List of Monasteries

What do you think of when you hear the words "monk" or "monastery"? Do you think of Gothic arches of ancient stone, of men in brown robes and sandals with shaved heads droning a mournful chant as they process around a cloister walk?
For many Americans, monasticism sounds like something long ago and far away. But in fact, Orthodox monasticism is a growing and thriving presence right here in America today. Orthodox believers may serve Christ in one of three stations: (1) laity (married or single); (2) clergy (also married or single); and (3) monastic. These three sides of the Church form a triangle with Christ at the Head, and their different characteristics ensure a balance in the overall life of the Church.

What is monasticism, and why do people still choose this way of life? In the simplest terms, monasticism is a radical response to the call of the Gospel, an attempt to live a heavenly life while still on earth. "Jesus said to him, 'If you want to be perfect, go, sell what you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me'" (Matthew 19:21). "'They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world'" (John 17:16). "Then He said to them all, 'If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me'" (Luke 9:23). ""For when they rise from the dead, they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels in heaven'" (Mark 12:25).
These commandments are given to all Christians, but monastics attempt to fulfill them with greater strictness. Monastics reduce their involvement with and dependence on the world as much as possible so that they may devote themselves to prayer. They embrace the Gospel ideals of poverty, chastity, obedience, and stability in order to better overcome their passions and grow closer to God.

Unlike many contemporary Catholic and Episcopal monastics, most Orthodox monks and nuns still wear full habits and live in secluded communities. Here they share all things in common, observe the full cycle of prayer and liturgical services, fast more strictly than other Orthodox, and engage in some simple work to support themselves. They have an abbot or abbess who is experienced in the spiritual life and can guide them toward godliness. They practice frequent, in many cases daily, confession, and live in active repentance.

Most monastic communities are open to visitors and interact freely with the Orthodox parishes around them. In fact, cooperation between parish and monastery is a longstanding and mutually fruitful Orthodox tradition. Parishioners may go to a monastery to celebrate a feast day, to have a time of quiet retreat from the world, to consult with a spiritual guide, to bring gifts of money or supplies, or to donate time and labor to the monastery's work or building projects. (As most American monasteries are fairly new, they always have building projects!) The atmosphere of prayer found in a monastery is always refreshing to the spirit.
In turn, monastics pray for their brethren in the world, offer hospitality to all who come, and often have outreach ministries of various sorts-teaching, caring for the sick and elderly, helping troubled youth. While monastics strive to provide for their own daily needs through their work, they rely on gifts and help from outside for building projects and other major undertakings. A number of St. Lawrence parishioners have devoted countless hours to helping out at neighboring monasteries.

Monastic life is often seen from the outside as a negative thing-a giving up of worldly pleasures and activities, a mournful-even morbid-preoccupation with sin and repentance. But there must be more to it than that, or why would so many twenty-first-century Americans, even those from the beautiful Santa Cruz Mountains a stone's throw from Silicon Valley, choose to abandon the world with all it has to offer in order to pursue the rigors of the monastic life?

The answer is that from the inside, monastic life is a joyful, positive embracing of a heavenly life that is far richer and more satisfying than life in the world. The joy of serving Christ wholeheartedly becomes a palpable atmosphere in a monastery, and it is compellingly attractive. It draws not only the weak and the rejected, those who wish to escape from the world out of fear. It draws also the strong, the intelligent, the beautiful, the talented-those who could easily have "made it," or have already made it, in the world, but have chosen instead to give all they have to Christ. It draws boys and girls just out of high school, and it draws men and women who are ready to retire. It draws converts to Orthodoxy as well as those born into the Faith. It has drawn to date at least ten men and women from St. Lawrence Church alone.

Across America, new monasteries are being founded and are quickly filling up. Here are some of the monasteries you might want to visit:

Monastery of St. John of Shanghai and San Francisco
Convent of the Lifegiving Spring
St. Anthony's Greek Orthodox Monastery
Greek Orthodox Monastery of St. John The Honorable Forerunner