Waymart, Pennsylvania, March 24, 2025
Photo: gofundme.com
The Monastery of St. Tikhon of Zadonsk in Waymart, Pennsylvania, the oldest Orthodox monastery in America, founded by the future Patriarch St. Tikhon of Moscow in 1905, is asking for help to renovate the community trapeza used by monastery parishioners and build a new trapeza for the monks.
Abbot Archimandrite Sergius explains the need:
After much discussion and process, after learning that the sprinkler system alone for a new community dining hall would be 600,000 (which is too costly) we will completely renovate the existing dining hall (finish remaining septic repair, rip off and replace roof, put in new heating system, etc.) and build a dining hall 2000 sq ft for the monastics next to my house (since we are out of room in our monastic dining trapeza). The total cost will be 650k (about the price of just the sprinkler system in the previous plan).
This is a general update to what’s happening now. The dining hall for monastics will be built first around June or so God willing and then renovations will take place for existing dining hall. Hopefully it won’t interrupt more than one or two Sunday coffee hours in June or July. Roof replacement will take place ASAP.
St. Tikhon’s Monastery, partnered with St. Tikhon’s Seminary, is affectionately known as the place “where saints have walked.” It was founded by St. Tikhon, consecrated by St. Raphael of Brooklyn, and visited several times by St. Alexander Hotovitsky. St. Nikolai (Velimirović) served as professor and rector at the seminary and reposed in his cell there. The monastery is also home to the relics of St. Alexis Toth, and other venerated figures of American Orthodoxy.
The monastery relies on the prayers and support of the faithful. Checks earmarked “new dining hall repair” can be mailed to:
Monastery of St. Tikhon of Zadonsk
175 St. Tikhon’s Road
Waymart, PA 18472
Or donate through the GoFundMe campaign. As of time of writing, the $1,400 out of the $650,000 goal has been raised online.
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