Part of what might have brought so many people out was because of the movement of so many HOCNA parishes and monastics to the GOC recently, and also because Met. Pavlos and the monastery in Bearsville with their new Hagia Sophia Replica catholic on going up is attracting a lot of New Calendarists.
See here for photos of the progress of the Hagia Sophia replica which is 1/5 th the size of the original.
HAGIA SOPHIA
AT HOLY ASCENSION MONASTERYAfter many years of speculating and planning, Holy Ascension Monastery is finally actualizing this magnificent dream. This year on the Feast of the Ascension of Christ (June 2, 2011), five Bishops and four priests blessed the foundations for the new church on a picturesque hill at the monastery. God willing, the building will become the catholicon or main church of our monastery. It will also be a beacon of Orthodoxy in the region and a unique building for America.
Hagia Sophia at Holy Ascension Monastery will be a 1/5th scale replica of the original Hagia Sophia in Constantinople built by the devout Emperor Justinian the Great. In accordance with the express wish of Metropolitan Paul, the replica will copy the original as closely as possible, incorporating only a few simplifications due to its smaller size.
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