Changes

Jump to: navigation, search
no edit summary
In 1976, shortly after the beginning of Archbishop [[Stylianos (Harkianakis) of Australia|Stylianos]]' tenure, the Archbishop established 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 conducted.
[[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 Mangrove Mountain. 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".
*2006 Feb: Construction began on first phase.
*2006 Apr: Around the time of Pascha, construction of the main church ('katholikon') and a part of accomodation well under way. {{orthodoxyinaustralasia}}
[[Image:Logo of Pantanassa Monastery.jpg|left|thumb|"Holy Archdiocese of Australia<br>Holy Monastery Mother of God the Queen of All"]]
==Monastic Complex==
===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|Patriarch]]'s 1996 visit, and a cave dedicated to St. [[Anna]]. There are also numerous dams on the property for water, the largest dam being adjacent to St. [[Patrickof Ireland|Patrick]]'s fields.
[[Image:pantanassaicon.jpg|left|thumb|Icon of the Mother of God "Pantanassa"]]
===New Monastic Complex===
Building works started on the new monastic complex site at the top of the mountain on 27 May 2005. The preparatory works began with excavating the mountain to provide three flat levels for buildings to go on, which were completed by the July 2005 foundation ceremony. During further excavation, a 400 metre (~1350 ft) driveway through forest to the building site was constructed and completed in August 2005. There are three stages involved in the construction of the new monastic complex:
:*Other structures include the confessional, the library and the refectory (opp. entrance of church, adj. to main entry).
 
The first stage of the monastery is currently being built.
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.
renameuser, Administrators
5,600
edits

Navigation menu