During the 48th Biennial Clergy-Laity Congress in Cleveland, the Sixth Monastic Synaxis convened — a gathering of profound significance, bringing together members of monastic communities from across the United States to deepen their commitment to spiritual growth, communal life, and service to the world.
The Monastic Synaxis was first convened in September 2019 at the Holy Monastery of Saint Nektarios in Roscoe, New York, as part of His Eminence Archbishop Elpidophoros’s ongoing efforts to integrate the monastic communities of America within the broader life of the Archdiocese. It has since gathered at Saint Anthony’s Monastery in Florence, Arizona (2022); the Holy Monastery of the Theotokos, the Life-Giving Spring, in Fresno, California (2023); and Holy Archangels Monastery in Kendalia, Texas (2025). Its inclusion this year within the Clergy-Laity Congress marks a meaningful step in that same vision of unity — a forum for shared discernment, deeper understanding, and solidarity among the monastic and parish life of the Church in America.
