55
edits
Changes
m
→Early Beginnings: removed nonexistent link for "monasteries"
This legacy from his mother was the seed from which [http://www.holycrossmonastery.org Holy Cross Monastery] would one day take root, but it was not enough to acquire property suitable for a [[monastery]]. So he labored in the Lord's vineyard as a parish [[priest]] until he met his first [[disciple]] in 1970.
When he heard this young man talk about his interest in pursuing the [http://orthodoxwiki.org/Monasticism monastic life,] he asked him if he would be interested in helping him build a [[monastery]]. "The days when emperors, tsars, or kings will build [[monasteries]] for us are past," he said. "If we want a [[monastery]], we shall have to build one ourselves." It was then, in 1970, that they made their holy vow that one day, by the grace of God, they would build a [[monastery]] together dedicated to the [http://www.holycrossmonastery.org/articles/historical/translations/feastday.htm Holy Cross.]
It took the [[monks]] nine additional years to save enough money to buy property suitable for a [[monastery]], and then, in 1979, with the blessing of their [http://orthodoxwiki.org/Diocese diocesan] [[bishop]], they purchased a rural estate that would eventually be consecrated as [http://www.holycrossmonastery.org Holy Cross Monastery.] The [[monks]] themselves have performed most of the labor that has transfigured this rustic property into a frontier of Paradise. They have also stacked every stone in our retaining walls and planted the trees in the cloister precincts. The majestic redwood trees that tower behind our cross shrine were planted by the Fathers themselves from one-gallon cans in 1980, during the first summer following their arrival here.
