HOLY REDEEMER MONASTERY

     

In 1986, Holy Redeemer Monastery was founded by Sr. Pilar Callen and Sr. Paula Seiple as the first monastic community in the Evangelical Orthodox Church.  For 9 years the monastery was located on rented property in Ladoga , IN , an hour west of Indianapolis . The convent was in an 1850's farmhouse on 2+ acres, where sheep production was begun as a source of income. A liturgical schedule of morning and evening prayers was begun, and a retreat environment created for visitors.

In 1992, 57 acres of wooded, rolling hills and fields were purchased in southern Indiana 's Greene County near the town of Bloomfield and the monastery re-located there. A small convent including a chapel, an open pavilion for large groups, and a barn were built, mostly by volunteers from the EOC churches. Monastic life began there in 1995. Walking trails and meditation areas dedicated to the saints were developed around the grounds. Within a few years an adjoining property with a house was added, and Shepherd's House was opened for overnight guests and retreatants.  In 2006, the farm portion of the grounds and sheep flock were sold, and Shepherd's House became the residence of the nuns.

Holy Redeemer is the residence for those women who are called by God to live the monastic vows of chastity, obedience, poverty, and stability, and who share the vision of this particular monastic community. As an outgrowth of the nuns' pursuit of God, they share the monastic experience and environment as they are able, by extending hospitality to all who come and by enabling others to use the monastery as a place of retreat. Tools common to monasticism are used by the nuns and offered to those who visit: prayer, silence, solitude, fasting, simplicity, study, and contemplation.

The monastery is incorporated in Indiana as a not-for-profit corporation, and its business affairs are overseen by a Board of Directors. The nuns are supported by charitable gifts and their own manual labor.

The faith of the nuns is grounded in the Apostolic teaching of the early Church as taught in the Scriptures and the Church Fathers. As an expression of the EOC communion, their theology reflects that of the Eastern Orthodox Church, and their liturgies express this in a contemporary American manner. The nuns dress in a habit consisting of a plain dress of a somber color (black for winter, gray for summer) to reflect self-control, simplicity, and sobriety of life. The dress is girded with a leather belt to symbolize the ascetic life of self-sacrifice and continence. A veil is worn as a reminder that all of life is a prayer offered up to God, and that the nun is under His care and His authority.

The monastery is open to the public Tuesday through Sunday. Those desiring a self-directed retreat should e-mail the nuns for an open date at holyredeemer@att.net or call 812-384-8742 between 9 AM and 8 PM ( Indiana time). Those who come have access to the library and grounds and take their meals with the nuns. From time to time the nuns conduct retreats on spiritual topics of interest, and anyone wishing to be notified of these retreat dates should contact them to be added to a mailing list. The nuns are also available for teachings away from the monastery on aspects of monastic and Church life. Intercessory prayer is an important part of the life of Holy Redeemer Monastery, and prayer requests are taken by mail and phone.