Plans for St. Thekla Monastery in Bolivar, PA revealed...

[88Devin12]

http://www.antiochian.org/node/25811

There isn't an article yet, but I just noticed on the Antiochian website that plans have been revealed for the St. Thekla Women's Monastery in Bolivar, PA near Antiochian Village.

More renderings:
http://douglasshoopphotography.smugmug.com/ArchitecturalPhotography/St-Thekla-Monastery/17102347_H3Sr5p#1295910637_3F4XH4K

 

[Asteriktos]

That looks pretty sweet    Now if only there was an Antiochian monastery for men that was just 26 miles away from me.  8)

 

[IsmiLiora]

That looks pretty sweet    Now if only there was an Antiochian monastery for men that was just 26 miles away from me.  8)

Well, some of the female saints disguised themselves as men...maybe take a page from their book?  ???

 

[Asteriktos]

That looks pretty sweet    Now if only there was an Antiochian monastery for men that was just 26 miles away from me.  8)

Well, some of the female saints disguised themselves as men...maybe take a page from their book?  ???

Hmm, indeed, my oldest daughter's patron saint, Athanasia, pulled it off, supposedly even fooling her own husband. With my delicate features, and girlish personality... yes, it could work!  ;D

But I really do like the design (renderings), looks great. One thing though... no pews in the church? Really? Don't get me wrong, I love it, it just seems so... unAntiochian  :angel:

 

[Iconodule]

That looks pretty sweet    Now if only there was an Antiochian monastery for men that was just 26 miles away from me.  8)

Well, some of the female saints disguised themselves as men...maybe take a page from their book?  ???

Sister Josephine?

 

[David Leon]

Wow!  That's an impressive facility.  How many nuns does the monastery currently have?  I'm guessing it is a fairly large community to support such an edifice.  Will they accept pilgrims/guests and is there an expected completion date that anyone knows about?  I'd love to visit.

 

[Asteriktos]

Wow!  That's an impressive facility.  How many nuns does the monastery currently have?  I'm guessing it is a fairly large community to support such an edifice.  Will they accept pilgrims/guests and is there an expected completion date that anyone knows about?   I'd love to visit.

I'm under the impression that it's an "if you build it, they will come" type project. I know that there are former Antiochian people who became monastics in other jurisdictions, though I don't know if there are hopes or plans to try to get them to come back to the Antiochians once the facilities are built. I also don't know about the status of the Antiochian women's monastery in TN. I'll try to remember to ask about this when I see my priest tomorrow... hopefully being so close (and I've seen Mother Alexandra at liturgy, so I imagine they've talked), he probably has some knowledge as to what is going on.

 

[PrincessMommy]

Wow!  That's an impressive facility.  How many nuns does the monastery currently have?  I'm guessing it is a fairly large community to support such an edifice.  Will they accept pilgrims/guests and is there an expected completion date that anyone knows about?   I'd love to visit.

there is only one as far as a I know.  Its to me like they are putting the horse before the cart. 

 

[BTRAKAS]

Just beautiful! 

If a monastic community hasn't been formed as yet, who is sponsoring the construction of this wonderful facility, Antiochian Village or is it the AOCANA?

 

[Asteriktos]

Video of the plans

 

[Asteriktos]

Antiochian Archdiocese Purchases Property for the Establishment of the Convent of St. Thekla

The Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese of North America has completed the purchase of property and buildings in York County, Pennsylvania for the establishment of the Convent of St. Thekla, a female monastic community. The property is located in Glenville, Pennsylvania and consists of 51 acres of land which includes a four-bedroom “move-in-ready” house, a two-story barn, and a three-car garage with an attached workshop. The property also has a pond, and includes 30 acres of farmland and seven acres of woodland.

The original plan for the Convent called for it to be built on a parcel of land which is on the main property of Antiochian Village. However, it became clear that the cost of doing this would be too high...

 

[Asteriktos]

So... what happened to Mother Alexandra?

 

[podkarpatska]

Antiochian Archdiocese Purchases Property for the Establishment of the Convent of St. Thekla

The Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese of North America has completed the purchase of property and buildings in York County, Pennsylvania for the establishment of the Convent of St. Thekla, a female monastic community. The property is located in Glenville, Pennsylvania and consists of 51 acres of land which includes a four-bedroom “move-in-ready” house, a two-story barn, and a three-car garage with an attached workshop. The property also has a pond, and includes 30 acres of farmland and seven acres of woodland.

The original plan for the Convent called for it to be built on a parcel of land which is on the main property of Antiochian Village. However, it became clear that the cost of doing this would be too high...

