Nuns/Monks of New Skete

Living a monastic life, devoted to the church and life in a religious community may seem lonely and even mysterious.
Monks and nuns take vows of chastity, poverty, and obedience. They are devoted to their Christian life, regulated by their respective church law. Monasteries and convents, often located in remote areas, give monks and nuns a place for prayer, peace and reflection. One place to get a sneak peak at monastic life is a community in Cambridge, Washington County.
The Nuns and Monks of New Skete are spiritually united Eastern Orthodox Catholic communities, located just four miles apart. The Nuns of New Skete monastery is located on a hillside, nestled in a quiet, beautiful spot. Once you make the turn onto Ashgrove Road, the smell of the New Skete kitchen will make the nun’s driveway easy to find. Their claim to fame is cheesecake. The blessed creation has made the Nuns of New Skete famous. The cheesecake, in many varieties, has been featured on the Food Network and national publications, spurring many to come far and wide to taste a slice of heaven.
In the mid-1970s, the nuns were searching for ways to support themselves, so they, along with others who worked outside the monastery, began to experiment with baking. Gourmet cheesecakes were the biggest hit and they began selling them to nearby restaurants.
“It was in such high demand, we kept it up,” said Sister Cecelia, who manages the monastery and has called it home since she helped build it in 1969. In the early 80s, an elaborate kitchen was built keeping up with the demand. In their early baking days, the only cheesecake made and sold was plain, now called, “deluxe.” Lucky for us, flavor and variety has changed considerably in 20 years.
“Kahlua Cheesecake was the first one with a different flavor,” said Sister Cecelia. “After we did the kahlua, we did amaretto, chocolate amaretto and then graduated to other flavors.” Eventually raspberry became the most popular flavor. Thousands are mail ordered and shipped nationwide every year.
Using a mixer, which holds 30 pounds of cream cheese, and an oven which can hold 23 cakes on each shelf, the Nuns churn out 400 cheesecakes weekly. “It keeps me from being bored in life,” laughed Sister Patricia, who is in charge of the entire baking process. It’s a process she never tires of, especially the tasting part. “The one I like to eat is the chocolate. In fact, I just had a piece,” she chuckled.
The cheesecakes are sold at the monastery’s gift shop for $28. If you can’t make the trip to their kitchen, they can be ordered online for $34. “We have a sampler now, with the four most popular flavors: deluxe, raspberry, kahula and chocolate,” said Sister Cecelia.
Four miles east of the New Skete Kitchen, another face of monasticism can be found. Set high up on a mountainside in Cambridge, the Monks of New Skete are best known for their dog breeding and training program. Since 1966, they’ve had dogs at New Skete. Kyr, a German Shepherd was their first dog. “They had a dog as a mascot,” explained Brother Luke, who helps with the breeding program. When Kyr died, the loss was so profound, the monks decided to get two female Shepherds; thus began their breeding of German Shepherds and training dogs of all breeds. “It grew out of our own work and life with pets,” said Brother Luke. “All of our dogs here live with us.” In fact, he has three dogs in my room.
The Monk’s work has become one of divine triumph for dog lovers and owners nationwide. In 2007, Animal Planet launched a show called “Divine Canines” based on the monk’s work. Brother Christopher, who has overseen the dog training program since the early 80s, has also authored several books including national best seller, The Art of Raising a Puppy. The training program allows the monks to demonstrate their unique approach to training dogs, so most of the dog’s bad habits are quelled before adulthood. According to Brother Luke, the spirituality in the dog/human relationship inspires the brothers in their ongoing training.
Puppies that come out of the New Skete Shepherds breeding program continue to be highly sought after. There is often a long waiting list to purchase a dog and the monks carefully select a home for each puppy.
“We have to match the right puppy with the right people,” said Brother Luke. Hundreds of people throughout the Capital Region and nationwide own these divine dogs.
For more information on the communities of New Skete, visit: www.newskete.com.