• Holy Resurrection Monastery has a new website at http://www.hrmonline.org. 

• 2003-1018 - Photos of the Annual Pilgrimage in Honor of the Mother of God, Searcher for the Lost, October 10-12, 2003

• Text of Vespers in Honor of the All-Holy Mother of God, Searcher for the Lost

• May 2000: Canonical Establishment of Holy Resurrection Monastery

• April 2000 Newsletter

• Record Numbers Make Annual Pilgrimage to Holy Resurrection Monastery - See story and photos!

• Summer 1999 Newsletter.

• Photos of the 1998 Pilgrimage 

We are a small monastic community of men dedicated to the life of traditional Byzantine monasticism. Bishop George (Kuzma), Eparch of Van Nuys (Byzantine Catholic Church) formally accepted us under his jurisdiction on 4 August 1995. At that point we began formally to live as monks with a view to achieving final canonical recognition after a period of intense formation.

In October of that year we completed negotiations to purchase our present home in the Mojave Desert in Southern California. We are now living in our small Monastery in Newberry Springs, near Barstow, CA, about three hours drive from Los Angeles (to our west) and two hours from Las Vegas (to our east).

As with all new foundations, Holy Resurrection Monastery began several years before it achieved any formal canonical status. Three men came together in Australia, linked by a common desire to enter into a life of Byzantine monasticism. Led by Father Nicholas (Zachariadis), the nascent community came to the United States. Here the size of the Byzantine Churches, and the widespread use of the English language in the Liturgy, made for a more favorable location for the foundation.

A number of monastic and parish communities came to the aid of the brotherhood in their earliest days. Apart from the Eparchy of Van Nuys, these included the monks of Holy Transfiguration Monastery, Mt. Tabor in Redwood Valley, CA (Ukrainian Catholic), St. Anthony's Coptic Orthodox Monastery in Yermo, CA, the Northern California Ukrainian Catholic communities and the clergy and people of Our Lady of Fatima Russian Greek-Catholic Church in San Francisco. From the start, then, Holy Resurrection Monastery has been a project that unites Eastern Catholics from many jurisdictions, and also members of the Orthodox and Oriental Orthodox Churches. This tradition has been continued in the support extended to the Monastery each year at the annual pilgrimage in honor of the Mother of God, "Searcher for the Lost", usually held in late October.

After an extensive search for land and buildings, Providence led the monks to a small property in the heart of the Mojave Desert in Southern California. Through the wonderful generosity of the local province of the Conventual Franciscans, the brotherhood was able to afford to acquire thirty acres of desert land from the former, complete with living quarters for the monks and a small Church converted to that use from a prefabricated garage.

The community now comprises Father Nicholas together with three monks in advanced stages of formation and two more recent arrivals. Most of the brothers live in trailers which are renovated toilet blocks from a local military base! The community is fast outgrowing even these very primitive quarters, and will have to begin a major building program in the next few years.

Most of the monastery's income still comes from donations, including monthly pledges from benefactors. In addition, the brothers have begun a small gift shop in which they retail icons prints, books, prayer ropes and other devotional and gift items. They are looking into other possible business ventures to ensure their long term financial viability.

 Byzantine Monasticism

Describing the earliest monks of Egypt St. Athanasius the Great (d.373) wrote in his Life of St. Anthony:  “And truly it was like a land apart, a land of piety and justice. For there was neither wrong-doer or sufferer of wrong...but a multitude of ascetics, all with one set purpose - virtue.”

In the Eastern Christian tradition, monasticism was seen very simply as the life of the Gospel lived fully.  In the Christian Orient, monasticism has been seen as the normal state of life, proper to all the faithful through baptism.  It is normal, not in the sense that most people live it, but in the sense that it involves the accepting on earth of the life of eternity, the life of the angels, the life toward which the whole Church is proceeding in time until the fulfillment of all things in the parousia, the coming again of Christ.  Said the anonymous author of the 4th century History of the Monks of Egypt:  “With them there is no solicitude, no anxiety for food and clothing. There is only the expectation of the coming of Christ in the singing of hymns.”

It is impossible, of course, to live the angelic life without grace.  So it is in the mystical, sacramental life of the Church that the monk is truly at home.  The monk’s goal is the sanctification of ordinary life by the saturating outpouring of Divine Life in the Holy Spirit, from the Father through Christ.  In practical terms the monastic life begins and ends in the Church, in the sacramental life of her mysteries, in her daily services and above all in the Divine Liturgy (Mass).  This mystical life of prayer must also be embodied in the ordinary things of daily life. In this the Byzantine monastic has all of Holy Scripture as his or her guide, and especially the Gospels. Our one “work” is to live the Gospel, to incarnate it on every level of our lives. Our ideal can be summarized in the Beatitudes (Matt. 5:2-12) and in the  command to “rejoice always and pray without ceasing” (1 Thess. 5:16-17).

More photos from the 1999 Annual Pilgrimage to Holy Resurrection Monastery in honor of the Mother of God, "Searcher for the Lost".  See story and photos.

• April 2000 Newsletter (Vol. 7, No.1)

• December 1999 (Vol. 6,  No 4)

• Summer 1999 (Vol. 6, No 3)

• Winter 1999 (Vol.6, No. 1) 

• Summer 1998 (Vol. 5, No. 1)

Silence from Small Compline Until after Matins the following day.
Our schedule changes during Great Lent and at other times during the year.
Please call to verify our schedule before you visit.

When visiting the Monastery, be sure to book ahead to ensure we have some room.  We welcome parish groups, through for the time being, some may prefer to stay overnight at one of the clean, convenient and inexpensive hotels in Barstow (a 25 minute drive from us).  We can give you recommendations when you call.  For bookings, please call us.  We are easy to reach by car from either Los Angeles or Las Vegas.  The most convenient airport is Las Vegas, which means our visitors can also make use of the inexpensive airfares often available to that destination.  The drive from Las Vegas takes about 2 1/2 hours, and from Los Angeles, about 3 hours.  We can also arrange to collect visitors who arrive by Greyhound Bus at Barstow.

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 Can we pray for you?

Please send us your prayer intentions so that we can remember you and your loved ones in prayer.  They can be sent either via snail mail to the address at the top of this page or e-mail them to monkmax@mscomm.com.   

Can you help to support your monastery?

Please consider supporting us on a regular basis with a monthly/quarterly pledge.  Your contribution is tax deductible.  Checks can be made payable to "Holy Resurrection Monastery" and sent to the snail mail address above.