About

Holy Trinity Monastery is a male monastic community under the auspices of the Synod of Bishops of the Russian Orthodox Church Abroad. We are dedicated to a life of prayer and obedience according to the pre-revoluntionary monastic tradition.

We draw our origins from the Pochaev Lavra of St. Job of Pochaev in Western Ukraine when monks fled from Pochaev in the face of the Bolshevik Revolution of 1917. As descendants of the Lavra of Pochaev, we continue the mission established by St. Job in the turn of the 17th century to publish books for the edification and protection of the faithful.

Within the monastery is located a studio and school of Russian iconography conducted by disciples of master iconographer Fr. Cyprian (Pijoff). Also situated within the monastic community is Holy Trinity Orthodox Seminary, with young men from around the world training for the holy priesthood and ministry within our Church. Consisting of impressive buildings and an other-worldly way of life, Holy Trinity Monastery is a source of spiritual nourishment and support for the Orthodox Church. 

Abbots

Holy Trinity Monastery was established in 1928 by Fr. Panteleimon, a Russian monk from St. Tikhon’s monastery in Pennsylvania.

Archimandrite Panteleimon (Nizhnik), born in 1895 in the province of Grodno in Belorus. He came to America already as a young man before 1917 in order to earn money to send home to his poor family. At the age of 18, Peter (in monasticism Panteleimon) left for America. In 1917, his native village was destroyed, and family scattered. The need to support the family was no longer there. His constant prayer “tell me what way I am to take, O Lord” led him in 1918 to enter the monastery in South Canaan, PA. In 1921 he was ordained a priest. Fr. Panteleimon burned with a desire for a solitary chapel in which he could pray and live independently, far from the vanity of the world. A place was found, in New York State near the town of Herkimer. Fr. Panteleimon bought the property began to construct buildings for the future monastery. In order to pay off the cost of the land, he had to work for two years in Igor Sikorsky’s aeronautics factory.

In 1930, Fr. Panteleimon retired to the land he had bought with such hard labor. He lived as a complete hermit. Gradually, brethren began to gather around him. In 1935, on the feast of Pentecost, during the consecration of the new church, someone noticed that a fire had broken out. Within a few hours, the church had burnt to the ground. In 1945, a new foundation was laid for the future Cathedral of the Holy Trinity. The monastery began to grow, and Fr. Panteleimon contributed much to this growth by his own labors.

On Thursday, the 27th of December, 1984, the founder and builder of Holy Trinity Monastery, Archimandrite Panteleimon, reposed. He had lived at the monastery for about fifty-six years.

During World War II a group of a dozen monks came from Europe, bringing with them printing experience and a tradition which orginated in the Pochaev Lavra in the Ukraine. Archbishop Vitaly was part of that group and became the head and Abbot of Holy Trinity Monastery, and construction of the Church and other buildings increased.

In 1954 Archbishop Vitaly was replaced by Archbishop Averky, who continued to build up the life of the monastery and to spiritually cultivate the seminary and its students. Archbishop Averky reposed in the Lord in 1976 after a long illness.

Archbishop Laurus was appointed as Abbot of Holy Trinity Monastery and Rector of Holy Trinity Orthodox Seminary. Archbishop Laurus graduated with the first class to complete Holy Trinity Seminary after its foundation in 1948. In 2001, Archbishop Laurus was elevated to the rank of Metropolitan and served at the same time as Abbot of Holy Trinity Monastery. He reposed in the Lord on the Sunday of Orthodoxy: March 16, 2008.

Archimandrite Luke was elected the new Abbot of Holy Trinity Monastery on May 19, 2008.