Photo Courtesy: Florence Visitor Center

In the summer of 1995 six monks arrived in the southern Arizona desert to establish St. Anthony’s Monastery. They carried with them the sacred, millennial heritage of the Holy Mountain, Athos. The monastery is dedicated to St. Anthony the Great, the father of monasticism, the renowned 3^rd century anchorite

Visitors of the Monastery will gain insight into the monastery lifestyle. St. Anthony’s Greek Orthodox Monastery follows the coenobitic rule of monastic life: a brotherhood of monks and novices holding all things in common follow a daily schedule of prayer and work under obedience to the abbot, their spiritual father. The monks’ daily program begins at midnight with personal prayer time and spiritual reading, followed by the cycle of morning prayers and the Divine Liturgy. After a light breakfast and a rest period, the monks begin their work day, attending to prayer and their tasks till evening. Tasks include, among others, construction, grounds keeping, vine dressing, gardening, woodworking, publishing, food preparation, and offering hospitality. The day ends with evening Vespers followed by dinner and Compline.