16,951
edits
Changes
m
What was planned to be a temporary site at Mangrove Creek, after numerous administrative setbacks, eventually became more permanent, with an iconography studio, extra cells and storeroom built near the original complex. However, the brotherhood never forgot that it was only supposed to be temporary; finally, on May 27, 2005, having obtained local government permission, Pantanassa Monastery began excavation on the monastic site on top of Mangrove Mountain, and Archbishop Stylianos announced an Australia-wide fundraising campaign.
{{orthodoxyinaustralia}}
re-positioned orthodoxyinaustralia again
1995 turned out to be a busy year. In the early 1990s, Fr Stephanos has a number of women who wished to pursue the monastic life; these women were, eventually, sent to a monastery in Greece. However, the desire to lead the monastic life in Australia was, after a few years, accepted by Fr Stephanos, and so these four nuns made up the first sisters of the [[Monastery of the Holy Cross (Mangrove Mountain, New South Wales)|Monastery of the Holy Cross]], who began residence at St Arsenios House with Fr Stephanos as the spiritual father. In 2003, Holy Cross Monastery moves to Mangrove Mountain, 5km from Pantanassa Monastery, and St Arsenios becomes the Sydney metochion for Pantanassa Monastery.
{{orthodoxyinaustralia}}
What was planned to be a temporary site at Mangrove Creek, after numerous administrative setbacks, eventually became more permanent, with an iconography studio, extra cells and storeroom built near the original complex. However, the brotherhood never forgot that it was only supposed to be temporary; finally, on May 27, 2005, having obtained local government permission, Pantanassa Monastery began excavation on the monastic site on top of Mangrove Mountain, and Archbishop Stylianos announced an Australia-wide fundraising campaign.
On July 16, 2005, the foundation stone of the main church ('katholikon') was laid by Archbishop Stylianos, assisted by Bishop [[Seraphim (Ginis) of Apollonias|Seraphim]]. Soon after, the driveway for the new monastic complex was finished, making possible the construction of the new complex. The first phase of this construction - the church and first part of the living quarters - was begun in February 2006. Construction continues and will continue for the foreseeable future.
