Patriarchal Stavropegic Monastery of St. John the Baptist (Maldon, Essex)
| Patriarchal Stavropegic Monastery of St. John the Baptist | |
| Jurisdiction | Constantinople |
| Type | Male Stavropegic Monastery |
| Founded | 1959 |
| Superior | Elder Kyrillos |
| Approx. size | 25 monastics (at 1993) |
| Location | Tolleshunt Knights, Essex, England |
| Liturgical language(s) | Many |
| Music used | Russian Chant |
| Calendar | Revised Julian |
| Feastdays celebrated | St John the Baptist |
| Official website | none advertised |
The Patriarchal Stavropegic Monastery of St John the Baptist is a monastic community for both men and women, directly under the Ecumenical Patriarchate. It is located in Tolleshunt Knights, Maldon, Essex, England.
The community was founded in 1959 by Elder Sophrony (Sakharov), under the jurisdiction of His Eminence Metropolitan Anthony, Metropolitan of Sourozh and ruling Russian bishop in England, with six monastics from a number of nations; soon after, in 1965, the Monastery moved under the direct jurisdiction of the Ecumenical Patriarchate.
The community consists of men and women living the monastic tradition of a Christ-centered prayer life for the monastic members. There are two aspects to this monastery which make it unique: firstly, the focus on the communal repetition of the Jesus Prayer, which can be as much as four hours a day. This accomodates the wide variety of nationalities and languages in the Monastery, some of whom would necessarily be excluded by services in any one language. The second aspect is that it is a monastery of both monks and nuns, something rare (but not unheard of) in Orthodox monasticism.
Timeline
- 1958: Elder Sophrony had many people living near him and seeking the monastic life. A property at Tolleshunt Knights, Maldon, Essex, England was inspected.
- 1959: Community of St John the Baptist formed at Tolleshunt Knights under Metropolitan Anthony (Bloom) of Sourozh. Monastery has both monks and nuns, and numbers six.
- 1965: Monastery of St John the Baptist moved under the Ecumenical Patriarchate's omophorion. Later, the Ecumenical Patriarchate would upgrade the Monastery to Stavropegic.
- 1973: Publication of a more complete translation of Monk of Mt Athos (the life of St Silouan).
- 1975: Publication of Wisdom of Mt Athos (the writings of St Silouan).
- 1977: His Life is Mine published.
- 1985: We Shall See Him As He Is published.
- 1987: Ecumenical Patriarchate glorifies St Silouan the Athonite.
- 1993 Jul 11: At Elder Sophrony's repose, there were 25 other monastics at his monastery.
See also
- Elder Sophrony, the first Abbot.
