Welcome to Saint John Chrysostomos Monastery
ΙΕΡΑ ΜΟΝΗ ΑΓΙΟΥ ΙΩΑΝΝΟΥ ΤΟΥ ΧΡΥΣΟΣΤΟΜΟΥ
Ευλογείτε! Καλώς ορίσατε!
St. John Chrysostomos Greek Orthodox Monastery is an Orthodox Christian convent (coenobitic monastery) for women founded in 1994. It is located just north of the Illinois border in Pleasant Prairie, Wisconsin, in the region between Chicago, Illinois, and Milwaukee. Its ecclesiastical jurisdiction is that of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople, and the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America and its Chicago Metropolis. The daily life of the Sisterhood is modeled after Orthodox Christian monasticism's 17-centuries-old program of prayer, worship, service to those in need and hospitality to visiting pilgrims.
Founded upon the sacred, millennial monastic heritage of the Holy Mountain Athos in Greece, St. John Chrysostomos Greek Orthodox Monastery is a contemporary reflection of ancient Christian monasticism, with its sisterhood endeavoring to incorporate into its daily life the wisdom of the Holy Fathers and the Apostolic tradition of the early Church. The Monastery's spiritual program in particular has as its treasured source the teachings and holy experience of the great Elder Joseph the Hesychast (†1959) of Mt. Athos, and his disciple Elder Ephraim, the former abbot of Athos' Philotheou Monastery. Elder Ephraim is the spiritual father of the St. John Chrysostomos Monastery, and of several other men's and women's Greek Orthodox monasteries in Greece, Canada and the United States.
With the blessing of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America, two sisters from the Holy Archangel Michael Monastery (a dependency of Philotheou Monastery) in Thasos, Greece, were transferred in 1994 to the United States to establish a women's monastery in the Chicago area. A property was found in Pleasant Prairie, Wisconsin, and soon thereafter the first novice nuns began to join the new sisterhood, and renovation of the existing buildings on the property began. By the year 2000, new construction of the main Church, nuns' residence and other related buildings was well underway.
The Monastery's eight-domed church dedicated to St. John Chrysostomos is an authentic replica of ancient Byzantine architecture. Inside the main church and its two adjoining chapels, the latter of which are dedicated to St. John the Baptist and the Archangel Michael of Mondamado, they are embellished with elaborately carved oak altar screens and icon stands, pearl-colored marble floors with ornate tile mosaic designs, and candle-lit chandeliers. Adjoining the Church are a bookstore, meeting rooms and a large guest reception hall. An enclosed exterior corridor joins the church to the nuns' residence which contains two chapels, one dedicated to St. Catherine the Great Martyr and the other to St. Panteleimon.
The Monastery strives to offer a spiritual oasis and a restful, peaceful place for its visitors, who come from around America and the world for day visits and overnight stays. Orthodox Christian men and women can be accommodated for brief overnight visits at the Monastery's Guest House, which contains a church dedicated to the Athonite miraculous icon of the Mother of God Quick-to-Hear. Also located in the Guest House are a bookstore and baked goods shop, meeting and dining rooms for groups and dignitaries, and several guest sleeping rooms.
The Monastery cemetery is located on the southwest side of the property where the Chapel of St. Vasiliskos is located. This chapel was dedicated to the holy 4th-century martyr in memory of the martyric death of St. John Chrysostomos who died in the altar of the Church of St. Vasiliskos in Comana, Armenia.
A fruit tree orchard can be found at the northwest end of the property with the Monastery's vegetable gardens and hen house nearby. Oak, elm, maple, willow, apple, walnut, mulberry and pine trees dot the property's rolling hills which are flanked by forested areas that contain a wide variety of indigenous flora and fauna. A small pond nestled in the center of the Monastery grounds is a favorite watering spot for deer, foxes, geese, ducks and an occasional heron.
“Glory to God for all things!”