On April 18, Thursday of the 6th Week of Great Lent, in the evening after Great Compline, our abbot, Bishop Luke of Syracuse, performed the mystery of the tonsure to the Little Schema.  This was truly a feast of the monastery as three of our rassaphore monks were tonsured into the angelic state.

The monastery cathedral was filled with members of our community as well as many pilgrims as Rassaphore Monks Cassian, Lev, and Angelos were tonsured with their new names of Cassian (his name was already changed when he became a rassophore monk), Paisios, and Theodore, in honor of the Venerable Cassian, Paisios the New of Mount Athos, and Theodore Studite.  

It might be noted that the backgrounds of our new fathers reflects the internationality of our monastery.  Fr. Cassian is American, whereas Fr. Paisios is from Russia, and Fr. Theodore is from Scotland. All three of them are able to read in English and also feel comfortable with Church Slavonic.

Vladyka noted in his sermon that what had been performed this evening was a miracle, that in our days of such apostasy, despite what was remarked by St. Ignatius Brachaninov more than a hundred and fifty years ago, that there was no more monasticism, there are those who still profess their desire to be saved in the angelic state.  May our Lord and His Most Holy Mother aid our fathers and preserve them within His embrace.