New Skete is the collective term for two Orthodox Christian monastic communities in Cambridge, New York (geographically in the neighboring town of White Creek):
- The Monks of New Skete, a men's monastery founded in 1966 and
- the Nuns of New Skete, a women's monastery founded in 1969.
The communities are under the omophorion of the Metropolitan of the Orthodox Church in America. The Monks are best known for their breeding of German Shepherds, and the training of all breeds in basic obedience. The Monks have written several dog-training manuals, including The Art of Raising a Puppy and How to Be Your Dog's Best Friend: The Classic Training Manual for Dog Owners. The Nuns are best known for their gourmet cheesecakes which are available on-line and in their gift shop.
They are unique in that they have instituted wide-ranging reforms to the divine office and eucharistic liturgies of the Eastern Orthodox Church, aimed at rendering the services more comprehensible. They maintain an open stance regarding ecumenical contacts with other Christian groups; the nave of their Holy Wisdom Temple features iconographic portraits of Orthodox saints as well as prominent non-Orthodox people such as Pope John XXIII, Archbishop Michael Ramsey, and Mother Teresa of Calcutta, and the communities celebrate the feast of the Roman Catholic saint Francis of Assisi. This openness has brought them criticism from Orthodox conservatives and traditionalists; but the Monks and Nuns strongly defend their renewal of liturgy and monastic life as a necessity if Orthodox monasticism is to be more than "museum-keeping" in the modern world. The monastery has a chapel community as well as a fellowship of lay people, Companions, who seek to be formally connected with New Skete in order to deepen their spiritual lives. Through their connection with New Skete they look to incorporate monastic values that help them live out the call of the Gospel in a lay setting at the same time as helping to support New Skete's mission. This enrichment program serves those who seek to integrate prayer and spirituality in their daily activities, and enhances the individuals' vocations as members vis-à-vis their commitment to their own Christian life.
In April 2007, the television show Divine Canine premiered on the cable television channel Animal Planet. The show featured the dog training program of the Monks of New Skete.
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Monks of New Skete
As a monastic community, the Monks of New Skete live with the conviction that an authentic and vibrant monasticism is an essential ingredient to healthy Church life. By nature, the monastic vocation is contemplative and apostolic, challenging both the Church and the world at large to fuller life; therefore, they see their primary responsibility as being authentic monastics. However, they believe this cannot be done by simplistically reproducing previous expressions of monastic life. Monasticism has always incarnated itself within a particular cultural context, so throughout their history the Monks have worked to express the mystery and dynamism of their vocation in a manner appropriate to modern culture and times.
Working toward this end, the Monks' daily schedule reflects an integrated blend of liturgical and personal prayer, work, study, and prudent openness to the world. Anchored in a daily cycle of matins and vespers (with Divine Liturgy on Sundays and feast days), they try to make themselves available to all who come to the monastery, in a manner that is in keeping with their vocation. Many people visit the monastery each year, either to make retreats, attend services, or visit the gift shop and grounds, or as dog customers.
Nuns of New Skete
The Nuns of New Skete, originally a group of Poor Clares, moved from Indiana to establish their monastery near the monks' monastery in 1969. They support themselves by baking New York-style gourmet cheesecakes for sale in their gift shop and on their website.
Publications on religion and spirituality
- In the Spirit of Happiness, The Monks of New Skete, Rider, 1999, ISBN 0-7126-0686-6
- Rise Up with a Listening Heart, The Monks of New Skete, Yorkville Press, 2004, ISBN 0-9729427-6-9
Publications on raising and training dogs
- How to Be Your Dog's Best Friend: The Classic Training Manual for Dog Owners (Revised & Updated Edition), The Monks of New Skete, Little, Brown and Company, September, 2002, ISBN 0-316-61000-3
- The Art of Raising a Puppy, The Monks of New Skete, Little, Brown and Company, March 20, 1991, ISBN 0-316-57839-8
- Divine Canine: The Monks' Way to a Happy, Obedient Dog, The Monks of New Skete, Hyperion, September 18, 2007, ISBN 1-4013-0925-9
- I & Dog, The Monks of New Skete, John Sann, and Monique Stauder (Photographer), Yorkville Press, November 3, 2003, ISBN 0-9729427-3-4
- Bless the Dogs, The Monks of New Skete, Vincent Remini (photographer), Hachette, 2013
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