May  2008
 

”Monastery of St. John the Baptist, Essex”

In this Issue

Monastery of St. John the Baptist, Essex
Orthodox Family Camp
Pilgrimage to Ireland

The Monastery of St. John the Baptist
By Simon Harvey

     11 years ago, Vicky and I were invited by a friend to go to visit an Orthodox monastery in Essex. Despite having been born and raised in Essex, I had no idea that such a place existed in this country. I had up to that point had little exposure to the Orthodox Church beyond my own wedding in Athens and had little idea of what to expect. What I experienced moved me so deeply that I knew when I left that I wanted to join the Orthodox Church.

     The Monastery of St. John the Baptist was established by Fr. Sophrony Sakharov who had spent much of his monastic life on Mount Athos where he had for his spiritual father, Fr Silouan, later canonised as St. Silouan the Athonite. Fr. Sophrony devoted much of his life to making the spirituality of St. Silouan more widely known. The community that formed around him in Essex was and is very international, representing most parts of the Orthodox world. It is a mixed community, comprised of both monks and nuns. Some of the monks from this monastery have since moved on to other monasteries; for example Fr. Silouan in Shropshire and Fr. Rafail Noica in Romania.

Mural from side of main church

     The monastery when I saw it was beautifully cared for and decorated in a way which accords with the spirituality of the community, with most of the buildings frescoed and written with texts from the Bible and prayers of the church. The community is extremely welcoming and accommodating for visitors of all ages from the youngest to the oldest and from the most able-bodied to the most infirm.

     The prayer life of the community for the time I spent there was based around the practice of the Jesus prayer. This took the place of the monastic liturgical prayers for many services during the week. The lists of names which the community remembers is very long and I took the opportunity to include our community in their prayers.

The Refectory

     On this my second visit, after an interlude of 11 years and having become Orthodox since the first, I was a little apprehensive that perhaps it would not be quite as I remembered it. However, once again, I was very moved by my experiences over the 4 days that I spent there. It is a reminder that one does not have to travel to other countries to have a very full experience of our Faith and the riches which God offers us.


For those who wish to get some idea of the spirituality of Fr. Sophrony and St. Silouan, I recommend the following books: