A Religious Hermitage
within
The Ohio Orthodox Catholic Church
The Right Reverend Mother Barbara Martzall
The Reverend Mother Myrella LeClair
About This Community and Our Ministry
We are two canonically ordained priests and professed semi-hermit monastics, in the Orthodox monastic tradition and Franciscan in spirit, within the Ohio Orthodox Catholic Church. Each of us hold outside jobs to support ourselves, our ministry, and the Ohio Orthodox Catholic Church. Thus we live directly in the world but try to not be of the world.
Do not love the world or the things in the
world.
If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.
For all that is in the world -- is not of the Father but is of the world.
-- I John 2:15 - 16
Our ministry is two fold: 1) We have been led to a contemplative ministry (ministry of prayer for the ONE body of CHRIST); 2) teaching spirituality and Orthodox theology.
There is one body and one Spirit, just as
you were called in one hope of your calling;
one Lord, one faith, one baptism;
on God and Father of all, Who is above all, and through all, and in you all.
-- Ephesians 4:4 - 6
This ministry includes prayers for spiritual, emotional and physical healing as well as prayers of remembrance and intercession for those who have died. We welcome your prayer requests. Given our type of monasticism (semi-hermits), the Community does not offer any public worship services (Mass/Liturgy). We as monks have also taken on the role of teaching spirituality and Orthodox theology.
As semi-hermit monastics, our personal home, where ever that might be at the moment, becomes our personal hermitage. Hermits and semi-hermits in the Orthodox tradition live either by themselves or with another monastic. They do not live within a monastery as many of the monastics do.
The Community also acts as the spiritual mother house for the Eastern Rite monastics within the Ohio Orthodox Catholic Church. Mother Barbara is the schema-Archimandrite/Bishop for the Eastern Rite monastics.
You are welcome to send us an email with your questions concerning our ministry.