For many decades, the founder and elder (Gerondas) of our monastery, Metropolitan Paul, has entertained the dream of building a replica of Hagia Sophia, the cathedral of Constantinople during the days of the Eastern Roman empire and the most famous Church in Orthodoxy. Hagia Sophia was the jewel of the Queen of Cities and an architectural masterpiece. For centuries the greatest church in Christendom, it was and remains a reflection on earth of God’s majesty, a hint of the splendor of paradise, an emblem of the victory of Orthodoxy over paganism and error, and a symbol of the golden age when Church and State worked in synergy and saints sat on both the Patriarchal and Imperial thrones. In short, Hagia Sophia sums up everything dear to the heart of our beloved founder and Bishop, as well as every Orthodox Christian.
After many years of speculating and planning, Holy Ascension Monastery is finally actualizing this magnificent dream. 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.
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