On Saturday, May 19, 2012, Holy Trinity Monastery held its first Open House. From two to five in the afternoon, over two hundred people, most of them non-Orthodox, came from local areas in order to get to know their monastic neighbors.

Archimandrite Luke, the abbot of the monastery, welcomed the guests and did a presentation on this history of the Orthodox Church. Hieromonk Roman then gave the second presentation on the history of the monastery, from its humble beginnings to the present day. Talking about the monastery’s publishing work during the Cold War, he said, “Elderly priests in Russia would come up to me and say, ‘You’re from Jordanville? We survived on your books!’ Our name is great in Russia. But over here, we’re just another cow town.” After the presentations, Father Luke and Father Roman fielded questions from the visitors.

After a short break with refreshments, the visitors then gathered at the monastery church, where fourth-year student Anthony Williams gave them a tour. Many of the people visiting expressed their appreciation and hoped to visit again.