The House of Our Father
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At our monastery, the first foundations of the new church of Saint Sophrony were laid many years ago, when the holy Elder surrendered perfectly to the will of God, which brought him to this remote land.
As for a newborn child, the beginning of life is marked by weeping, so too the beginning of the life of our Monastery was founded by Saint Sophrony ‘with many tears, and groanings from the depths, and with blood and sweat’. With martyric self-denial, the Elder remained absolutely faithful to the will of God all his life, and, in the end, he laid down the holy tabernacle of his body within his Monastery as a sanctified firstfruit that ‘leaveneth the whole lump’31 Cor. 5:6; Gal. 5:9..
God’s blessing upon the new church of our Monastery is a treasure that encourages us to follow the path of our saints. At the same time, however, it is a fearful forewarning and a responsibility to remain watchful, lest ‘love wax cold’4Matt. 24:12. in our heart and we lose this treasure, since the blessing of God only abides where it is received with thanksgiving.
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This book presents and shares the journey of the creation of the round chapel: how it came to be, first in thought and dreams, and then in plans and reality. As Saint Sophrony’s mind was always very creative, he had many ideas about how to create a space for the celebration of the Liturgy. In 1992, he made a plan to build a round chapel and supervised the construction of a model which specified all the various dimensions as well as the exact location. Whilst at the time it was not possible to fulfil the project, its realisation came thirty years later. Initially, Saint Sophrony had wanted to dedicate the chapel to the Holy Trinity; but when he himself was numbered amongst the saints, it was decided to change the plan and name the chapel after our founding Father.
Contents
Prologue by Archimandrite Peter
A Short Guide for this Book
TEXTS
Pre-history
Letter from Saint Sophrony to his sister Maria
The Divine Liturgy by Archimandrite Zacharias
The Temple Not Made with Hands: The Union of the Heart of Man with the Spirit of God by Archimandrite Peter
THE COMPLETED CHAPEL
The Iconographic Program
Colour Plates
CONSTRUCTIVE ASPECTS
An Odyssey of Techniques
Colour Plates
BUILDING WORK
Colour Plates
Aerial photography
| Weight | 1.909 kg |
|---|---|
| Dimensions | 29.2 × 27.6 × 2.3 cm |
| Author | Community of St John the Baptist |
| Language | English |
| Book cover | Hardback |
| Pages | 272 |
| Publisher | Stavropegic Monastery of St John the Baptist |
| Edition | 1st edition |
| Publication Year | 2025 |
| ISBN | 9781915687746 |
What Readers Say
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Gabriela (verified owner) –
Very good book, the new church of Saint Sophrony as described in this book is such a beauty, a dream come true, love the details of the icons with very good explanations.
“For us, who are not yet in the new heavenly Jerusalem, the created temple becomes a saving ark, a gate of heaven, and a place where the glory of God is made manifest.” (page 41)
“Saint Sophrony desired a round church so that a long continuous wall could be painted, representing the history of man’s salvation. The only practical instruction he gave regarding the iconography was: ‘The Last Supper should be painted on a straight wall behind the altar.’ His aim in creating a church for the celebration of the Liturgy was to place the Last Supper in a prominent position, bringing the faithful into the very heart of the Eucharist and making them partakers of the unique historic and eternal Event.” (page 73)
Joanna Willis (verified owner) –
Fantastic book, a real joy and a treasure for years to come. Thank you
THE REVD DOUGLAS DALES (verified owner) –
This is an excellent book in every way
It is beautifully produced with lavish high quality illustrations. The two opening homilies set out perfectly the theology of Christian worship that the church is designed to embody & enable. The account of how the work proceeded & the technical challenges encountered is disarmingly frank & very fascinating. This book is a full & unique record of how the spiritual hope & vision of St Sophrony has been realised: in this remarkable building, but also in the vitality of the monastic community that has enabled it to come into being for the benefit of countless pilgrims & worshippers. This is certainly one of the most significant Christian buildings of recent times.