FYI: York is located near the Pennsylvania- Maryland border, about halfway between Harrisburg, Pa and Baltimore, Md, fairly close to Gettysburg. This is about four hours drive from NYC, two hours from Philadelphia, three hours east of Pittsburgh. It's rolling hills and temperate with mild, by northeast standard, winters.

 

[arimethea]

So... what happened to Mother Alexandra?

As far as I know she is still the only monastic attached to St. Thekla Monastery.

 

[Asteriktos]

So... what happened to Mother Alexandra?

As far as I know she is still the only monastic attached to St. Thekla Monastery.

The article seems to say that they are looking for an abbess. Also, the biographical info of Mother Alexandra was removed from the St. Thekla section of the Antiochian website about 6 months ago.

 

[Deacon Lance]

I didn't see her at my deacon's retreat this year but I did last year, maybe she left?

 

[arimethea]

Metropolitan Philip blessed the new property
http://www.antiochian.org/metropolitan-philip-blesses-convent-st-thekla-property-and-house

The lack of any female monastics mentioned in the article and the pictures makes think there are no nuns in this monastery.

 

[jah777]

Metropolitan Philip blessed the new property
http://www.antiochian.org/metropolitan-philip-blesses-convent-st-thekla-property-and-house

The lack of any female monastics mentioned in the article and the pictures makes think there are no nuns in this monastery.

The site says:

[size=10pt]We have undertaken a search for the abbess of the community, as well as women who are candidates to join the community as female monastics. The candidates are both existing nuns as well as women who feel a calling to the monastic life.

It appears that there is no abbess and no nuns.  I wonder what happened to Mother Alexandra?  She was there as abbess in September of last year:

http://www.antiochian.org/content/pilgrims-enjoy-rest-and-refreshment-2012-st-thekla-pilgrimage

 

[Asteriktos]

Metropolitan Philip blessed the new property
http://www.antiochian.org/metropolitan-philip-blesses-convent-st-thekla-property-and-house

The lack of any female monastics mentioned in the article and the pictures makes think there are no nuns in this monastery.

The site says:

[size=10pt]We have undertaken a search for the abbess of the community, as well as women who are candidates to join the community as female monastics. The candidates are both existing nuns as well as women who feel a calling to the monastic life.

It appears that there is no abbess and no nuns.  I wonder what happened to Mother Alexandra?  She was there as abbess in September of last year:

http://www.antiochian.org/content/pilgrims-enjoy-rest-and-refreshment-2012-st-thekla-pilgrimage

A look at the internet archives shows that her bio was on the Antiochian site through at least November (possibly December?) of last year, but was taken off by January of this year.

 

[Agabus]

Metropolitan Philip blessed the new property
http://www.antiochian.org/metropolitan-philip-blesses-convent-st-thekla-property-and-house

The lack of any female monastics mentioned in the article and the pictures makes think there are no nuns in this monastery.

The site says:

[size=10pt]We have undertaken a search for the abbess of the community, as well as women who are candidates to join the community as female monastics. The candidates are both existing nuns as well as women who feel a calling to the monastic life.

It appears that there is no abbess and no nuns.  I wonder what happened to Mother Alexandra?  She was there as abbess in September of last year:

http://www.antiochian.org/content/pilgrims-enjoy-rest-and-refreshment-2012-st-thekla-pilgrimage

Someone here said they were planning to attend the dedication. Perhaps they could enlighten us?

 

[Asteriktos]

So with Fr. Mark Sahady apparently no longer considered the Chaplain of St. Thekla Monastery and having moved on, and no updates on the Antiochian site about the monastery, is it safe to say that the project is dead (for now)?

Same goes for the expansion project at St. Tikhon's in PA I suppose?

 

[hecma925]

St. Tikhon's needs money, hardly the equivalent.

 

[Asteriktos]

I didn't mean the monastery was about to close down, just that there seems to not have been any progress in building the "new monastic complex" that they announced ~5 years ago, and with the financial situation of the OCA I'm guessing it's not at the top of the list.

 

[hecma925]

I didn't mean the monastery was about to close down, just that there seems to not have been any progress in building the "new monastic complex" that they announced ~5 years ago, and with the financial situation of the OCA I'm guessing it's not at the top of the list.

I didn't know what you were getting at when the same can be said for parishes with 30 year building funds.  What is "progress" to use as a measurement?

 

[Iconodule]

According to the plan St Tikhon’s new buildings are supposed to start around 2018-2020 so it might still happen. Delays on these sorts of projects are very common.

 

[hecma925]

According to the plan St Tikhon’s new buildings are supposed to start around 2018-2020 so it might still happen. Delays on these sorts of projects are very common.

