About Us

The communities of New Skete are members of the Orthodox Church in America, which belongs to the world-wide communion of Orthodox Churches.

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Come and See-Experience Monastic life
Dec. 27th to Jan 2nd

New Skete is committed to improving our access to our friends through digital communications. In 2010 we hope to have a new website available that will provide greater integration of our three communities

Recently CBS filmed a program for their Religious section on Sundays entitled Ministry of Animals. New Skete was one of the featured segments.

Aug. 15 -Sept 13 Communities retreat
Monasteries closed
Except Sept 5th and 12th
Sunday Divine Liturgy

To view our winter newsletter

My mother and I work for the Monks of New Skete, world-renowned breeders of German Shepherds. Recently, the monks have been gracious enough to allow us to foster care a Shepherd named Mercedes as part of their breeding program. The program allows us to bring the dog home with us and when Mercedes comes into heat and is ready to be bred she stays at the monastery. This is a great opportunity for my mother and me to learn more about the breed and about dog care in general. Not only are the monks reputable breeders, but also they train dogs of all breeds and have released several authoritative books on dog care, training, and the spiritual bond between human and dog. Being able to learn about dogs through the monks’ vast experience and knowledge has been a wonderful experience, for which I cannot thank New Skete enough!

For as long as I can remember, our family has always had at least one dog in our household. The first dog I recall was a flat-faced Pekingese named Chloe. At the time my sisters and I were very young and had no idea how to have a proper relationship with a dog. My father was still enlisted in the Army at this time, and we were living on a U.S. base in Germany. When we moved back to the States, my father and mother decided that Chloe would stay with friends in Germany. Little did I realize that my lifelong journey with dogs was only just beginning.

When we moved to Alabama and were able to rent our first home, we almost immediately got another dog. She was a beautiful black-and-white Cocker Spaniel named Crystalbelle—again, another dog that we had an improper relationship with. My oldest sister, who is about a year younger, and I were the primary caregivers for the dog, although Crystal turned out to be my mother's responsibility after all. We never formally or informally trained Crystal, and, looking back on the relationship, I can see she was not given the proper amount of exercise. Sadly, one day she got loose and was killed in traffic. I was about 12 at the time, and the experience devastated me. When we got our next dog, my father and mother let me choose the breed. Although I was still extremely sad over the death of Crystal, I was excited about having a dog that was “officially” mine.

It was time for a new dog. I didn't do any research on breeds or learn what dog would be suitable for our household, so yet again we got another dog that we were unable to have a proper relationship with. Ginapher, a gorgeous purebred boxer, was the dog I chose. Much like Crystal, she didn't get enough exercise. She would destroy the house in protest, as opposed to chasing cars. Oh, and she had no sense of her place in the pack and would drag me on walks, which made it easy for me to rationalize not walking her. The amount of food and property she destroyed made her unpopular with my father, although he got a few good laughs when I came back covered in dirt from head to toe! Eventually she became an outside dog; sadly, though, she was usually confined to a rather short run. The straw that ultimately broke the camel's back was a pregnancy. Ginapher turned out to be a wonderful mother, and watching the birthing process was interesting...although she birthed the first few puppies on my bed. Shortly after her first litter we found her new home, where she could get the exercise and care she needed. Several years later, I discovered Ginapher had been needlessly murdered. A group of teenagers came to her home and shot her for no apparent reason. She had never attacked anybody and was a very sweet dog. Even today I struggle with why a human being would do something so malicious and, well, evil.

After those two experiences of losing a dog, I took a more hands-off approach to our next pooch. I was about to be entering high school, and the last thing on my mind was caring for another dog. In came Caesar Thor Tito, gorgeous teacup Yorkshire Terrier and our first AKC-registered dog. "The Long-Haired Defender of the Giants" turned out to be a good dog. Although never formally trained, Tito had a nice temperament—until he got a little older and turned into an ornery little devil. He became unbreakably bonded to my oldest sister, Sarah, and this ensured that Tito wound up moving out with Sarah and her husband, James, later in his life. Tito is still with Sarah, and through some training and socializing he has become a much better dog.

