11/01/2022
Antiochian Women "Building a Cathedral" Project in its 4th Year
Sheryl VanderWagen, Vice-President/NAB Project Coordinator of Antiochian Women
In 1985 when Metropolitan Philip of blessed memory had the vision to build a conference center to meet the needs of our growing Archdiocese, the location of the Conference Center was slated for the hill by the St. Ignatius Chapel at the Antiochian Village Camp near Ligonier, Pennsylvania. The camp director, campers, and camp counselors convinced the Metropolitan and Board of Trustees to move the Conference Center to the entrance of the Camp, just outside the gates. This proved to be a brilliant decision allowing the very different functions and activities of each to be separate and not interfere with each other. The Conference Center was moved outside the gates, but because it had originally been slated to be built next to the St. Ignatius Chapel, it was designed without a chapel. For years prayers were said in a windowless storage area before being moved to the room that was built as the museum for the Archdiocese. This room is too small for most of the worship events held at the Conference Center.
Since 2018, the leaders and members of the Antiochian Women have been raising funds for The Cathedral at the Antiochian Village, an essential component in the overall strategic plan for the Archdiocese. The Antiochian Women have taken on the responsibility of raising $750,000 by 2025 to help launch the "Building an Archdiocese Cathedral" project. They have already raised $347,916 towards this goal.
God has blessed our Archdiocese with miraculous growth and there is no adequate worship space to meet the needs of our campers, clergy when gathered, Antiochian House of Studies students, or Archdiocese leaders. There is no adequate space to support a monastery community witnessing to the local community, and no place to sponsor major theological conferences and events. Now with the Antiochian House of Studies gaining accreditation, we are even better positioned to meet the needs of Orthodox and non-Orthodox throughout the world who want to study Orthodox Theology or serve the Church in various roles even better through hybrid education.
The Antiochian Village is the hub of Archdiocese activities and in the future we envision it to be the center for most of the leadership, operations, and planning for the departments and organizations of the Archdiocese. The Antiochian Village has long been our "holy mountain," a place to gather, to worship, to learn, and a place of retreat. For many in the Archdiocese, the Village has played a pivotal role in their formation as Orthodox Christians, through the camp program, leadership training for Archdiocesan organizations, and other programs hosted there. For them the Village symbolizes the presence of the Antiochian Archdiocese in North America. The Antiochian Village is where many of our priests and lay people in the Archdiocese found their passion for ministry and now serve not only as priests but also in organizations like FOCUS, OCF, IOCC and OCMC, and other pan-Orthodox ministries.
It is hoped that this Cathedral Project will bless the women of our local communities because the women have always been the visionary leaders withiin our parishes and the Church. It is also hoped that the local efforts of the women will inspire individuals and organizations of the parishes to invest in the future of our beloved Church in North America.
Please support your local Antiochian Women's Project and invest in the future of our God-protected Archdiocese. We encourage each local chapter of Antiochian Women to begin planning events for the 2023 NAB Project as soon as possible. They should not wait until March to fundraise for this worthy cause. Everyone in our churches should be made aware of the Project and the vision for our beloved holy mountain, the Antiochian Village.
Read and share the full letter from Sheryl VanderWagen, Vice-President/NAB Project Coordinator of Antiochian Women (PDF)
https://antiochianprodsa.blob.core.windows.net/websiteattachments/AW-NAB%20PROJECT%202023%20--%20Intro%20letter%20for%20Sept%202022%20mailing.pdf
