The Monastery of the Synaxis of the Holy Archangel Gabriel is a center of Orthodox Christian spiritual life and place of pilgrimage for the members of the Serbian Orthodox Church in the United States. The Monastery was established in 1969 by Bishop Sava (Vukovic), then the Bishop of the Eastern American Diocese of the Serbian Orthodox Church. The Monastery also served as the Diocesan See until 197
4, when a new Episcopal Residence was purchased in Edgeworth, PA. In 1975, the Richfield property became a solely a women’s monastic community. Mother Anna (Radetic) and Mother Evpraksija (Paunovic) were the first members, with Mother Evpraksija being named the first Abbess by Bishop Sava, who also declared that the Monastery would be colloquially known as “New Marcha,” to preserve the memory of the famous monastery in the Krajina region that was subject to Austro-Hungarian persecution and eventual destruction. Bishop Sava blessed a small chapel as a place for worship until a new Monastery Church would be built. With the work of Mother Ana and the blessings of Bishop Mitrophan (Kodic), the monastery church was built in less than three years and prepared for consecration. His Holiness Patriarch Pavle (Stojcevic), now of blessed memory, consecrated the monastery church on June 28, 2011. The New Marcha Monastery has a rich history of Spiritual Fathers: Heguman-Stavrophor Simeon (Grozdanovic), Hieromonks Danilo (Jokic), Hieromonk Gavrilo, Monk Simeon (Stevanovich), Hieromonk Platon (Jovic) and Singelos Sava (Medakovich). At the present time, the monastic community consists of the Venerable Hieromonk Maksim (Ilic), Spiritual Father, and Nun Anastasia (Gousios).