Tito was still running around as a young dog when Missy, a purebred teacup Chihuahua, found a home with us. She immediately became Mom's dog. Once again, no formal training. Missy exhibited many of the behaviors you would expect from the breed. Of particular distress was ankle chasing when guests left. With Missy we had something else: a pregnancy. Neither Tito nor Missy was neutered, so, as should be expected, nature took its course. Missy turned out to be not such a great mother, and we were very afraid that the birth would kill her. She had only one pup, Zoe, which my mom eventually had to bottle feed to ensure her survival. Missy, fortunately, is still with my mother and me and has become a good little dog. She still exhibits some smaller breed behaviors, but we are constantly being told how well behaved Missy is for her age and breed.

Missy’s pup, Zoe, was an extremely beautiful Chorkie, a designer breed among the rich and famous. Her small size, gorgeous coat, and spunky attitude made it pretty obvious why. She also turned out to be much bigger than her mother. Around the time Zoe came into our lives, I was almost completely detached from dogs. A few years later moved to Oregon, and for almost the first time in my life I was dog free. At the time I thought my life was better without the hassle of caring for a dog. However, it wasn't long before I found myself back in Alabama, and around dogs again. In an unfortunate turn of events, Zoe developed a heart problem and died when she was only three years old.

At this point, the last thing on my mind was dogs. I had my own personal demons to deal with. While I was in Oregon, my mother and father decided they could no longer live with each other and were planning to divorce. Along with this I was trying to figure out what I to do with my life. Soon after I moved back to Alabama, my mother and father finalized their divorce, and my mother moved to Cambridge, New York. A couple of years later, she became employed by the Monks of New Skete. On one of my trips to visit her, I was fortunate enough to visit the monastery. There I had an experience with a dog, Dux, that helped change the course of my life forever.

Dux is a well-tempered, handsome, male German Shepherd belonging to the Monks of New Skete. He is a therapy-certified dog and is under the care of Julia Gates. While I was visiting my mother, her "monk boss" was recovering from hip replacement surgery. My mother was preparing to go with Julia to visit him, so I decided to tag along. Julia brought Dux along for the visit. Seeing Dux in the hospital was an eye-opening experience and made me realize what proper training and care can do to the relationship one has with a dog. Not only that, but the German Shepherd breed made me reflect back on my childhood in Germany. There, Shepherds are a very popular security and police dogs, so we saw them almost every day. I knew from the experience with Dux that I would eventually have to have a Shepherd, along with the knowledge to make that relationship different from all of my other past dog experiences.

Shortly after visiting my mother and realizing how much the monastery means to her, and how much the monks have to offer, I decided to move to Cambridge in the summer of 2009. After I settling in my mother's apartment, I began doing volunteer work for the monastery, with the short-term goal of being hired as an employee and a long-term goal of being able to care for a German Shepherd. Fortunately, a few months after I started my volunteer work, the monks offered me a job working with Brother David, helping with the New Skete Farms Christmas mail order season. Working with Brother David, and for New Skete, has been an experience in and of itself. But that is a story for another time...back to the dogs!

At our apartment, my mother and I discussed almost every day the possibility of getting a German Shepherd. We knew that the apartment we were living in would not be the right environment for raising a dog of that size. We knew that when the lease was up in April 2010, we would have to find a new apartment large enough to let us care for a Shepherd. We also knew that it might be years before we could afford a New Skete Shepherd, and probably even longer than that before a puppy was available. Little did my mother and I realize that the monks had different plans for us.

