Strict rules for St Paisius Convent, Arizona pilgrims

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Barbara
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Strict rules for St Paisius Convent, Arizona pilgrims

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I came across this page because I was looking in vain for photos. I tried every key, but nothing produced pictures of recent developments at this women's monastery. So I scoured for anything of interest.

I thought these regulations were quite useful as a jumping off point for our TOC monasteries or convents or even parishes, as they are quite comprehensive and very specific as guides for visitors to avoid offending the resident clergy, nuns and staff.

I don't know that I have ever seen such conservative dress rules stated. Not even in monasteries in Russia is the apparel of pilgrims and visitors so restricted. Unless things have changed quite a bit.

Neither was this same Convent anything remotely like this when it was in Forestville, north of San Francisco in 'apple country'. Or should I say, apple cider vinegar heaven !

The new location, which went under the Serbian Patriarchate, which is none too conservative, had a great tightening of dress code for all visitors. I wonder why.
Does anyone know anyone who has visited this Convent, by any chance, who could shed light on this question ?

Perhaps Mother Evfrosinia could let us know some day when she has time to look at the Forum whether this is standard and Lesna asks the same of pilgrims to the historic Convent of the Russian Diaspora in Normandie.

"Women are kindly asked to wear long-sleeved, loose-fitting shirts that fully cover the chest up to the neck; long skirts (or dresses) without deep slits; scarves that cover the head and wrap under the chin and around the neck, so that the neck is also covered. Please refrain from wearing lipstick when venerating icons and receiving Holy Communion. Please remove any visible face or body piercing jewelry.

Men are kindly asked to wear long pants and long-sleeved shirts. Please, no baseball caps or clothing with inappropriate words or images. Inside, especially in church, men are asked to keep their heads uncovered. Please remove any visbile face or body piercing jewelry.

For both men and women, socks (at least ankle high) with shoes or sandals are to be worn at all times. Note that our paths are gravel, so please wear appropriate shoes."

http://stpaisiusmonastery.org/visitor-g ... formation/

[ looks like they meant to say guide, not guilde ]

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Barbara
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Re: Strict rules for St Paisius Convent, Arizona pilgrims

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I want to say that I think the regulation about NO Baseball caps is great relief to read.
I am so sick of seeing almost every layman in this country attired in them. They are so TACKY !

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Barbara
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Re: Strict rules for St Paisius Convent, Arizona pilgrims

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The banning of T-shirts with inappropriate images or words is more common in Orthodox circles.

How important that is ! I nearly fainted when someone marched onto my property out of the blue with his 3 year old son who was wearing a bright red T-shirt with a large devil image embossed on it. The average person today is so 'unconscious' that it's impossible to attempt to explain why beacons of welcome for demons to descend is so alarming to the Orthodox person. They will shrug it off and downplay any dark significance with "It's only a T-shirt ! "

So the St Paisius Convent is quite right to stipulate that these various offensive forms of attire be left at home.

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Barbara
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Re: Strict rules for St Paisius Convent, Arizona pilgrims

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I am getting off of the subject of my own thread on this post, but I went back to the St Paisius [ Serbian Patriarchate ] website to browse for a lengthy article that used to be there about many of the Optina Elders. It probably still is, but for some reason I don't seem to navigate very well there.

Checking under the logical category, Monasticism, I was dismayed to find that Silouan the Athonite and
Joseph the Hesychast are prominently featured.

The articles are mostly from New Calendar Greek sources. Met. Hierotheos of Nafpaktos, etc.
Footnotes brim with "Archimandrite Sophrony of Essex".

Hmmm. So we have what APPEARS to be like an Old Calendar monastery - but with a pronounced World Orthodox outlook, as far as I can tell.

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Barbara
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Re: Strict rules for St Paisius Convent, Arizona pilgrims

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Icon of St Paisius [Velichkovsky] [ 1722–1794 ] sold in the Convent's Gift Shop, one of a large assortment of the rejuvenator of the system of Elders [ French word : Staretsevo ] in Russian and other Slavic & Romanian Monasteries, such as Optina, Valaam, of the 1800s and early 1900s.

Image
Must be a newly created Icon, as this is not the Icon that this Monastery used when it resided at Forestville, CA.

Hopefully, the St Paisius Convent will tone down all this False Elder promotion mentioned in the post above, eventually eliminating mention of trendy figures such as Sophrony [Sakharov].

Image
Would you want this Fr. as your Elder ? To me, he looks like he is brimming over with barely concealed anger.
No thanks ! For one, I prefer to stay as far away from this trendy 'elder' and his books as possible.


Why > the Arizona monastery seems to have gone partly under Rocor-MP, which is an improvement over being solely under the Serbian Patriarchate. We will watch its development.

Meanwhile the catholicon is being frescoed, remarkably by a nun from Indiana with the help of the Safford, AZ nuns themselves.

Beautiful picture of the desert monastery with a rainbow :

Image

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Barbara
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Re: Strict rules for St Paisius Convent, Arizona pilgrims

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How much the 'baseball cap' - even the name sounds weird to me personally - has sunk into even the Orthodox sector of US society is made clear by a post on the blog Journey to Orthodoxy, about the tales of various converts to Orthodoxy.

One Serbian-American man whose father had fled Communist Yugoslavia to come to America [ in what must be a fascinating story he unfortunately did not relate ] wrote about his happiness in returning to his father's Serbian Orthodox Church after meandering for his entire life :

"My understanding is that Orthodoxy recognizes the right of nations and ethnicities to exist, and to celebrate Christ within those cultural contexts while remaining in full communion with each other...It has been like putting on a comfy old baseball cap."

http://journeytoorthodoxy.com/2016/04/c ... ch-part-5/

It would be wonderful if ALL Churches as well as Monasteries and Convents could gently ease out of the wearing of these ridiculous looking things ! The custom snuck up seemingly out of nowhere. Now so many men, from professionals through laborers, unthinkingly wear the headgear. It shows no respect to God and makes a statement of deliberate casualness, akin to wearing loud T-shirts, jeans and flipflops to Church or on pilgrimage.

Few people notice how homogeneous modern American dress has become for both men and women. There is almost a uniform of studied sloppiness. St Paisius Convent was right to lay down the law about these unpleasant customs. And the nuns were brave enough to stipulate that no 'jewelry' [ too nice of a word ! ] of objectionable nature could be worn visibly.
What a sign of cultural decadence that a Convent should have to request visitors to not appear at its gates in such devil-worshipping accoutrements and attire !

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Maria
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Re: Strict rules for St Paisius Convent, Arizona pilgrims

Post by Maria »

Is the St. Paisius Convent under the Serbians or under the ROCOR-MP?

Lord Jesus Christ, have mercy on me a sinner.

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