Visiting a Women’s Monastery for the First Time

If I could describe my visit to this monastery in one word, it would be: majestic.

[Photography provided by the Orthodox Monastery of the Transfiguration]

I woke up at seven in the morning to make sure I made it early enough to look around before Divine Liturgy began. After several miles of tumultuous backroads and dirt roads, I finally pulled up to the sign that beheld “Orthodox Monastery of the Transfiguration”. This monastery is located in a small town named Ellwood City in Pennsylvania; about thirty minutes from Pittsburgh and a little over an hour from where I stay. The town was small enough for me to be able to pull to the side, stop, and take a few tourist style pictures of the huge beautifully designed stone-rock sign.

As soon as I pulled up to the main building, I was awestruck with the amount of beauty throughout the property. I knew this was only a small part of this one hundred acred promised land. I actually had to sit in my car for a few minutes to relax myself, because I was suddenly hit with so many different emotions at once. Firstly, I couldn’t believe that I was actually at a women’s monastery. Secondly, I did not know that the site would be as luscious and beautiful as it was in the dead of winter. While the rest of the earth is going through the seasons of change, this place stood out and flourished.

I took a few minutes to snap a few pictures and to fully take in everything that I was seeing. There were several signs which pointed to the main entrance and I tried preparing myself for something I had never experienced before. I rang the soft doorbell and was immediately welcomed into the building by a gentle woman named Mother Paula. She had a kind and welcoming face as she showed me around the lobby area where I could sign in and finally use their restroom after the long drive.

The Sanctuary

I walked into the sanctuary and was blessed immediately by the voices of the nuns singing the Akathist to the Theotokos. Their voices were so heavenly it didn’t seem real. I attempted to light two candles and ended up needing some assistance from an actual adult, because I wasn’t familiar with where or how to place them in the metal candle holders. I was so glad I arrived early because the singing was the epitome of my visit and I couldn’t get enough of the nuns singing. They took their singing very seriously and I can only imagine the number of hours they have put into rehearsing.

[Photography by Hannah D. McClendon]

The service began shortly after I got situated in the front of the sanctuary. I was a bit uncomfortable being in front of everyone behind me, but the sisters encouraged me to sit with them and I was more than happy to. The service was slightly different due to the fact that it was a Monday. The service was a St. Basil’s divine liturgy instead of the more familiar St. John’s divine liturgy. Mother Paula provided me with several hymn and liturgy books so that I could follow along. Once they realized it was St. Basil’s divine liturgy one of the nuns sat next to me and periodically explained the different parts of service.

They weren’t sure if I was Orthodox or not but one of the sisters was dedicated to making sure I understood each part, which was really thoughtful. I wasn’t as familiar with St. Basil’s liturgy or with the length of the prayers that were offered up, so I was glad she gave me a heads up that there would be a lot of prayer. The liturgy was awesome, and as I mentioned earlier, the singing was the highlight of the service. Although I normally am not allowed to participate in the Eucharist, it was a feast day so I was allowed to partake in the holy bread as well as the blessed holy water provided in the middle of the sanctuary. Mother Christophora, the Abbess of the monastery, introduced herself to me and she explained that the sisters were so excited to teach me and she apologized if it was overwhelming in any way, but it wasn’t. I was so glad to meet Mother Christophora. She was a very gentle woman but she also had a keen sense of humor.

[Photography provided by the Orthodox Monastery of the Transfiguration]

Brunch with the Sisters

To my surprise, brunch was served with the sisters and the guests that came to participate in the Theophany service. The main dish was a sort of egg-based french toast, that I could not eat very much of, so I loaded up on pistachios, fruit, and the other sides that were also provided. I sat at a table with the newly ordained Fr. Michael Sochka along with his family and a couple other visitors from my hometown.