New Skete, with help from the consulting firm Zielinski Companies, has been in the process of strategic planning to ensure the survival and prosperity of the monastery for years to come. Part of the strategic action plan is to increase the size of the dog breeding program, but to do so would require either a vast expansion in their facilities, or provision for some dogs to receive the bulk of their care away from the monastery, freeing up the facilities for dogs who make their home at New Skete. The monks decided that, given the proper environment at home, my mother and I would be capable of providing foster care for a female Shepherd. But first, there were numerous issues to deal with. A new apartment would be needed, and we would have to have a dog with the right temperament. She would have to get along with Missy, the Chihuahua, and be calm around young children, as my niece, Bayleigh, had recently joined our family. Just when I was starting to feel that it would be years before my dream could become a reality, along came Mercedes.

Part of the breeding expansion has been acquiring new dogs. One of the acquisitions was a 5-year-old female with a black, tan, and red coat; a bit of gray in the muzzle; unfortunately a mild case of Lyme disease; and the name Mercedes. It soon became apparent that when she was healthy enough to come home, my mother and I would be foster caring Mercedes, so my education needed to start quickly. I immediately started reading How To Be Your Dog's Best Friend and Divine Canine and getting some hands-on advice from the monks. When Mercedes and I first started spending time together, she was very headstrong and I knew right away that simply letting her have the run of the place would not suffice. One of the biggest problems was that her past life had not included any leash training, and she liked to pull on the leash. A brief flashback to getting dragged by Ginapher, and I realized the importance of establishing a relationship of trust and obedience with Mercedes.

I started applying the techniques I had learned. It's amazing that something as simple as changing direction could be so effective! Soon, instead of pulling, Mercedes was walking politely on the leash. During more informal walks on the flexi leash, if she got too far she would stop and wait for me to catch up. Pretty soon she became healthier and started to trust me more, and our relationship bloomed. Mercedes is a wonderful companion dog, a stern protector, and a close friend.

It has been almost two months since my mom and I were able to bring Mercedes home with us. She gets along with Missy just fine, and we couldn't have a better protector for Bayleigh. My relationship with Mercedes is unlike anything I ever thought I was capable of having with a dog. By reading the monks’ words and applying their knowledge and experience to training Mercedes, I have been able to have that kind of relationship. The "dog" training has helped me with my patience, something I severely lack, and given me an understanding of the human-dog bond. Mercedes, with her wisdom, has trained me as much as I have trained her, if not more. Before, I simply assumed the dog was at fault for bad behavior, but now I realize I must be able to look at the situation objectively and see what I can do better to communicate and teach. Applying this education to other aspects of my life has proved very beneficial.

New Skete, particularly the opportunity my mother and I have with Mercedes, has been extremely caring and helpful to my family. After a life of improper relationships with dogs and giving up on ever having a better one, my experiences at the monastery have been overwhelming. For the first time in quite some time, I'm happy to get up and go to work. And to be at peace.

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We are pleased to make our blog available. We will be using our blog to post our latest news and events. http://www.newskete.org/articles/

Scroll to bottom of the page to see the archives of previous reflections of Monks and Nuns or to the blog. http://www.newskete.org/articles/

Photographs of Sr. Katrina's wake:
http://picasaweb.google.com/samsonw2000/SrKatrinaWake

Photographs of Sr. Katrina's funeral:
http://picasaweb.google.com/samsonw2000/SrKatrinaFuneral

Here are the previously sent links to the video clips from the same:

Video clips of Sr. Katrina's wake:
http://tinyurl.com/6blczz

Video clips of Sr. Katrina's funeral:
http://tinyurl.com/6dnpa9

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Eight episodes of Divine Canine: With the Monks of New Skete on Animal Planet channel. One of the ways these Eastern Orthodox monks strive to achieve devotion, obedience, and fulfillment is by raising and training dogs. Using their German shepherd pups as examples, the monks demonstrate their unique approach to socializing puppies to show how most of the bad habits possessed by adult dogs can be quelled at an early age. Using a variety of simple daily training rituals, the monks show how a calm and stable environment can be achieved. Then follow Brother Christopher as he trains unruly dogs at their picturesque monastery in the rolling hills of Cambridge. Witness how New Skete’s holistic training approach can turn even the most resilient of misbehaving dogs into loving and obedient companions, to the delight of their previously frustrated families.