Saint Paul the Apostle Monastery, near Boscobel, Wisconsin

News report — 1 November 2026

A monastery’s formal establishment in Wisconsin this year provides a recent example of the continuing transmission of the Athonite tradition in the United States. Alongside communities founded by Elder Ephraim of Philotheou and Arizona, newer foundations are carrying that inheritance into different Orthodox jurisdictions and making it accessible through English-language worship.

A recent development in Wisconsin

On 11 March 2026, Saint Paul the Apostle Monastery, near Boscobel, Wisconsin, was formally established as an institution of the Orthodox Church in America’s Diocese of the Midwest under Archbishop Daniel. The diocesan announcement identifies Hierodeacon Menas (Thomas) as its superior and places the monastery at the former property of Saint Isaac of Syria Skete. Its principal work includes producing mounted icon prints to support the brotherhood. [1]

The brotherhood itself dates to October 2022. According to its official history, Father Menas spent 26 years at Saint Anthony’s Greek Orthodox Monastery in Arizona. Saint Paul’s explicitly identifies its spiritual inheritance with Saint Joseph the Hesychast and Elder Ephraim, while using English for both services and everyday community life. Its reception into the OCA in 2026 should therefore be distinguished from its original foundation four years earlier. [2]

The development adds a new chapter to a subject already documented by Athosforum in its article Athonite Monasteries in America: Roots, Founders, and Reception and its directory of American monasteries with Athos roots.

Elder Ephraim’s American foundations

The central historical figure in this expansion was Elder Ephraim, a disciple of Saint Joseph the Hesychast and former abbot of Philotheou Monastery on Mount Athos. Saint Anthony’s official biography records his visit to Canada for medical treatment in 1979, subsequent pastoral visits to North America, and eventual move to Arizona in 1995. He died on 7 December 2019. [3]

Saint Anthony’s, near Florence, Arizona, remains a prominent expression of that inheritance. Six monks arrived in the Sonoran Desert in the summer of 1995 to establish the community. Its published account describes a common monastic life organized around prayer, worship, work and obedience to the abbot. The monks’ occupations include gardening, woodworking, publishing, construction and hospitality. [4]

Women’s communities and recent construction

Women’s communities are also a substantial part of this history. Holy Archangels Monastery’s directory of communities associated with Elder Ephraim includes the Life-Giving Spring monastery in California, Saint John the Forerunner in Washington, Holy Protection in Pennsylvania, and Saint Paraskevi in Texas. Here, “Athonite” describes spiritual lineage and monastic practice; the American expression of that inheritance includes both brotherhoods and sisterhoods. [5]

Recent developments have included further construction. On 30 October 2025, a new chapel was consecrated at the Monastery of the Theotokos the Life-Giving Spring in Dunlap, California, according to a report published by OrthoChristian on 5 November that year. The chapel was built between 2021 and 2025 with the blessing of Metropolitan Gerasimos of San Francisco. [6]

Earlier, on 4 May 2025, Archbishop Elpidophoros celebrated the Divine Liturgy at the monastery. [7]

Communities across the United States

The established communities extend across widely separated regions of the country. The following representative houses appear in Holy Archangels’ published directory of monasteries associated with Elder Ephraim. [5]

Understanding the published totals

Published totals require care. Saint Anthony’s biography credits Elder Ephraim with seventeen monasteries in North America, while a Greek Orthodox Archdiocese article gives nineteen monasteries and monastic communities. Neither figure should be presented as a verified count of monasteries in the United States alone: both sources discuss the wider North American undertaking, including Canada. [3] [8]

The documented developments show several forms of continuity after Elder Ephraim’s death: the maintenance of established communities, the construction of new places of worship, and the formation of a brotherhood that expressly carries his spiritual tradition into English-language monastic life. Wisconsin’s Saint Paul the Apostle Monastery is a particularly clear recent example of that continuing transmission.

Sources

1. Diocese of the Midwest: Establishment of Saint Paul the Apostle Monastery, 12 March 2026.
2. Saint Paul the Apostle Monastery: Official history and community information.
3. Saint Anthony’s Monastery: Biography of Elder Ephraim.
4. Saint Anthony’s Monastery: Foundation and monastic life.
5. Holy Archangels Monastery: Directory of associated monasteries.
6. OrthoChristian: New chapel consecrated at Life-Giving Spring Monastery, 5 November 2025.
7. Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America: Archbishop Elpidophoros celebrates Liturgy at Life-Giving Spring Monastery, May 2025.
8. Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America: Modern Elders.