I want to thank Metropolitan Kallistos (Ware) and the organisers of the pilgrimage to Iona for inviting me to join them this year. I’m not sure of the exact schedule of the pilgrimage, but I know it will include a visit to our monastery, as well. It will be a great chance for me to find out even more about St Columba’s life on Iona, and to learn how to organise such a pilgrimage. I find the best way to learn something is to see someone else doing it!
Anyway, I shall be away for over a week. I’m leaving in a few hours, and it will take three trains, two boats and a bus to get me to Iona! But that’s all right – I’ll have some wonderful photographs when I’m back, and (I’m sure) a lot of great stories to tell.
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In the meantime, please remember that August is the last month for us to raise the money we need to buy the monastery land in September. We are very close, but new expenses seem to just fly in (only yesterday I found out that the lawyers will cost us 3,000 pounds plus VAT and outlays).
If you can, this is a very good moment to support the Monastery.
To make a donation, please use the following links:
May God bless all of us. I shall take you all with me to Iona – in my heart and in my prayer.
We were on Iona last October. I would love to go back to that special place. It is definitely in my heart to stay.
Pray for us, dear Stephanie. Once we are able to start our monastic life, the monastery will welcome everyone who needs peace and quiet, prayer and rest. You would be more than welcome to come and stay. Pray for me, too.
Awaiting your comments and thoughts on the Iona pilgrimage, Fr Serafim. I have just returned from a week at Bishops’s House on the island and found it a truly remarkable spiritual experience.
I’ve been travelling since the end of our pilgrimage to Iona. It was simply wonderful, but I’m waiting for a few free hours to put together a post about it. I’m also looking forward to the new site (God willing, it should be done by the end of September) – it will be much better structured and it will allow me to upload more photographs. I also have the video recordings of Metropolitan Kallistos’ talk on Christ’s Transfiguration. All will be uploaded once the new site is ready.
In the meantime, do tell us more about your own experience on Iona.
Only came across this site today, just sent a small donation – I wish it could be more but I am a student surviving on benefits.
When I coverted to the Russian Orthodox Church here in England some years ago, from the Presbytarians, I took the name Ninian, so how could I not support this monestary project?
Thank you so much, dear Ninian. May you be blessed, and may St Ninian strengthen you in your faith and your prayer. Please remember the monastery and myself when you pray – I have no doubt you have a ‘direct line’ with St Ninian 🙂 I hope to meet you one day – soon, God willing.