Holy Cross Orthodox Monastery (Castro Valley, California)

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Holy Cross Monastery from the East.
Holy Cross Monastery from the East.

Holy Cross Orthodox Monastery (also known as Holy Cross Monastery) is a monastic institution of the Orthodox Church in America, located in Castro Valley, California.[1]

The clergy of the monastery previously served under the omophorion of Archbishop Kyrill, who shepherded the OCA's Diocese of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and the Diocese of Toledo, Ohio. Since the repose of Archbishop Kyrill during the summer of 2007, they now serve under the omophorion of Metropolitan Herman, who serves as locum tenens of their diocese until a new hierarch is elected and installed for their diocese.

Holy Cross Monastery serves Orthodox Christians of all ethnic backgrounds and all cultural traditions. Many Orthodox Christians with roots in Romania and Bulgaria regularly attend services at the monastery. Orthodox faithful of all backgrounds come to the monastery for weddings, baptisms and other sacramental blessings. Spiritual day retreats have been held there by many Orthodox Christian groups.

Contents

[edit] Services

Services at are usually conducted in the languages best understood by those worshipping with the Fathers, who can conduct services in Romanian, Slavonic ("Old Bulgarian"), Greek, or English as the need arises.

Saturday Evening
Sunday Morning

Services are open to the general public. Other liturgical offices are reserved for the monks and may be attended by special arrangement.

[edit] History

Holy Cross Monastery began with its Abbot, Archimandrite Theodor. In 1965, after he had been ordained] a priest] for just one year, his mother suddenly and unexpectedly died. He was an only son and his mother left her inheritance to him; since she knew of his intention to build a monastery one day. Father Theodor labored as a parish priest until he met his first disciple in 1970. They made a vow that one day they would build a monastery together dedicated to the Appearance of the Holy Cross over Jerusalem.

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 diocesan bishop they purchased a rural estate that would eventually be consecrated as Holy Cross Monastery. The monks performed most of the labor themselves.

[edit] References

  1. ^ See Map

[edit] External links