Roscoe, New York, September 7, 2026
Orthodox Observer
The new abbot of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America’s St. Nektarios Monastery in Roscoe, NY, was formally enthroned on September 4.
Archimandrite Stephanos was elected by the brotherhood on June 5 to succeed Geronda Joseph, the monastery’s abbot since its founding in 1999 who reposed in the Lord on April 17.
Archbishop Elpidophoros of America enthroned Archimandrite Stephanos as the new Abbot and Elder of the Holy Monastery of Saint Nektarios in Roscoe, New York, opening a new chapter for the monastery’s leadership.
The Divine Liturgy and enthronement were celebrated by Archbishop Elpidophoros, joined by Metropolitan Savas of Pittsburgh, Bishop Athenagoras of Nazianzos, and Bishop Nektarios of Diokleia. Numerous abbots, abbesses, monks, and nuns from monasteries across the United States and Canada attended, along with clergy, pilgrims, and benefactors, reports the Orthodox Observer.
Orthodox Observer
The celebration coincided with the Feast of the Translation of the Holy Relics of St. Nektarios the Wonderworker, the monastery’s patron saint, and included a solemn Vigil with Great Vespers and Orthros.
The events began on Wednesday, September 2, when Archbishop Elpidophoros tonsured Fr. Stephanos to the Great and Angelic Schema, the fullest expression of monastic profession in the Orthodox Church.
The enthronement also marks a broader transition for monasteries established under the ever-memorable Elder Ephraim of Arizona, who helped grow Orthodox monasticism across North America and appointed the first generation of abbots and abbesses, of which Elder Joseph was part. Archbishop Elpidophoros remarked, “The first generation planted. Now another generation is called to cultivate.”
Addressing the new abbot, the Archbishop said the brotherhood’s vote meant they had asked him to “be our elder. Be our spiritual father. Guide us. Correct us. Pray for us. Walk before us on the road that leads to Christ.”
In his own remarks, Fr. Stephanos stressed that Orthodox monastic life can’t be separated from the Church’s canonical and Sacramental life.
“A monastery is not outside the Church. It is within the Church,” he said. “It is the heart within the body of the Church, and the heart cannot live separated from the body.”
The Archbishop encouraged Fr. Stephanos and the brotherhood to carry forward the prayer, ascetical life, and ministry begun by Elder Joseph, and emphasized the monastery’s calling to remain a refuge from the pressures of contemporary life. Fr. Stephanos echoed this, describing monasteries as “the spiritual lungs of the Church,” and telling the fathers of St. Nektarios that he hoped to remain first and foremost a monk and servant among them, not above them.
The celebration concluded with the joyful proclamation: “Axios! He is Worthy!”
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