On The Occasion of Ten Years After the Recognition of the Holy Synod of The Monastery of Saint Abba Antony the Great in California. From the Story of the Monastery of Saint Abba Antony the Great In the Wilderness of California.
Published by the Reposed Archdeacon Yostos Takla (1993)
The Departure of Hegumen Karas to Cairo
His Holiness the great Pope blessed Abba Shenouda the third and His Grace Abba Sarabamoun requested from our father Hegumen Karas (His Grace Bishop Karas) to leave and travel immediately to Cairo. We encountered sadness and doubts, as we knew of the departure of His Grace Abba Istafanous the bishop of Atbara and Omm-Dorman to the heaven. We were afraid that Hegumen Karas might be ordained bishop for that diocese. It happened before that the monk Father Shenouda St. Antony has left the Monastery for a vacation and was ordained a bishop and was given the name of Abba Yostos as a bishop and abbot of the Monastery of Abba Antonious in the Red Sea Province in Egypt. There were only three monks at the monastery. And the number of monks was reduced to two after the travel of our father the monk the priest Pavlos Anba Pishoi (Now, Hegumen Pavlos) to Cairo in a vacation. There is only one monk our father the priest Benyameen El-Baramosy (Now, Hegumen Benyamin) number of after our father Hegumen Karas has left to Egypt. The people who love the monastery were questioning and doubting what it might be and they had only one choice to raise prayers to the Lord that He may have compassion on us and soften the heart of our rulers and to find grace in their eyes for the benefit of the Monastery of Abba Antony in California which is considered in its early growth stage.
The Recognition of the Holy Synod of the Monastery
The doubts had been evaporated as we didn't expected the good news and the Lord has done great things for us and we were glad by what happened to the Monastery of St. Antony the Great. The good news came that on Saturday, 28th of Bashans, 1709 After Martyrs, the 5th of June, 1993, the Holy Synod has recognized the Monastery at its meeting at the Papal Residence under the leadership of His Holiness the blessed the great Pope Abba Shenouda the third and a presence of sixty metropolitans and bishops of the members of the Holy Synod. The Monastery has welcomed the ordination of Hegumen Karas Abba Pishoi as a Bishop and Abbot for the Monastery of Abba Antony in California and was given the name His Grace Bishop Karas. The monastery was numbered the 12th among the monasteries in St. Mark's Evangelism in Egypt and abroad and is the first recognized monastery outside of Egypt.
The Monastery presents his deep thanksgiving and wishes to His Holiness the great Pope the blessed Abba Shenouda the third for the precious trust and wisdom for he is vigilant shepherd on his flock and looks by wisdom to its projects everywhere including the lands of immigration, which he pays special attention considering the hard circumstances they go into. This Monastery will become a minaret by the grace of God and the guidance of the Holy Spirit and will enlighten the way of the Evangelism in the lands of immigration by preparing servants to serve in an environment, which differs from the environment of the ministry in Egypt.
The Monastery offers the thanksgiving to His Grace Abba Sarabamoun and His Grace Abba Antonious Marcus for their nomination to recognize the Monastery to the Holy Synod and for their precious trust.
We ask our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ to help the Bishop and Abbot of the Monastery Abba Karas and our fathers the monks of the Monastery so the Monastery might complete its mission complete across the ages and to support the evangelism in the lands of immigration with all the activities and preparation of the servants. And so, the Lord prepared for this blessed moment and has compensated the Monastery for what it lost in the past twenty years.
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| St. Antony's Church |
The Church of St. Mina & St. Abanoub |
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