Important Announcement Concerning the Residence of Bishop George

Bishop George of Mayfield was consecrated on December 7, 2008 at Holy Trinity Monastery in Jordanville, NY (Photos). He is a vicar bishop of the Diocese of Eastern America and New York.

Bishop George has been the spiritual father of our monastery for many years, and we are excited that Metropolitan Hilarion blessed him to live here with us, originally not as Abbot but as a bishop in residence. Since that time, Bishop George has also been elected as the Abbot of the Monastery. He will live here and travel from here to parishes in the Eastern Diocese as His Eminence directs. When the Metropolitan was here in early October, he looked at the site and the house plans, and enthusiastically blessed the project, but he said that we are "on our own" to raise the money and complete it.

We built and blessed the foundation of the house in October, 2008. We received a few donations during the initial stage of construction, most notable among them being a gift of $6500 from the parish of Sts. Theodore in Buffalo, NY. We received another donation of similar size in February from the same source. Thanks to other generous donations given by benefactors, we are in the final stage of construction, with the wood floors to be installed in the near future. Vladyka George is currently residing in our guest house as he awaits the completion of his residence.

Many people love and cherish Bishop George as a spiritual father and we believe he will be a great asset to the Eastern American Diocese. Our hope is that the parishes which will be the future beneficiaries of his archpastoral work will follow the example of the Buffalo parish and provide a home and a base for him to work from here at the Hermitage of the Holy Cross. Though we are relatively close to the completion of the project, we still have more work to do. Please consider raising funds in your parishes and sending personal donations to help us provide a proper home for the beloved Bishop George. Checks may be made out to the Hermitage of the Holy Cross, with the note "Bishop's Residence" in the memo line and on the envelope. Donations may also be made via our Online Kiosk.

We did not do any active fundraising at the consecration on December 7, so as not to detract from the solemnity of the occasion. Please understand that we are still in need of donations in order to complete the project. We will be giving a full report to His Eminence Metropolitan Hilarion, His Grace Bishop George, and Archimandrite Luke regarding the donations which you send at any time, and for which they will be very grateful.

Thank you for your support and attention. We fervently request your holy prayers!

I would like to donate $ (Donation amount in US dollars) to help build Bishop George's Residence.

Please address any questions concerning this project to Hieromonk Alexander.