Life at the Monastery
Orthodox monastic tradition
Monasticism has existed since the first centuries of Christianity, but developed into a spiritual movement in the 4th century, first in Egypt and Palestine, when persecution ended and Christians sought new ways of radical devotion to God. The earliest monastic texts, on whose spiritual ideals modern monastic life is based, also date from this time.
In the modern Orthodox tradition, Mount Athos is considered the most important monastic center in Northern Greece. There are twenty monasteries on this peninsula, where life according to monastic traditions has been continued uninterruptedly for over a thousand years. The roots of Kirikla Monastery also reach Mount Athos through the spiritual father of the monastery, this gives confidence that our monastery represents a genuine and living experience of monastic spirituality.
In the monastery, the day is divided into three parts: prayer, work and rest.
Prayer consists not only of communal services, but also of personal prayer, which is held in one’s own room or cell. Usually, personal prayer and the first communal service take place early in the morning, since night is considered the best time for prayer. Every monastic ascetic also becomes acquainted with the most sacred texts of Orthodoxy. Prayer is the most important activity of a person, because through it he finds God and unites with Him. On great holidays, night services are held in the monastery, which can last for several hours.
Work is necessary not only for the practical functioning of the monastery, but also for understanding the meaning of effort. Orthodox monasteries emphasize the importance of physical labor, because it helps us understand that the body is involved in the spiritual struggle. Work ranges from the most ordinary tasks, cleaning, kitchen and garden work, construction, to crafts, arts, and even administrative work.
There is less rest in monasteries than in ordinary life, because the monastic ascetic wants to spend as much time as possible in prayer. That is why the monks rise at dawn.
Orthodox monasteries are mainly cenobitic, or communal, monasteries, like Kirikla Monastery. This means that no one in the monastery has private property. No salary is paid for work, but the monastery covers all the expenses of the residents. Ascetics wear black robes as a sign of death to their old selves and receive a new name.
A monastery is like a big family, where everyone supports each other in mutual love. For a family to function, a head is needed: in a monastery, there is an abbot. An important principle of monasticism is obedience, not only to the leaders of the monastery, but to the entire community. It teaches obedience to the will of God.
Entering a monastery is often described as leaving the world behind. Monks no longer communicate much with relatives or friends, but at the same time they warmly welcome all visitors to the monastery. For monks, all people are their brothers and sisters.
To protect the monastery from worldly influences, the monks do not read newspapers, watch television or engage in other forms of entertainment. Their whole life is dedicated to God.
Kirikla Monastery Brotherhood
Currently, in addition to the abbot, there are two brothers living in the monastery: one a tonsured hierodeacon and the other a novice. The monks come from Finland and Estonia, and the common language of the monastery is Estonian. Since the monastery has its spiritual roots in Mount Athos and Greece, many of the monks follow the Byzantine tradition. The monastery wants to pass on the deep experience of Byzantine monasticism to the Nordic countries.
The monks earn a living by painting icons, making incense and candles, and farming as self-sufficiently as possible. Donations from pilgrims and friends of the monastery are also essential for the monastery to survive.
Considering monasticism?
The brotherhood is open to single adult Orthodox men who are free from financial or legal obligations to the world, for example, loans, dependent children, or other obligations.
Those who feel drawn to monasticism are welcome to contact the abbot, come visit him, and talk to him about their vocation. If, after the visit, the aspirant still feels God’s call to devote himself completely to God and the abbot considers him suitable for monasticism, the person is accepted into the monastery as a novice. This means that the brother lives the daily rhythm of the monastery with the other brothers, but has not yet made a final commitment to monasticism. During this probationary period, the novice learns obedience, renunciation of worldly comforts, and all the practical skills necessary for monasticism. After a while, the novice is dressed in monastic robes so that he can get used to being a monk before being formally tonsured.
Once the probationary period, which usually lasts one to three years, is completed, the novice is tonsured as a rassophomore monk. At this point, he commits to remain in the monastery for the rest of his life, to be obedient to the brothers and the abbot, and to renounce personal property. As a sign of his new identity, he receives a new name during his tonsure.
The highest degree of monasticism is the great schema, to which a rassophorous monk is usually tonsured after an additional period of asceticism. The final monastic vows are taken at the tonsure of the great schema. Schema monks can be recognized by their robes, which are embroidered with red thread with symbols related to the Passion of Christ.
In the church monastery, all brothers are tonsured into the great schema according to the old monastic traditions. Saint Nicodemus of Athos (1749–1809) calls for giving the great schema to all ascetics at a relatively young age, because only then is it a true and complete dedication to monasticism, the beginning, not the end.
Monastery Leader
Since 2024, the spiritual father of the monastery has been His Grace, Bishop Damaskinos of Haapsalu, a member of the brotherhood of the Holy Monastery of Xenophontos on Mount Athos. He was ordained an auxiliary bishop of the Tallinn diocese on January 12, 2025.
Bishop Damaskinos joined the brotherhood of the Xenophontos Monastery in 2015, which was preceded by more than a decade of immersion in the monastic life of Mount Athos. In 2016, he was tonsured a monk, and in 2018 he received the great schema and was ordained a deacon and priest. In 2019, Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew blessed him with the title of spiritual father, a distinction granted to only a few priests in the Greek tradition.
In addition to his monastic life, Bishop Damaskinos has taught Orthodox theology in his native Finland. He is also known as a promoter of Byzantine music in Finnish, Estonian and Swedish, having been one of the main singers at the Xenophontos Monastery. The singing tradition of Mount Athos has become a defining part of his life over the years.