New Skete (New York)

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
New Skete Monastery in the snow

New

White Creek
):

  • The Monks of New Skete, a men's monastery founded in 1966, and
  • the Nuns of New Skete, a women's monastery founded in 1969.

The communities are under the

Metropolitan of the Orthodox Church in America. The monks are best known for their breeding of German Shepherds
, and the training of all dog breeds in basic obedience. The monks have written several dog-training manuals, including The Art of Raising a Puppy and How to Be Your Dog's Best Friend: The Classic Training Manual for Dog Owners. The nuns are best known for baking gourmet cheesecakes, which they sell on the Internet and in their gift shop.

These two communities are unique in that they have instituted wide-ranging reforms to the

Roman Catholic saint Francis of Assisi
.

They have been criticized by Orthodox conservatives and traditionalists, but the monks and nuns have strongly defended their renewal of liturgy and monastic life. They believe this is a necessity if Orthodox monasticism is to be more than "museum-keeping" in the modern world. The monastery has a chapel community as well as a fellowship of lay people, known as Companions, who seek to be formally connected with New Skete in order to deepen their spiritual lives. Through their connection with New Skete, they work to incorporate monastic values that help them live out the call of the Gospel in a lay setting at the same time as they help to support New Skete's mission. This enrichment program serves those who seek to integrate prayer and spirituality in their daily activities, and enhances their commitment to their own Christian life.

In April 2007, the television show Divine Canine premiered on the cable television channel Animal Planet. The show featured the dog training program of the monks of New Skete.[2]

Monks of New Skete

The Monks of New Skete believe that an authentic and vibrant monasticism is an essential ingredient to healthy Church life. The monastic vocation is contemplative and apostolic, challenging both the Church and the world at large to fuller life. They note that monasticism has always incarnated itself within a particular cultural context.

Working to live as monks in the modern world, they have developed a daily schedule that integrates liturgical and personal prayer, work, study, and prudent openness to the world. Anchored in a daily cycle of matins and vespers (with Divine Liturgy on Sundays and feast days), they try to be available to all who come to the monastery, in a manner in keeping with their vocation. Many people visit the monastery each year, either to make retreats, attend services, visit the gift shop and grounds, or as dog customers.[citation needed]

Nuns of New Skete

The Nuns of New Skete, originally a group of

Poor Clares, moved from Indiana in 1969 to establish their monastery near the monks' monastery. They support themselves by baking New York-style gourmet cheesecakes for sale in their gift shop and on their website.[3][4]

Publications on religion and spirituality

Publications on raising and training dogs

References

  1. ^ Wall icons of the Church of the Holy Wisdom Archived 2007-10-08 at the Wayback Machine.
  2. ^ Divine Canine, Animal Planet website
  3. ^ Hoffman, Jan (11 March 2013). "Mixing Scripture Into the Batter--The Nuns of New Skete Make Cheesecakes". The New York Times. Retrieved 28 October 2013.
  4. ^ The New York Sun, "Laurence Mancuso, 72, Leader of Dog-Training Monks" June 27, 2007.

External links

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