Didn't they pay off a big chunk of debt recently?  I think that's more important than breaking new ground according to man's schedule.

 

[Iconodule]

I do vaguely recall some recent announcement of progress, don't remember what it was exactly.

 

[Agabus]

According to the plan St Tikhon’s new buildings are supposed to start around 2018-2020 so it might still happen. Delays on these sorts of projects are very common.

Didn't they pay off a big chunk of debt recently?  I think that's more important than breaking new ground according to man's schedule.

It's better to be poor and debt free than poor and beholden to the bank, so yes.

 

[Fr. George]

According to the plan St Tikhon’s new buildings are supposed to start around 2018-2020 so it might still happen. Delays on these sorts of projects are very common.

Didn't they pay off a big chunk of debt recently?  I think that's more important than breaking new ground according to man's schedule.

It's better to be poor and debt free than poor and beholden to the bank, so yes.

Proverbs largely agrees with you.

 

[Asteriktos]

I guess I assumed too much, sorry  :-X

 

[Asteriktos]

So does anyone know what's up with this project, and monasticism in the Antiochian Archdiocese generally? The official Antiochian website still has a page up for the St. Thekla Convent, but it's little more than a place holder, with almost all the information having been removed. The Antiochian Village website makes no mention of it, the Assembly of Canonical Orthodox Bishops (ACOB) directory doesn't mention it, and the priest that was previously listed as its Chaplain hasn't been associated with it since 2018 (according to his personal facebook bio). Are there plans (financial commitments) to move forward with this, and are there people ready to participate as monastics?

Also, the ACOB site lists a male Antiochian monastery in Wichita Kansas, but I couldn't find anything about it, or even confirm that it still exists. Unless I'm missing it, neither the official Antiochian site nor the Cathedral in Kansas currently mention it, and the only other references I could really find was a picture from the facebook page of that Cathedral from 2014, and inclusion in the Atlas of Orthodox monasteries ACOB put out in 2016. Is this one still in existence?

 

[hecma925]

As far as the St. Silouan Monastery in Kansas, their non-profit entity is still active and in good standing.

Kansas Business Entity Search

 

[LukeDM]

Asterikos, it seems that the state of monasticism within the Antiochian Archdiocese in America is still basically nonexistent. This is probably a holdover from Met. Philip of thrice blessed memory. From what I've heard, he had a bad experience being thrust into the monastery at a young age, and held negative views of monasticism in one way or another. Please note that I have no proof for this and it's purely hearsay. I've heard that his Eminence Met. Joseph has a much more positive view of monasticism and wanted to see the founding of Antiochian monasteries, however I've not heard of anything happening to that effect.

So far as I know, the "monastery" in Wichita is more of a monastic brotherhood for the celibate clergy within the diocese, of which we have a few. Again, I could be wrong about that, but such is my understanding.

 

[Asteriktos]

As far as the St. Silouan Monastery in Kansas, their non-profit entity is still active and in good standing.

Kansas Business Entity Search

Asterikos, it seems that the state of monasticism within the Antiochian Archdiocese in America is still basically nonexistent. This is probably a holdover from Met. Philip of thrice blessed memory. From what I've heard, he had a bad experience being thrust into the monastery at a young age, and held negative views of monasticism in one way or another. Please note that I have no proof for this and it's purely hearsay. I've heard that his Eminence Met. Joseph has a much more positive view of monasticism and wanted to see the founding of Antiochian monasteries, however I've not heard of anything happening to that effect.

So far as I know, the "monastery" in Wichita is more of a monastic brotherhood for the celibate clergy within the diocese, of which we have a few. Again, I could be wrong about that, but such is my understanding.

Thanks for the info

 

[JTLoganville]

"I've heard that his Eminence Met. Joseph has a much more positive view of monasticism and wanted to see the founding of Antiochian monasteries, however I've not heard of anything happening to that effect."

I have heard his Eminence say publicly on more than one occasion that he would like to see at least 10 monasteries established in his Archdiocese.

 

[LukeDM]

I have heard his Eminence say publicly on more than one occasion that he would like to see at least 10 monasteries established in his Archdiocese.

God willing!

 

[hecma925]

The attachment has a clergy list of the diocese (granted, from 2018) and shows those fathers attached to the monastery.

 

[Thetruthisgod]

St Silouan monastery has a lot of work being done to get it going.

 

[hecma925]

St Silouan monastery has a lot of work being done to get it going.

What kind of work?

 

[Thetruthisgod]

What kind of work?

Some land is being set up, the place across from the Cathedral isn't really ideal for growing things. The abbot is skilled at working with the land.