“I buried someone yesterday. How do I establish a cemetery?”
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That unusual question confronted Daviess County’s newly-elected recorder, Jane McKinsey, last Friday morning.
The question came from a Serbian monk, a member of a Serbian Orthodox Monastery which purchased land in Daviess County last October. The name of the monastery is Holy Archangel Michael and All Angels Skete.
The inquiry immediately involved Coroner David McWilliams. It was determined that there would have to be a deed change to establish a 1-acre tract of the monastery land as a cemetery.
Local officials will continue working through the unusual request when the Daviess County Commission convenes for their weekly meeting on Thursday. Some investigation by County Clerk Vicki Corwin points to a statute about family cemeteries, where a plot (not to exceed one acre) can be transferred to the county and then held in perpetuity as a burying ground for the family. The last instance of this occurred in Daviess County in 2009 near Jameson.
Coroner McWilliams has paperwork which shows that the deceased person died at a nursing home in Kansas City, with hospice present. He is awaiting the death certificate, which will have additional information. At this time, it is not known whether the body was embalmed or inurned in a casket by customary procedures. The coroner has indicated that he plans to make a visit to the monastery to inspect the burial site.
The deceased is identified only as a relative of one of the monks.
Later last Friday, the monk returned to the recorder’s office in the courthouse and posed another unusual question.
“I also married a couple recently,” he said, “but they had no marriage license. Can I take care of the paperwork for them?”
Recorder Jane McKinsey informed the monk that the applicants for the marriage license must be present to sign the application.
“Well…” was the response, “that could be a problem, because they have moved to California.” McKinsey and the monk eventually determined that the couple should be advised to have a civil ceremony conducted in order to make the marriage legal.
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If a Serbian Orthodox monastery operating in Daviess County seems strange to you, then perhaps an overview of the monastery’s online website will help. The following information is taken from that source.
Those from the Holy Archangel Michael and All Angels Skete explain the need for their monastery by first quoting a 20th century Serbian monk, Justin Popovich, whom the faithful regard as a saint. The website also alludes to prophets of ancient Israel and others through the ages, all seeking spiritual rediscovery. A monastic life is a lifestyle dedicated on the meaning of repent. The following is reprinted directly from the website:
“Eventually, Mt. Athos, in Northern Greece would become the center for Orthodox Christian monks throughout much of the known world. To this day, on that 45 mile-long peninsula, there are over 150 monastic communities with close to 1,500 monks. Transformed humanity is not merely an ideal. Their prayers are beams of light sent out for peace, protection, guidance, and wisdom for the entire world.
“With the blessing of Bishop +LONGIN of the Serbian Orthodox Church (bishop of the Diocese of America and Canada), a new community of monks and a relocation of an established community of nuns will be praying and working in northwest Missouri. The men’s community is called Holy Archangel Michael and All Angels Skete. The women’s community is called St. Xenia Sisterhood.”
Thus, the monastery is considered a part of the larger church, a place where monks and nuns withdraw from the world seeking purity of heart and to pray for the entire world. The word “skete” is defined as “a settlement of monks or ascetics” by the Greek Orthodox Church. The monastery is connected to the rest of the church by a local bishop and those of the monastery observe the same faith and living traditions of all Orthodox Christians.
The monastery land includes 80-acres total, with 15 acres of farmable pasture, 65 acres of forest, trails, and ponds, and seven structures. One of the most distinctive buildings is called the Trapeza, a round building with a sod roof. Mike Abel, the builder of the structures at the monastery and the previous owner, returned to the site this spring (March 24) to burn the sod roof of the Trapeza for maintenance procedures.
Posted on the website is a schedule for summer and fall services which include Vespers beginning at 6 p.m. daily. The daily routine includes prayer, farming, woodworking, herbal remedies, and work building the monastery.
The official address of Holy Archangel Michael and All Angels Skete is 28650 105th Street Weatherby, MO 64497. From I-35, go toward Cameron onto US Hwy 69 and turn onto Topper Avenue, a gravel road off the first curve just past the interstate bridge. Immediately veer slightly left after traveling about 350 feet on Topper Avenue. Then take the first right onto 105th Street, and within a mile turn right onto the monastery property.
Finances? Donations wanted
The website encourages viewers to donate – even with the convenience of PayPal and instructions on how to help the Skete avoid the usual PayPal fee. According to the website, donations are tax-deductible since Holy Archangel Michael and All Angels Skete, as part of the Serbian Orthodox Church, holds 501 (c) 3 status.
The solicitation page outlines a goal of finding 16 people or groups willing to donate $5,000 over five years in order to pay off a mortgage to save on interest normally charged on a typical 20-year loan. According to the website, Skete received financing for $300,000 of the $387,000 needed to purchase the land. On Oct. 14, 2014, a down payment of $87,000 was paid to close on the land. At that time, pledges amounted to $75,163.98 and the money still needed totaled $281,138.82.
An update posted April 25 states that $57,427.49 has been raised with $327,572.51 as the amount remaining for complete ownership.
More about the website
Much more information can be obtained by viewing the website: http://www.archangelmichaelskete.org. Besides information about the local monastery, a web page is devoted to links for information about monasticism, other Orthodox monasteries, the Serbian Orthodox Church in North and South America, and also information about archangels and angels according to this faith. A YouTube video on the home page explains development plans and details about Holy Archangel Michael and All Angels Skete.
For more information, you may contact Hieromonk Alexii by telephone at 660-749-5325 or email [email protected].