Why is Perpend becoming a monk?
Some of you may have wondered what happened to Perpend and so I’ll give you an update.
Perpend became Orthodox Christian, moved to Kansas City so that he could be closer to the church and have more of an intentional community and be able to go to services every day. And he’s been on a monastic path, meaning that he is on the path to become a monk at a monastery. It requires vows and your life has changed. There’s no coming back to regular life from that. Now this is a long path. You go to the monastery for a week or two – it’s usually no longer than two weeks. And then after that it’s at the will of the Abbott at the monastery on how long you stay.
A person becoming a monk stays increasingly longer at the monastery, over several trips, and eventually becomes a novice monk.
The Road to the Monastery
Perpend has gone to several monasteries – in Alaska, West Virginia, and several times to the New Mexico – Monastery of the Holy Archangel Michael, where he is currently.
I just received a card from him. He said that he’s become a postulant, the first official step in becoming a monk. I don’t know all the details, but basically, from what I understand on the internet, it’s a a longer period. It’s usually four to six months, and once again, it’s at the will and direction of the Abbott at the monastery.
The purpose of being a postulant is: Is the monastery right for you? Is this monastery right for you? And are you right for the monastery?
Usually the next step is to become a novice monk and take the vows. So Perpend is on that journey. If you feel so inclined, pray for him, because he surely will need it.
Why become a monk?
Some people say, why become a monk? Is it just retreat from the world? That’s part of it.
The person who goes to the monastery is growing closer to Christ. Many are fighting their sinful passions. Some people seek to become monks as they grow older, their spouse has died, and they want to get closer to God before their death.
For Perpend, it is much of that plus it is, in his view, the perfect intentional community, something that he has been seeking for the last couple of years. As he says in his letter: “I can have conversations without having to constantly explain my worldview.”
“Inside the Orthodox tradition, there is room for me to just know things without needing a logical explanation.”
“The prayers of the monks keep the world from going completely insane”.
Cyprian
