Online Store now open: www.pantanassa.org.au

 Welcome to the Pantanassa Monastery web-site 

The Holy Monastery of the Mother of God ‘PANTANASSA’ is a coenobitic monastery for men located on the Central Coast of N.S.W. Australia. The monastery was established in 1976 with the blessing of the late Archbishop Stylianos, Primate of the Greek Orthodox Church (1975-2019).  It may come as a surprise to many that a monastic community founded on traditional Athonite monasticism exists in Australia. This is why, after many years of hesitation, prayer and humble reasoning, Pantanassa Monastery decided to create its own web-site. We pray that we will be able to respond to the magnitude of this task, and ask you to keep us in your prayers.

History

With the blessing of the late Archbishop Stylianos, Pantanassa Monastery was founded in 1976 by the former abbot, Archimandrite Stephanos in Sydney, under its previous name, Holy Monastery of the Transfiguration of our Lord. The monastery remained in Earlwood, Sydney, until 1995, even though suitable land for the monastery was purchased at Mangrove Mountain on the central coast of NSW, in 1980. By 1995, a small dwelling had been constructed at Mangrove Mountain. With the blessing of His of Eminence the brotherhood later moved to this new site in the same year. Simultaneously, His Eminence renamed the monastery Pantanassa Monastery. The word, Pantanassa is from the Greek panta ‘all’ and anassa ‘queen’, hence the ‘Queen of All’.

On 20 December 2010 the founder and first Abbot of Pantanassa Monastery Elder Stephanos retired and on the same day the brotherhood unanimously elected Elder Eusebios as Abbot. On 17 September 2011 Elder Eusebios was enthroned as Abbot by the late Archbishop Stylianos.