St. Anthony's Greek Orthodox Monastery

Although I wore a long sleeved crew neck t-shirt
kerchief, and long pants, that wasn't enough.
A volunteer dressed me in long skirt, big shirt,
socks and head scarf.  

All the art work was brough from Greece and it
is exquisite. 

There are 7 chapels now and each is unique.

 "In the summer of 1995, Elder Ephraim (a former abbot of Philotheou Monastery on Mount Athos with a history of restoring and repopulating previous monasteries) sent six monks of Athonite heritage to the Sonoran Desert of Arizona with aims to establish a new monastery in the name of Saint Anthony the Great, the father of monasticism.^{[citation needed]} The fathers began by building the main church, monastic living quarters, the dining hall, and some guest facilities. They also began a vegetable garden, a small vineyard, citrus orchards, and an olive grove amidst the desert landscape. These areas are now interconnected by an elaborate system of gardens, pathways, and gazebos with Spanish fountains.^{[3]" (wikipedia)}

St. Anthony's Chapel surrounded by gardens, fountains and walkways. We followed a strict path 
through the complex, visiting all 7 chapels but staying carefully away from the monks living 
quarters and the extensive guest quarters. There are about 40 monks in residence. 

There were a number of beautiful fountains.

The wooden roof and carvings throughout the
St. George's Chapel were gorgeous.

^{We visited the Monastery while staying at the Foothills West RV Park in Casa Grande. We planned to spend 2 nights and then drive north to the South Side of the Grand Canyon for 4 nights. But after checking the weather, we moved the reservations to the following week and got 2 more nights at Foothills. Below freezing conditions and snow made that decision easy. That still left 2 nights which we reserved up in Sedona. But a day later the weather there promised cold rain and the RV park there had no Wi-Fi or cell! We hope to go there after the Grand Canyon. So again, we went hat in hand to Foothills and got two more nights.  This is a lovely place with a heated pool and a hot tub. And the weather was almost perfect all week - sunny skies with a high in the 69 - 73. My next post will cover our visits north to the Musical Instrument Museum and San Tan Regional Park.} 

This was the last chapel to be built. It's just outside the main complex and visable for miles around.

A detail of two of the hundreds of
icons.

Every medium was used to decorate the
buildings and grounds

The brick and stone work throughout the 
complex was amazing.

St Demetrios Chapel

Many of the chapels are mainly lit by candles
but this beautiful chandelier was electric.

You need to be a recommended Greek 
Orthodox member to stay in here but it
seemed quite popular. We saw a lot of
guests going into the dining room at lunch.

A tiny food truck in the parking lot run by a 
Greek family provided an excellent lunch-
Spinach Feta Pie!