Augsburg, Germany, February 10, 2021
Photo: The monastery hopes to acquire Seyfriedsberg Castle, near Augsburg. Photo: YouTube screenshot
The brotherhood of St. Job of Pochaev Monastery in Munich is in desperate need of a new home. Faced with overcrowding, mold, and problems with the rapidly growing community around them, the monks have begun looking elsewhere.
Now, a fundraiser has been launched to help the monks acquire and renovate Seyfriedsberg Castle, located in the midst of a picturesque forest and park in the town of Günzburg, about 20 minutes from Augsburg.
The monastery, which houses the administration of the Berlin Diocese of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia, has been in Munich since 1945. It is the only Russian men’s monastery in Western Europe that serves daily Liturgy.
In the promotional video produced for the fundraiser, the monks say they feel at home in Bavaria, where the people usually show respect for them and Orthodoxy. Some of the monks even teach religion in schools there.
However, whereas the monastery used to be in a fairly isolated area, it is now surrounded by houses and communities, which brings extra noise and other problems. Unfortunately, the monastery has been the victim of arson several times. The monastery itself has also been growing since the 1980s and has been faced with a lack of space for several years now.
The monastery is especially known for its publications, but the monks also labor in the candle factory and the silversmith and incense workshops, which are currently housed in temporary buildings due to lack of space.
Conversely, Seyfriedsberg Castle is more isolated and surrounded by beautiful nature, with its own forest and park. There, the monks believe they will be able to implement everything necessary for their monastic life, and even start a cemetery and build a new church. They will be able to house more brothers and pilgrims and expand their workshops.
However, the castle is in need of a good deal of renovation, and neither the monastery nor the diocese has ever undertaken such a large project financially speaking.
The monastery is in need of prayer, helping hands, and financial support.
Donations can be made to the monastery via PayPal with the email address: spenden@hiobmon.org.
Watch the promotional video to get a sense of the monastery’s life and the property where it hopes to grow:
Last week, OrthoChristian reported that the Antiochian Archdiocese of Germany and Central Europe is raising funds to renovate a newly-acquired complex where it plans to house its administrative center and develop a convent.
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