious institutions have a life-span of less than a century, North America's oldest Orthodox Christian monastery has not only survived for a century, but continues to expand its work and witness.
His Beatitude, Metropolitan Herman, primate of the Orthodox Church in America [OCA], will preside at the centennial celebration of Saint Tikhon of Zadonsk Monastery, South Canaan, PA, at a pilgrimage to be held Memorial Day weekend.
"Founded by the Priestmonk Arseny Chagovetz in 1905 with the blessing of then-Archbishop Tikhon Bellavin of North America, the monastery church was consecrated on May 30 of the following year," said the Very Rev. John Matusiak, OCA communications director. "Built with donations from hard-working central and eastern European immigrants who settled in Pennsylvania's coal and steel regions and throughout the northeast, the monastery has served as a center of Orthodox Christian spirituality and education for a century."
The original monastery community consisted of several monks and an orphanage. In 1938, the adjacent Saint Tikhon's Seminary was established by the Church's Holy Synod of Bishops. Today, the seminary boasts an enrollment of nearly 70 students from across North America and abroad, double the number of seminarians studying just a few decades ago.
Over the years, Orthodox Christian faithful have flocked to the monastery during its annual Memorial Day weekend pilgrimage for worship and fellowship and to pray at the gaves of their loved ones interred in the monastery's cemetery. Dozens of additional buildings and shrines have been erected on the monastery grounds over the years, including a new bookstore and museum honoring the OCA's former primate, Metropolitan Theodosius, who retired in 2002 after suffering a series of mini-strokes.
"The centennial pilgrimage is expected to attract thousands of faithful and visitors," Father Matusiak added. "The entire episcopacy of the OCA will be joined by guest hierarchs, hundreds of clergy, and a mass choir of hundreds of voices for the pilgrimage services, which will begin on Friday evening, May 27 on the monastery grounds."
The pilgrimage will end on Monday, May 30, with the celebration of the Eucharistic Liturgy by Metropolitan Herman, members of the OCA episcopacy, and numerous other hierarchs, and a number of other liturgical services. A set of bells marking the centennial will also be blessed.
The Orthodox Church in America traces its roots to the arrival of Orthodox missionaries in Alaska in 1794. Today, the OCA embraces over 700 parishes, missions, and institutions across the US, Canada, and Mexico. The Church also maintains some 20 other monastic communities.
Additional information and a schedule of pilgrimage services and events are available on the OCA web site at www.oca.org, or may be obtained by contacting the OCA communications department at [email protected].
http://www.orthodoxnews.netfirms.com/162/OLDEST.htm
SOUTH CANAAN, PA [OCA Communications] -- While it is estimated by some observers of the American scene that many churches and religious institutions have a life-span of less than a century, North America's oldest Orthodox Christian monastery has not only survived for a century, but continues to expand its work and witness.
His Beatitude, Metropolitan Herman, primate of the Orthodox Church in America [OCA], will preside at the centennial celebration of Saint Tikhon of Zadonsk Monastery, South Canaan, PA, at a pilgrimage to be held Memorial Day weekend.
"Founded by the Priestmonk Arseny Chagovetz in 1905 with the blessing of then-Archbishop Tikhon Bellavin of North America, the monastery church was consecrated on May 30 of the following year," said the Very Rev. John Matusiak, OCA communications director. "Built with donations from hard-working central and eastern European immigrants who settled in Pennsylvania's coal and steel regions and throughout the northeast, the monastery has served as a center of Orthodox Christian spirituality and education for a century."
The original monastery community consisted of several monks and an orphanage. In 1938, the adjacent Saint Tikhon's Seminary was established by the Church's Holy Synod of Bishops. Today, the seminary boasts an enrollment of nearly 70 students from across North America and abroad, double the number of seminarians studying just a few decades ago.
Over the years, Orthodox Christian faithful have flocked to the monastery during its annual Memorial Day weekend pilgrimage for worship and fellowship and to pray at the gaves of their loved ones interred in the monastery's cemetery. Dozens of additional buildings and shrines have been erected on the monastery grounds over the years, including a new bookstore and museum honoring the OCA's former primate, Metropolitan Theodosius, who retired in 2002 after suffering a series of mini-strokes.
"The centennial pilgrimage is expected to attract thousands of faithful and visitors," Father Matusiak added. "The entire episcopacy of the OCA will be joined by guest hierarchs, hundreds of clergy, and a mass choir of hundreds of voices for the pilgrimage services, which will begin on Friday evening, May 27 on the monastery grounds."
The pilgrimage will end on Monday, May 30, with the celebration of the Eucharistic Liturgy by Metropolitan Herman, members of the OCA episcopacy, and numerous other hierarchs, and a number of other liturgical services. A set of bells marking the centennial will also be blessed.
The Orthodox Church in America traces its roots to the arrival of Orthodox missionaries in Alaska in 1794. Today, the OCA embraces over 700 parishes, missions, and institutions across the US, Canada, and Mexico. The Church also maintains some 20 other monastic communities.
Additional information and a schedule of pilgrimage services and events are available on the OCA web site at www.oca.org, or may be obtained by contacting the OCA communications department at [email protected].