Patriarchal Stavropegic Monastery of St. John the Baptist
Encyclopedia
Tolleshunt Knights
Tolleshunt Knights is a village and civil parish in the English county of Essex.The Parish has a Parish council, and lies within the area of Maldon District Council. It borders Tiptree, Layer Marney and Salcott cum Virley within the Colchester Borough Council's District and Tolleshunt D'Arcy also...
, near Maldon, Essex
Maldon, Essex
Maldon is a town on the Blackwater estuary in Essex, England. It is the seat of the Maldon district and starting point of the Chelmer and Blackwater Navigation.Maldon is twinned with the Dutch town of Cuijk...
, in England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, and is the oldest Orthodox religious community in the UK
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
.
The religious community was founded in 1958 by Elder Sophrony
Archimandrite Sophrony
Archimandrite Sophrony , also Elder Sophrony, was best known as the disciple and biographer of St Silouan the Athonite and compiler of St Silouan's works, and as the founder of the Patriarchal Stavropegic Monastery of St. John the Baptist in Tolleshunt Knights, Maldon, Essex, England...
, under the jurisdiction of Metropolitan Anthony
Metropolitan Anthony (Bloom) of Sourozh
Antony of Sourozh was best known as a writer and broadcaster on prayer and the Christian life. He was a monk and Metropolitan bishop of the Russian Orthodox Church...
, Metropolitan
Metropolitan bishop
In Christian churches with episcopal polity, the rank of metropolitan bishop, or simply metropolitan, pertains to the diocesan bishop or archbishop of a metropolis; that is, the chief city of a historical Roman province, ecclesiastical province, or regional capital.Before the establishment of...
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-centred prayer life. Currently, there are just under 40 monastics in the community, the majority of whom are nuns, with a smaller number of monks.
Daily life
When founding the monastery, Elder SophronyArchimandrite Sophrony
Archimandrite Sophrony , also Elder Sophrony, was best known as the disciple and biographer of St Silouan the Athonite and compiler of St Silouan's works, and as the founder of the Patriarchal Stavropegic Monastery of St. John the Baptist in Tolleshunt Knights, Maldon, Essex, England...
wanted to be sure that his community would not just have outward conformity, but have its focus on inner asceticism. The typikon
Typikon
The Typikon, or Typicon; plural Typika is a liturgical book which contains instructions about the order of the various Eastern Orthodox Christian church services and ceremonies, in the form of a perpetual calendar...
of the monastery, consisting of repetition of the Jesus Prayer
Jesus Prayer
The Jesus Prayer or "The Prayer" is a short, formulaic prayer esteemed and advocated within the Eastern Orthodox church:The prayer has been widely taught and discussed throughout the history of the Eastern Churches. It is often repeated continually as a part of personal ascetic practice, its use...
for approximately 4 hours per day and Divine Liturgy
Divine Liturgy
Divine Liturgy is the common term for the Eucharistic service of the Byzantine tradition of Christian liturgy. As such, it is used in the Eastern Orthodox and Eastern Catholic Churches. Armenian Christians, both of the Armenian Apostolic Church and of the Armenian Catholic Church, use the same term...
three or four times per week, found inspiration in Elder Sophrony's experience in the Athonite desert, and precedent in Athonite skete practise, St Nicodemus and St Paisius Velichkovsky
Paisius Velichkovsky
Saint Paisius Velichkovsky or Wieliczkowski is the person who transmitted Eastern Orthodox staretsdom or the concept of spiritual guidance to the Slavic world.A Ukrainian by birth, Pyotr Velichkovsky was born in Poltava, where his father, Ivan, was a priest...
.
Also, another distinctive part of this monastery is that it is a double monastery; that is, the community has both monks and nuns. This is rare, but is not unheard of, in Orthodox monasticism.
History
The Patriarchal Stavropegic Monastery of St John the Baptist had its beginnings largely in the person of Elder Sophrony. After his departure from Mt Athos, where he had been a disciple of Saint Silouan the AthoniteSilouan the Athonite
Saint Silouan the Athonite, also sometimes referred to as Saint Silvanus the Athonite or Staretz Silouan , was an Eastern Orthodox monk of Russian origin. He was born Simeon Ivanovich Antonov, of Russian Orthodox parents who came from the village of Sovsk in Russia's Tambov region...
, and his subsequent move to Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
, he was to live in a Russian old-people's home, assisting the priest there. Soon, two men would seek out Elder Sophrony, desiring the monastic life. They were allowed to live at the old-people's home, using the repetition of the Jesus Prayer in lieu of liturgical books and eating the food that the old-age inhabitants didn't eat. There were also a few nuns living at the home at this time.
By 1958, Elder Sophrony had six people living around him, seeking the monastic life. Realising that such a situation could not continue, he went to Tolleshunt Knights
Tolleshunt Knights
Tolleshunt Knights is a village and civil parish in the English county of Essex.The Parish has a Parish council, and lies within the area of Maldon District Council. It borders Tiptree, Layer Marney and Salcott cum Virley within the Colchester Borough Council's District and Tolleshunt D'Arcy also...
