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Monastery of Pantanassa (Mangrove Mountain, New South Wales)

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{{monastery|
name=Monastery of the Holy Mother of God "Pantanassa"|
jurisdiction=[[Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of Australia|GOA Aus]]|
type=Male Monastery|
founded=1976|
superior=Abbot [[Stephanos Eusebios (Pantanassiotis)|StephanosEusebios]]|size=4 5 monks|
hq=Mangrove, New South Wales, Australia|
language=Greek|
calendar=[[Revised Julian Calendar|Revised Julian]]|
feasts=[[November 10|Nov 10]] (Metochion)<br>Bright Saturday (Monastery)|
website=none advertised[http://www.pantanassa.org.au Official Website]
}}
The '''Monastery of the Holy Mother of God [[Panagia Pantanassa|"Pantanassa"]]''' (Queen of All) is a [[monasticism|monastic]] community for [[monk|men]] under the [[Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of Australia]]. The monastery is located in Mangrove Creek and Mangrove Mountain, New South Wales (west of Sydney), and was established in 1976 under the [[omophorion]] of His Eminence [[Archbishop]] [[Stylianos (Harkianakis) of Australia|Stylianos of Australia]]. The current [[abbot]] is [[Archimandrite]] [[Stephanos Eusebios (Pantanassiotis)|StephanosEusebios]]; there are currently 2 [[hieromonk|priestmonk]]s (including the abbot), one monk and one [[novice]] three monks in residence.
==History==
In 1976, shortly after the beginning of Archbishop [[Stylianos (Harkianakis) of 'katholAustraliaAustralia|Stylianos]]' tenure, the Archbishop established establishes the Holy Monastery of the [[Transfiguration]] of our Lord, with [[Archimandrite]] [[Stephanos (Pantanassiotis)]] being the [[abbot]] and residing at St Arsenios [[metochion|House]]. Fr Stephanos resigns from Vicar-General and devotes himself to the monastery, where he is widely sought out for confession; however, even though the monastery is situated in Earlwood, Sydney, it is a principle of the monastery that no weddings or baptisms are conductedcelebrated there.
[[Image:Logo of Pantanassa Monastery.jpg|left|thumb|"Holy Archdiocese of Australia<br>Holy Monastery Mother of God the Queen of All"]]
In the early 1990s, the monastery has its first novices, and Fr Stephanos decides that an inner-city hermitage was no longer the an ideal situation. Building begins at Mangrove Mountain at a temporary site on the side of the mountain, below a 200m (approx. 680ft) cliff; it was anticipated that, once the temporary site was complete, construction would begin at permanent site on top of the mountain. In 1995, the temporary site was complete, and the brotherhood moved from Sydney to Lower Mangrove Creek. This caused Holy Transfiguration Monastery to revert to a parish, and Archbishop Stylianos placed the brotherhood under the patronage of the Mother of God "Pantanassa" ("Queen of All": formed by two Greek words - Πάντα meaning All, Άνασσα meaning Queen)
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 (MangroveMountain, 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.
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]].{{orthodoxyinaustralasia}}==Recent events==*2005 Jul 16: The foundation stone of Soon after, the driveway for the new monastic church complex was laid at Pantanassa Monastery by Archbishop Stylianosfinished, assisted by Bishop [[Seraphim (Ginis) making possible the construction of Apollonias|Seraphim]].*2005 Aug: Driveway for the new monastic complex finished.* The first phase of this construction - the church and first part of the living quarters - was begun in February 2006 Feb: . Construction began on first phasecontinues and will continue for the foreseeable future.*2006 Apr: Around 2011, Elder Stephanos retired as abbot of the time of Paschamonastery, while remaining at the monastery; Hmk Eusebios succeeded him, construction being elevated to Archimandrite on [[September 14]] by Bp [[Iakovos (Tsigounis) of the main church Militoupolis]] and a part of accomodation is well under waysubsequently enthroned as Abbot on [[September 17]], 2011.
==Monastic Complex==
After moving to become the Pantanassa Monastery in 1995, the Brotherhood built a small site to live in until they built the complex that would be the monastery. In 2005, the Brotherhood, after numerous difficulties, began excavation at this site, located 50 metres from cliff-face; in 2006, construction beganand is scheduled to continue through much of the year.
===Current Monastic Complex===
Currently the Brotherhood lives, works and prays at a small monastic complex on the side of Mangrove Mountain, below a 200 metre cliff, where there is a small chapel dedicated to Sts [[Ephrem the Syrian|Ephraim]] and [[Isaac the Syrian|Isaac]] the Syrians, living quarters sufficient for the monks, an iconography studio (the primary source of income), a [[candle]]-making factory, St. Joseph's joinery workshop. Other structures from the complex include a secluded cabin named after [[Elder]] [[Paisios (Eznepidis)|Paisios the Athonite]] (+1994), a set of beehives, a timber cabin used for confessional and bookshop, an outdoor chapel with a 6 metre timber [[crucifix]] used during the [[Bartholomew I (Archontonis) of Constantinople|Ecumenical Patriarch]]'s 1996 visit, and a cave dedicated to St. [[Joachim and Anna|Anna]]. There are also numerous dams on the property for water, the largest dam being adjacent to St. [[Patrick of Ireland|Patrick]]'s fields.
[[Image:pantanassaicon.jpg|left|thumb|Icon of the Mother of God "Pantanassa"]]
The new monastic complex is designed to have the layout and aesthetics of a traditional [[Mount Athos|Athonite]] monastery by having the main church in the middle of a cloistered quadrangle. This formation is intended to have a fortress effect, by appearing solid and uninviting to outsiders, its few openings giving little opportunity for interaction; whereas to those welcomed into the complex, having a softer style of architecture and opening with a continuous arched cloister and details reminiscent of Athonite structures.
==Bibliography and Links==
*Pantanassa Monastery, "The Building of a Monastery", in <i>[http://www.tovema.com.au The Greek Australian VEMA]</i>, June 2005, page 12/30.
*[http://homewww.itgreekorthodox.comnet.au/~jgrapsas/pages/Pantanassa.htm Holy Monastery of PantanassaAppeal Site] (monastery appeal site) ==External links==*[http://homewww.itpantanassa.comorg.au/~jgrapsas/Ikons/model.jpg Model of Monastery (after construction)Official Website
{{AustralianMonasteries}}
[[Category:Orthodoxy in Australia]]
[[Category:Australian Monasteries|Pantanassa]][[Category:Greek Monasteries|Pantanassa]][[Category:Monasteries|Pantanassa]]
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