“Rugged, pristine, sequestered beauty is what Montana can offer monasticism, as well as access to a spiritual life other than married."
- Fr. Russell Radoicich, Rector,
Holy Trinity Church, Butte, MT
About Us
On April 19, 2012 this beautiful thousand-acre ranch was blessed and placed in a life estate for Saint Peter’s Monastery. This life estate is offered to any Eastern Orthodox jurisdiction willing to establish a monastery here. (See the vision statement.) A Deed of Conservation Easement granted to the owners in 2006 preserves the land in perpetuity whilst making provision for the building and maintenance of the monastery.
Our Foundation
St. Peter’s Monastery, established in 2014, is a tax-exempt 501(c)3 foundation recognized by the State of Montana. The work is supported by the priests and parishes throughout our State. These include Holy Trinity Serbian Orthodox Church in Butte (Fr. Russell Radoicich); Annunciation Greek Orthodox Church in Missoula (Fr. Haralambos Spaliatsos); St. Nicholas Orthodox Church in Billings (Fr. Moses Hibbard); St. Anthony the Great Orthodox Church in Bozeman (Fr. David Morrison).
Our Location
St. Peter’s Monastery is ideally situated not only to offer a sequestered life for monastics, but also to support the growth of the Church in Montana and throughout the Mountain West. It is surrounded by mountains in sparsely populated ranch lands and lies off the grid, generating its own electricity from wind and sun. Philosophy River, named by explorers Lewis and Clark in 1805, flows through the property and into an undeveloped lake that forms the monastery’s southern boundary. It is located in the center of the State, north of Yellowstone Park and south of Helena, the State capital, and only an hour’s drive from the Bozeman and Butte airports.
Our Vision
Inspired by his time at Holy Iviron Monastery on Mount Athos, St. Anthony’s parishioner and Bozeman’s award-winning architect, Mark Headley, offered a vision of what St. Peter’s Monastery might look like. His concept unfolds in five phases, allowing for the gradual build-out of the Monastery as monks join the community and funds become available. The Monastery is nestled on a south-facing hillside protected on the west by a rocky promontory and a short walk from the neo-classical villa that will become part of the Monastery. Local ranchers have volunteered the stone piles in their fields gathered by the original homesteaders, and our young campers have begun work on Phase One. This phase will hold up to eighteen monastics, quarters for visitors, work spaces, and a temporary chapel (katholikon), dining room (trapeza), and kitchen.
Our Camps
While praying for a monastic presence at St. Peter’s, the Foundation board has pressed ahead with the work of the Monastery on two fronts: construction on the skete proper and the offering of a popular summer youth camp. Now in its sixth year of operation, two youth camps this past summer hosted 120 campers and staff members from throughout the West, and some coming from as far away as Alaska and Florida. Father Innocent from St. John Monastery, Brother Donald from St. Herman Monastery, and Mother Melania from Holy Assumption Monastery have served as spiritual directors for the camp, assisted by camp director Father David (Bozeman) and Father Moses (Billings).