The Hermitage oversees four main areas of outreach:
- Saint Demetrius Village
- Saint George Orthodox Military Association (SGOMA)
- Saint Maria Skobtsova Hospitality Outreach
- Saint Tobias Cemetery
Please visit our Donate and Get Involved pages to see how you can help.
Saint Demetrius Village
The Saint Demetrius Village, still a work-in-progress, seeks to support and provide a therapeutic environment for former military men suffering from PTSD and TBI, so that they can be re-integrated into civilian society and have the tools to adapt from and overcome the experiences that have adversely affected them. The monks of the hermitage serve the veterans; in time and with sufficient financial backing, a psychologist and social worker will also join the staff.
Both the village and the hermitage are only a short distance away from the wilderness, which offers recreational opportunities such as hiking, repelling, camping, fishing, skiing, kayaking, and exploring archaeological and geological sites.
For more information on the village, please visit the Saint Demetrius Village page on this website.
Saint George Orthodox Military Association
The Saint George Orthodox Military Association (SGOMA) is an organization designed for the spiritual growth and support of all Orthodox Christian men and women who are serving in or veterans of the United States Armed Services. SGOMA has developed a catechetical program that can be completed online and by reading certain prescribed Orthodox books.
We provide Orthodox crosses, prayer ropes, and information on Orthodox Chaplaincy to Afghanistan and Iraq, for visitations and the celebration of high holy days. We also provide educational consulting resources for special education, home-schooling, and church-school curricula when these services are needed. We are available for spiritual direction and conversations via Skype. Most importantly, all of the workers and supporters of SGOMA pray daily and from our hearts for our Orthodox brethren in the military, as well as those servicemen who are interested in learning more about Orthodoxy.
Saint Maria Skobtsova Hospitality Outreach
Saint Maria (Skobtsova) gave her earthly life up in a German concentration camp in exchange for the life of a women with a large family. She freely offered herself to Christ and the needy, and she taught that others should do the same.
The Saint Maria Hospitality Outreach here at the hermitage is our monastic ministry to the indigent, the forsaken the forgotten, the discarded, the neglected, the lonely, the abandoned, and the exploited souls, those who have been enslaved and dominated by the powerful of this world.
With your kind donations, we take alms directly to people on the streets who are truly hungry.
Saint Tobias Cemetery
The Saint Tobias Cemetery is a one-acre plot of land at our hermitage that is a final resting-place for indigents on the streets who died, often due to addictions or mental illness, alone with no family or friends to grieve for them. It is for victims of violence and brutality. It is for those who were poverty-stricken and could not prepare for their final expenses prior to death. It is also for those who died in the poverty of spirit, unprepared for the Last Day.
Prayer to the Holy Trinity, along with a respectable burial, is our gift to these unfortunate souls.