of the Hermitage of the Three Holy Hierarchs
The Asketerion
Contact: the.asketerion@gmail.com
Welcome to The Asketerion !
Asketerion is the Greek term for hermitage or monastery, a place of teaching, learning and contemplation. The Asketerion is the online presence of the Hermitage. Father Hrynkiw's teaching and preaching are very much physical encounters. Every teaching session, for example, begins with prayer and is a unique experience, guided by the Holy Spirit and contigent on the people present and their own needs. The Hermitage's scripture studies, lay formation, and conferences are therefore mostly available in Canada and are not accessible online. The Asketerion seeks to reach out, however, to those who are seeking spiritual reading, or have a prayer request or a desire to read Catholic poetry. The Asketerion breathes with both lungs-- Eastern and Western-- and is one manifestation of the Hermitage's quiet voice, a voice that is rooted in and coherent with the Church's origins: Sacred Scripture, Apostolic Tradition, the Church Fathers and St Thomas Aquinas, while being in full accord with the Church’s Magisterium. It is meant to be a vehicle of reflection and inspiration, or simply a place to trustfully leave a petition. Please feel free to contact us with your thoughts.
Glory be to Jesus Christ!
Fr. Gregory Hrynkiw, ASTH, has been a Byzantine-Catholic monk since 1989. While serving as Protohegumen of the Most Holy Saviour Province of the Basilian Order from February 2004 to July 2007, he fought on the front lines against systemic corruption in Ukraine. After suffering threats to his life, he was ordered to return to Rome, and in 2010 made his solemn profession of monastic vows into the Hermitage of the Three Holy Hierarchs. The Hermitage is a form of consecrated life under the jurisdiction of Bishop Bryan Bayda (the Eparch of Ukrainian Catholic Eparchy of Saskatoon), which follows the “middle path” of St. Gregory of Nazianzus, uniting both the contemplative (theoria) and active (praxis) aspects of monastic life. In 2014, hieromonk Gregory completed his doctoral dissertation on Cajetan on Sacred Doctrine (In ST, I, q. 1): An Original Contribution towards a Theology of “Light from Light” by a Renaissance Cardinal and Theologian in via Thomae under the direction of Mons. Charles Morerod, O.P. At present, hieromonk Gregory is in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada, preaching and teaching. His book Cajetan on Sacred Doctrine is published by The Catholic University of America Press in October 2020.
The Hermitage charism of “the pastoral care of human intelligence” was inspired by both St. John Paul II and Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI.
“I would like once again to encourage all who with generous willingness are involved in planning and directing catechesis for children, young people and adults. Speaking more generally, it is indispensable for you to promote the pastoral care of the intellect, of learning enlightened by the faith” (Address of his Holiness John Paul II, to the Bishops of France on their “Ad Limina Apostolorum” Visit, 5 April 1997).
“It is up to us to seek to respond to the question of truth, fearlessly juxtaposing the proposal of faith with the reason of our time. In this way we will help young people to broaden the horizons of their intelligence, to open themselves to the mystery of God, in whom is found life's meaning and direction, and to overcome the conditioning of a rationality which trusts only what can be the object of experiment and calculation. Thus, it is very important to develop what…we called “the pastoral care of intelligence” (Address of His Holiness Benedict XVI to the participants in the convention of the Diocese of Rome, 11 June 2007).