We had an awesome conversation about where we’re from, who we knew and we all were oddly connected in some way. We all knew of someone that knew of the other. The thing I’ve noticed in Orthodoxy, is that everything and everyone is connected and intertwined very intricately in a very delicate puzzle. It’s a never ending puzzle nonetheless, but everyone is someone and everybody is connected in one large family across the world. Over my Christmas break, I’ve met Orthodox Christians that are very close or were close to the people I attend church with every week in Murfreesboro, Tennessee. These same Christians are connected with other Christians all over the world in Romania, Greece, Russia, and so forth. In essence, it’s a continuous map of networking and connections.

To my surprise, monasteries do use a lot of technology; but they use it, they don’t abuse it like we do. I was afraid I would get lost due to no service but I actually had impeccable service. After loading up on pistachios and unlocking a mini fridge full of ginger ale, I became more acquainted with the sisters. I apologize, because I cannot remember any of their names, but I will always remember their faces. A couple of sisters overheard that I was a poet and writer and immediately began fussing and teaching me about the different poets and hymnographers who served the church many years ago. Writers such as Saint Ephraim, Saint Romanos and Saint Kassia (the first woman poet of the church whose writings were officially used in the church).

The Tour

[Photography provided by the Orthodox Monastery of the Transfiguration]

After brunch, one of the sisters offered to take a few of us in a tour of the monastery. There were so many beautiful artifacts and relics that there is no way that I couldn’t possibly share them all. My favorite room that we visited was the study or the “library”. I really wished I could’ve stayed at the monastery longer but my headache was escalating to a migraine and I barely made it through the tour. The offices were also near the library, and some of the nuns were busy at work researching and reading while others went away for an afternoon nap.

The sister in the picture to the right was the same sister that was explaining the different parts of the St. Basil’s divine liturgy to me. She was very sweet and had a very strong accent which made me think she may or may not have possibly been from Greece. Her and I bonded during the service and she was sad to see me go when it was time to leave, but I assured her that I would visit again whenever I flew home again to visit my family.

There was a corner of the monastery dedicated to Mother Alexandra, the nun who started the monastery. The monastery was founded in 1967 by Mother Alexandra (the former Princess Ileana of Romania) whose dream it was to provide a place where American Orthodox women from all ethnic backgrounds could come to live the monastic life and benefit from a liturgical cycle in English. The desire of her heart was to provide a fountain of spiritual refreshment to the people of the country that gave her a home after her exile. Mother Alexandra was a very talented seamstress and also loved carving. Every Abbess has their own staff, so Mother Alexandra carved ‘the snake and the dove’ into the top of her staff.

The Departure

Visiting this monastery was one of the most refreshing things I’d experienced in a long time, possibly ever. The sisters invited me to stay longer and to lounge around and explore, but my headache had grown into a migraine and I had at least an hour drive back home. I stopped by the gift shop, which was huge, to finally purchase some new icons and hopefully some prayer beads. I managed to purchase some white prayer beads that were made from an ancient tree from somewhere. It was thoroughly explained to me, but as I mentioned, I did have a migraine so the information did not retain. I was also able to add three new icons to my collection.

I now have an icon of Saint Panteleimon the healer, Our most honorable most blessed lady Theotokos holding her son Christ, and I officially have a ‘guardian angel’ icon that I can pray in front of. I’m so excited and grateful for this experience and I do not take this lightly. I have been drawn to the monastic life for quite some time, so it had been on my mind to visit one of the monasteries near me during my break. I look forward to visiting them in the future. It is good to know that I have sisters praying for me and my family in the small town of Ellwood City, Pennsylvania.

The second to last sister on the left is the one who conducted the tour. Her and I bonded while I was perusing the gift shop trying to decided which icons to take back to my house. She was explaining the different types of prayer ropes and prayer beads, because I wanted something subtle yet stylish. All of the nuns were extremely welcoming and kind and I cannot wait to visit them all again, Lord willing. If you are ever in the western Pennsylvania area, I highly suggest you take a day or so to visit and meet with these sisters; their kindness will change your life and your outlook on the monastic life.

For more information on the Orthodox Monastery of the Transfiguration

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