, near Maldon, Essex
Maldon, Essex
Maldon is a town on the Blackwater estuary in Essex, England. It is the seat of the Maldon district and starting point of the Chelmer and Blackwater Navigation.Maldon is twinned with the Dutch town of Cuijk...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
to inspect a property; in the spring of 1959, the new Community of St John the Baptist was formed at the same property, under Metropolitan Anthony's
Metropolitan Anthony (Bloom) of Sourozh
Antony of Sourozh was best known as a writer and broadcaster on prayer and the Christian life. He was a monk and Metropolitan bishop of the Russian Orthodox Church...
omophorion. The monastery, from its beginnings, had both monks and nuns, due to Elder Sophrony being unable to oversee two separate communities.
The Monastery of St John the Baptist moved under the omophorion of the Ecumenical Patriarchate in 1959, becoming Patriarchal; later, the monastery would also be titled 'Stavropegic'.
Repose of Elder Sophrony
The monastery had been informed that the only way that it could bury people on its property was to build an underground crypt, which it proceeded to build, and to which Elder Sophrony said that he would not repose until the crypt was ready. Then, having been told of the expected completion date of 12 July 1993, Elder Sophrony stated that he "would be ready". On the 11th, Elder Sophrony reposed; and on the 14th his funeral and burial were held, attended by monastics from around the world. Mother Elizabeth, the eldest nun, reposed soon after on the 24th, according to Elder Sophrony's words that he would repose first, and she would repose soon after.Cycle of services
Saturday: 7:00am - Hours and Divine Liturgy-
- 5:00-9:00pm - Vigil
Sunday: 10:15am - Hours and Divine Liturgy
-
- 3:00pm - Vespers and Paraklesis, followed by talks in Greek and English
Daily: 6.00-8:30am and 5:30-8:00pm - Repetition of the Jesus Prayer
Jesus Prayer
The Jesus Prayer or "The Prayer" is a short, formulaic prayer esteemed and advocated within the Eastern Orthodox church:The prayer has been widely taught and discussed throughout the history of the Eastern Churches. It is often repeated continually as a part of personal ascetic practice, its use...
Tuesday: 7:00am - Hours and Divine Liturgy
Feastdays: Vigil on the preceding evening; Hours and Divine Liturgy in the morning.
Publishing
One of the motivating factors behind Elder Sophrony's move to FranceFrance
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
was the publishing of St Silouan's
Silouan the Athonite
Saint Silouan the Athonite, also sometimes referred to as Saint Silvanus the Athonite or Staretz Silouan , was an Eastern Orthodox monk of Russian origin. He was born Simeon Ivanovich Antonov, of Russian Orthodox parents who came from the village of Sovsk in Russia's Tambov region...
books; when Elder Sophrony moved to England, the monastery became the publisher of these works. In 1973, a more complete translation of the life of St Silouan, titled Monk of Mt Athos, was published; followed in 1975 by Wisdom of Mt Athos, a collation of the writings of St Silouan. After this, Elder Sophrony began to publish books of his own, beginning with His Life is Mine in 1977 and then We Shall See Him As He Is in 1985. In 1987, the Holy Synod of the Ecumenical Patriarchate glorified
Glorification
-Catholicism:For the process by which the Roman Catholic Church or Anglican Communion grants official recognition to someone as a saint, see canonization.-Eastern Orthodox Church:...
St Silouan the Athonite.
Books published by the Monastery
- Monk of Mt Athos, by Archimandrite Sophrony (Sakharov), 1973.
- Wisdom of Mt Athos, by Archimandrite Sophrony (Sakharov), 1975.
- His Life is Mine, by Archimandrite Sophrony (Sakharov), 1977.
- We Shall See Him As He Is, by Archimandrite Sophrony (Sakharov), 1985.
- Service of Our Father among the Saints Nectarius: Bishop of Pentapolis, by Gerasimos Mikragiannaniteis
- Conversations with Children: Communicating our Faith, by Sister Magdalen, 2001.
Notable inhabitants
- Elder SophronyArchimandrite SophronyArchimandrite Sophrony , also Elder Sophrony, was best known as the disciple and biographer of St Silouan the Athonite and compiler of St Silouan's works, and as the founder of the Patriarchal Stavropegic Monastery of St. John the Baptist in Tolleshunt Knights, Maldon, Essex, England...
, the first Abbot, 1959-1993. - Archimandrite Kyrillos, second abbot, 1993-present.
- Sister Magdalen, noted speaker, author of Children in the Church Today & Conversations with Children: Communicating our Faith.
- Sister Maria, mosaic iconographer.
External links
- A Taste of Monastic Life, report by Dwynwen East on a pilgrimage held on 17-20 September 2003.
- CD recording of the Service of St Silouan the Athonite, chanted in Greek by Simonopetra Monastery, Mt Athos; copyrighted by St John the Baptist Monastery, Essex.