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{{orthodoxyinaustralia}}
===Without a monastic===
While the nearby Diocesan workshop and the [[candle ]] factory continued to function, the unfinished Skete building was used for a time as a printing facility, finally being abandoned. Uninhabited for over a decade the building fell derelict, a nesting place for birds, a home for possums and vermin, damaged by vandals and in a serious state of disrepair.
===Hmk Joachim===
In 1999 Hieromonk Joachim received a [[canonical release]] from the [[Serbian Orthodox Church in Australia and New Zealand|Serbian Orthodox Church]] to the ROCOR. He was invited by the current diocesan [[bishop]], Archbishop [[Hilarion (Kapral) of Sydney|Hilarion of Sydney]] (since elevated to First Hierarch of ROCOR), to rebuild the Kentlyn Skete and restore [[cenobitic]] monastic life, as well as to provide a base for missionary work amongst anglophonic Australians.
With the help of a very small group of faithful volunteers, the early 2000s saw four and a half years of work to clear the neglected grounds of decades of accumulated rubbish and undergrowth, and the Skete building secured and made temporarily habitable and weatherproof. There is now modest accommodation, an office, dining room and, most importantly, a prayer room or [[chapel]] where the monastic labour of the Hours of prayer according to the [[typicon]] of the Orthodox Church are said daily.
With the blessing of [[Abbess]] Evpraxia, Father Joachim has been permitted the use of the old monastery Church of All Saints in the neighbouring [[Monastery of Our Lady of Kazan (Kentlyn, New South Wales)|Our Lady of Kazan Monastery]]. A small congregation from various national backgrounds - Russian, Cypriot, Greek, Palestinian, Serbian, Lebanese and Australian - attend the Divine Liturgy served in English every Sunday and on major feast days.
Father Guri’s small cave, scene of his many hidden vigils and spiritual struggles, has been cleaned of the dirt and rubbish accumulated since his departure. A floor has been laid, overhanging rock walls strengthened, and icons and a burning [[lampada]] installed. Sanctified by Father Guri’s prayers and tears, this sandstone cleft, the Skete’s first 'church', has become a place of pilgrimage and quiet prayer for growing numbers of visitors to the Skete.
==Future plans==
Orthodox Christians who value traditional Orthodox monastic life and the vital importance in plays in the life of the church are invited to help Hieromonk Joachim rebuild the Skete, and complete what Father Guri began 48 years ago. If Orthodox monasticism is to grow and flourish in Australia then there must be Orthodox monasteries.
In helping to rebuild Saint John the Baptist Skete, you will also be participating in its missionary endeavours. His Eminence Metropolitan Hilarion is convinced of the necessity for Orthodox Christian evangelism in Australia. With his blessing, Saint John the Baptist Skete hopes to provide a place of silence, worship, prayer, pilgrimage, retreat, hospitality and counsel. All Orthodox Christians of good will are asked to generously contribute and support our efforts.
==Publications==
