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.
New Skete is a religious community of men and women dedicated to monastic life in the Orthodox Catholic Church. Genuine monastic life nurtures and stimulates the spiritual and moral development, not only of its followers, but of the entire Church. The principles of Christian monasticism have been in continuous practice for the past sixteen hundred years. Soon after the time of the early Christian martyrs, Christian ascetics mapped out the rule of working together, eating together, and praying together under the leadership of an abbot (spiritual father). This, along with renunciation of self-will and of material goods, and with the effort to overcome the difficulties of community living, brings about joyful, enduring fraternal bonds and a deeper vision of humanity. By taking part in the mysteries of Christ's life, death, and resurrection at the daily liturgical services, the community members are drawn to repentance and the gradual change of their inner selves. Reciting the ancient psalms of the Bible, spending time in prayer and quiet, and working at physical labor and study are intended to help them follow the Gospel rule of unselfish love and compassion. It is through generous hospitality and prudent openness to visitor and pilgrim that monasteries share with society their sense of healing peace and their vision of moral and spiritual integrity. This is the ideal we seek to practice at New Skete. Originally, New Skete followed the Byzantine Rite within the Roman Catholic Church. In 1979, after many years of studying and practicing Orthodox theology and liturgy, New Skete joined the Orthodox Church. This enabled it to integrate its life and ideals more completely by joining those with whom it can share its worship and life more fully, thereby participating in the life of the whole Church. The Orthodox Church of today follows the faith and practice of the apostles and disciples of Christ handed down by the ancient Christian elders and nineteen centuries of Church tradition. There are fifteen local Orthodox Churches throughout the world today, including the Russian Orthodox Church and the Greek Orthodox Church. New Skete belongs to the Orthodox Church in America, whose primate is His Beatitude, Herman, archbishop of Washington and Metropolitan of All America and Canada. |