Abbess Juliana told me she was 3 years old when she was brought to
the Monastery. Her orphanage in Santiago was founded many decades ago
with several nuns helping her, and she was made their Abbess before she
came to Eleon, [The Mount of Olives Women's
Monastery].
Fundacion San Juan de Kronstadt . org
The History of the Hogar
San Juan de Kronstadt Hogar (orphanage/ boarding school) was founded on
October 14, 1967 by Mother Juliana. Then 32, M. Juliana along with 6
other nuns came to Chile from Jerusalem at the request of Bishop Leonty
of Chile and Peru. On arrival, they lived together
on Patronato Street in Santiago. At first the nuns made a living by
their handy-work and M. Juliana gave private Russian lessons to wealthy
families in Santiago. However, it was always a dream of M. Juliana to
establish a home for unfortunate children. With
the blessing of Bishop Leonty she began this task and together with the
police went out in search of children who needed a home. M. Juliana
still remembers the names of the first two girls - Maria and Elizaveta.
As more children began to arrive the need
for a bigger place arose. A new property was purchased in Arrayan, a
suburb of Santiago. This property is approximately 2,000 acres, with
beautiful views of the surrounding mountains
and rather secluded due to its distance from the city. Of course times
have changed and now it is more populated but still a feeling of
seclusion exists. Construction began and soon the girls moved to their
new home. In 1968, M. Juliana made her first trip
to the US hoping to gather money for the orphanage. This trip was
successful and enough money was raised that in 1969 a school was built
on the property. Along with financial assistance from donations, the
'Servicio Nacional de Menores' also provided financial
aid for the Hogar. M. Juliana was the director of the school and also
taught the Russian language and religion classes. It was always a goal
to raise the children in the Chilean and Russian cultures. The children
were taught the Russian language, Russian dances
and so forth. Also M. Juliana tried to expose them to the Orthodox
Church. As a result many girls were baptized into the Orthodox Church
and to this day attend services. One of the girls became a nun - sister
Justinia.
In 1978 M. Juliana became an Abbess. She
remained in Chile and continued to operate the Orphanage. Alicia
Mendoza, the wife of the Chief of Police, once commented that San Juan
de Kronstadt Hogar was the best in Chile in part
because it combined both the Russian and Chilean cultures. Hogar
continued to flourish and at its height in 1983 there were a total of 55
girls, 12 novices and 7 nuns. In 1993 Abb. Juliana was sent to the
Ascension Convent in Jerusalem by the Holy Synod and
therefore had to transfer directorship of the school. The girls who live
in the Hogar still attend this school and it is known to the locals as
Colegio Russo, (Russian School). While in Jerusalem Abb. Juliana
continued to run the Hogar and would periodically
come back and attend to business.
 |
 |
August of 1999 the Hogar suffered a tremendous blow when the main
building where the girls lived and ate was burned to the ground. The
buildings that survived were the performance hall, a second much smaller
kitchen and one house belonging to the monastery.
The girls were moved to the performance hall and this became their new
home, where they live to the present day. This building is not very big
in size and about 13 girls moved in. One can imagine how tight the
quarters were for the girls. In 2000, this building
was also burned down. Later police and fire department investigations
showed that this was arson. While the building was rebuilt the girls
slept in the cafeteria. This was also the year that Abb. Juliana
traveled to the US for the last time. This trip was
not successful and she was not able to raise the money she hoped for.
Due to this fact she does not travel anymore looking for financial aid.
Currently there are 6 girls in the Hogar
and 2 nuns, including Abb. Juliana. Times are very difficult,
financially as well as spiritually and assistance is very much needed. A
very small contribution is given by the Ministry
of Justice for the upkeep of the Hogar. Other monastery aid comes from
the selling of baked goods that Abb. Juliana bakes herself, eggs from
chickens and milk from the two cows owned by the Foundation. Donations
also make-up a part of the assistance but this
too is very minimal. There are currently two cows, 21 chickens and
several pigs belonging to the foundation. Aid is also given in the form
of free left-over vegetables and bread generously donated by local
supermarkets. This food is used to feed the children,
nuns and animals. Everyday Abb. Juliana takes her little van and goes to
collect the food that is donated. There are also many stray dogs and
cats that live in the Hogar.
Any help would very much be appreciated in
these times. Abb. Juliana continues to want to raise these unfortunate
children but with the current problems she cannot take-in many girls. In
addition, Abb. Juliana invites any women
interested in seeking the monastic life to contact her and come to the
convent.
No comments:
Post a Comment
Guest comments MAYBE can be made by email.
joannahigginbotham@runbox.com
Anonymous comments will not be published. Daniel will not see unpublished comments. If you have a message for him, you need to contact him directly.
oregdan@hotmail.com