Monastery of the Transfiguration (Ellwood City, Pennsylvania)

Orthodox Monastery of the Transfiguration is a monastic community for women in the Romanian Episcopate of the Orthodox Church in America. It is located in Ellwood City, Pennsylvania.

The community was founded in 1967 under the omophorion of His Eminence Archbishop Valerian, Archbishop of Detroit and the Romanian Episcopate with Mother Alexandra, formerly Princess Ileana of Romania, as the first abbess. Mother Alexandra put into formation her dream of a monastic community in English for Americans. In 1987, then-Abbess Benedicta left the Transfiguration Monastery to begin the Dormition of the Mother of God Orthodox Monastery with two other nuns from this monastery. The community consists of women living the monastic tradition of a Christ-centered prayer life for the monastic members.

Orthodox Monastery of the Transfiguration
Jurisdiction	ROEA, OCA
Type	Female Monastery
Founded	1968
Superior	Abbess Christophora (Matychak)
Approx. size	9-11 nuns
Location	Ellwood City, Pennsylvania
Liturgical language(s)	English
Music used	Romanian Chant
Calendar	Revised Julian
Feastdays celebrated	6 Aug
Official website	OCA Listing

Daily Life

Sunday: 8:30am - Akathist and Hours

9:15am - Divine Liturgy

5:00pm - Ninth Hour, Vespers, Compline

Mon-Tue, Thu-Fri: 6:30am - Matins, Hours, Typica

5:00pm - Ninth Hour, Vespers, Compline

Wed: 7:30am - Matins, Hours

9:00am - Divine Liturgy

Sat: 7:30am - Matins, Hours

9:00am - Divine Liturgy

6:00pm - Vigil

Structures

• St. Macrina's guest house, for lay pilgrims (with kitchen)
• St. Bridget's guest house, for clergy and their families (with kitchen)

Abbesses

• Mother Alexandra, abbess 1967-1978.
• Mother Benedicta, abbess 1978-1987.
• Mother Christophora, abbess 1987-present.

Links

Monastery

• OCA Listing of the Monastery
• Letter from a Sister to Her Family Announcing Her Tonsure.
• On Behalf of All and For All, an article by the Monastery.

Mother Christophora

• Lenten Series Lectures by Mother Christofora at the Orthodox Christian Women's conference in Montreal, March of 2008 (Ancient Faith Radio).
• Interview with Mother Christofora
• Picture of Mother Christofora

Mother Alexandra

• Wikipedia article about Princess Ileana of Romania before she became Mother Alexandra.
• Picture of Mother Alexandra as a young nun.
• Picture of Mother Alexandra, the first abbess.
• The Call, an article by Mother Alexandra, 1991.
• Picture of Mother Alexandra's grave
• Trust and Serenity, a tribute to Mother Alexandra by Demetra Velisarios Jaquet