On becoming a monkWhen someone enters the monastery to become a monk, he spends six months in the monastery as an Oblate Brother, a time spent proving that he has the genuine desire to follow monastic discipline for the sake of his own repentance and the saving
of his soul. Afterwards he is tonsured and begins a novitiate of
at least three years until the time of his profession of
monastic vows. In the Benedictine tradition, a monk takes vows
of stability (to remain in the same monastery for the rest of
his life), obedience (to surrender one's own way of doing things
to the complete judgment of the Abbot), and reformation of life
(to lead the life of monastic discipline in life-long poverty of
temporal goods and in complete chastity in the war against
concupiscence). Also, monks are not permitted to smoke, to cut
the hair of their head or beard, or to drink alcoholic beverages
other than wine (which may be had in only small quantity).
Additionally, all monks are expected to study the principles of
our Faith in great detail, especially by reading and displaying
competence in the works written by the Orthodox Fathers of the
Church.One basic
requirement for the entry into the monastery is full adherence
to the Orthodox Faith, i.e., that Faith taught by the Orthodox
Church. Any non-Orthodox person seeking to become a monk or nun
in any of our monasteries must first undergo
On becoming an oblate
Orthodox monasticism is frequently referred to as the Angelic
Life since
it is an attempt to transcend the bodily passions in
order to free the soul thus allowing it to make its way
to God. Not everyone is able to enter a monastery in
order to live one’s Orthodox Faith in this intensity.
Yet throughout the history of Christian monasticism the
faithful have made their pilgrimages to various
monasteries. Not
so few Orthodox Christian laity have taken up residence
in some geographic proximity to monasteries wherever
they may be found. In the ancient Orthodox West, this
need for an affinity to and spiritual guidance of monks
was recognized as early as the ninth century. Prior to
this, both in the Rule of St. Benedict (Art. 59) and in
the writings of St. Gregory the Great we find the
practice of noble families dedicating one of their sons
to God by allowing him to be raised and educated in the
monastery. Such is the term “oblation”, to offer unto
God. We hear this in word used in the Eastern Liturgy
regarding the Holy Eucharist, “We offer this oblation of
peace”. Eventually, in Western monasticism there
developed “Intern oblates” who were layman who lived and
worked in the monastery as monks except that these had
not taken vows. Then there were the “Extern Oblates”,
those who had attached themselves by affinity and
guidance of a monastery but lived their Christian life
in-the-world.
 It is possible today, though rarely, to find Intern Oblates of some form thereof in Orthodox monasteries. By far the common and easiest connection the average Orthodox layman can make with the monastic life is as an Extern Oblate. One who qualifies as a candidate to the Oblates of St Benedict are Orthodox Christians who are, at least, 17 years old. They may be either married or single, layman or clergy in good standing with their ruling bishop. They have completed a one year novitiate as an Oblate Novice under the guidance of the Vicar for Oblates or the Abbot of the monastery to which one will be attached. During this one year of training, the Oblate Novice becomes familiar with the Rule of Saint Benedict and its application to an Oblate’s life, learns to pray the Divine Office in Gregorian Chant and meditates in the fashion of Lectio Divina. One learns about what is particular to Benedictine Spirituality and its connection to the Orthodox Christian way of life. Additionally, the novice reads the life of St. Benedict, Benedictine history and martyrology. This is the standard novitiate as observed at the Abbey of the Holy Name in West Milford, New Jersey. Upon completion of the novitiate the Vicar for Oblates or the Abbot considers the candidate’s ability and dedication in fulfilling this vocation of oblation. If accepted, the candidate graduates by means of a Service of Oblation or the tonsure of an oblate. This para-liturgical Service is one’s initiation and acceptance before God and His Church into a deeper observance of the traditional Orthodox Christian Faith.  Come and See… Vocations is not a career option. It is a call from God to serve Him to be a co-laborer with Him in His redemption and restoration of all mankind and creation alike.
ALL ARE CALLED…to live the
Christian life of discipleship.
The Sacred Orthodox Metropolia is a missionary minded
community dedicated to reaching out to all persons of West
European background leading them home to the Church of their
forefathers of the first millennium, namely the Orthodox Church,
that ancient Catholic Church in Western Europe until the year
1054 a.d. Personal & communal prayer is at the
focal point of our life in Christ. Within our Archdiocese,
as throughout the Milan Metropolia, we have parishes, missions
and monastic institutions observing either the Eastern Rite
(Slavic-Byzantine) or the ancient Western Rite (Anglo-Roman or “Sarum“). Combined with liturgical prayer, the
Holy Mysteries (sacraments) of the Church and private devotions
there is the active aspect. That is the actual living
in Christ and
reaching out to others with
the Love of Christ made
real within and through us by Divine Grace and our cooperation (synergy). Indeed the Holy Orthodox Church is the Mystical Body of
Christ. There is only One Body of Christ therefore Christ
established only One Church. The Orthodox Church is a fellowship
of Divine Love, a spiritual family, which both strengthens our
human relationships and gives to us more than the world is able.
If you
feel you have a vocation to serve God through His Church or if you wish
simply to become you are welcome
to correspond with us.
(973) 838-8795 Leave a message
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catechesis,
profession of Faith, adjuration of heresy, and Baptism and/or
Chrismation, and must demonstrate that he or she lives the
Orthodox Faith in the life of the Church's cycle of worship.
Also any candidate for the monastic life must have a true and
humble zeal marked by a sorrow for all his or her sins against
God, and a firm conviction of his or her own lacking of
knowledge in the discernment of a life of spiritual and mystical
progress. For these are the reasons that men bind themselves
under the Holy Rule and the direction of an Abbot, knowing full
well that we are sinful men gathered in anticipation of the
dread Judgment of Christ, at which the ancient Fathers of the
Church assure us that even the Saints shall tremble.|
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