Christminster

Christ the Saviour Monastery in Rhode Island, perhaps more commonly referred to as Christminster, is a Benedictine Monastery under the jurisdiction of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia.

Its Abbot, Dom James (Deschene) was the Prior of the community of Our Lady of Mount Royal, under the pioneer of the Western Rite, Abbot Augustine (Whitfield), under whose observance the Mount Royal tradition continues as much as possible.

Christminster is a small community, in keeping with the reality of much of Orthodox monasticism in the West. However, strength of spirituality and success of monastic purpose do not reside in numbers. They enrich the spirituality of many by being one of only a handful of Orthodox monasteries to support Oblates which, by its nature, is not an activity that is very high profile, but which is the source of great spiritual benefit to many on their journeys of salvation.

The community also has plans to found a humble means for assisting in the training of Orthodox clergy to serve in our Western Rite communities, which is one area where, sadly, our existing seminaries fail us, despite their exceptionally good work in other areas.

I am pleased to learn that some parishes under the Patriarchate of Antioch have begun to run Oblate programmes but I must admit that it seems a little out of place detached from any sort of monastic foundation. Time will tell how this will develop.

Please remember Christminster in your prayers.