Editing my photos has been in itself a great experience for me, to revisit my monastery pilgrimages from this summer, and rekindle the flame from these soul-stirring visits with monks and nuns who have left everything to follow Christ in the monastic life.

I just finished posting three new galleries, each of which includes a brief overview of the monastery in question, with links for you to further explore and plan your own pilgrimages:

• Monastery of St John of San Francisco, Manton CA (OCA, men’s)
• Holy Assumption Monastery, Calistoga CA (OCA, women’s)
• Holy Cross Monastery, Castro Valley CA (OCA, Bulgarian Diocese, men’s)

Watch for more new galleries soon, as I continue to catch up with photo editing. Next up are St Herman of Alaska in Platina CA, All-Merciful Saviour in Vashon Island WA, and the Alaskan pilgrimage, followed by my return trip to monasteries in Arizona and Texas.

If you haven’t yet pre-ordered the Thebaid book, I invite you to do so. For a limited time you can still get a signed/matted fine-art print from the Thebaid project, when you pre-order a signed book. The Deluxe Limited Edition Thebaid Book in bonded leather (signed & numbered) is still available for pre-orders, and also comes with a signed/matted fine-art print. Full details and easy online ordering here.

As always, my heartfelt thanks for your prayers and support!

This was a very special visit for me, as Monk Ignatius and I have been corresponding off and on for nearly a decade, and I have dear friends in Cincinnati who also have strong ties to the monastery.

Even on this brief visit, I was able to get a real sense of the Brotherhood’s vision for the monastery, which is beautifully situated near Yosemite, a modest drive from San Francisco, Fresno, and Sacramento. Fr Ignatius’ vision for the property and the brothers’ warmth and hospitality are quite infectious, and I hope to return again soon, God willing.

Proceed to the new Gallery page, which also includes links to the St Silouan Monastery web site, and additional info.

The pace of my travels the past few weeks has been so steady as to leave no time for photo editing, but during this, my last week of travel on my western pilgrimage, I wanted to begin catching up on the many photos from California, Washington, Alaska, Arizona, and now Texas!

First up in this new group of galleries is St Barbara’s in Santa Paula, a beautiful women’s monastery situated in the steep but rolling hills of Southern California, just a short drive from the Pacific and many beautiful destinations. Follow this link to the new gallery, where you can also proceed to the monastery website to learn more about this blessed and important community of nuns.