On September 18–19, a significant milestone in the construction of the future church at Holy Archangel Michael and All Angels Skete in Weatherby, Missouri, was marked by the liturgical Founding and Erection of the Cross. The cross was erected at the site of the apse of the future church, designed by Apsida Studio. The skete belongs to the Serbian Orthodox Diocese of New Gracanica–Midwestern America and is under the spiritual jurisdiction of His Eminence Metropolitan Longin.
The observance began on Friday evening with Vespers in the small round chapel of the skete. On Saturday morning, a large number of clergy, parishioners, pilgrims, and Orthodox faithful from the surrounding region gathered at the monastery; by some estimates, attendance exceeded one thousand people. Matins and the Divine Liturgy were celebrated in the presence of His Eminence Archbishop and Metropolitan Longin, Archbishop of New Gracanica–Chicago and Metropolitan of Midwestern America. The service was held outdoors, as the skete does not yet have a church large enough to accommodate such a gathering.
Following the Divine Liturgy, the clergy and faithful proceeded to the site of the future sanctuary, where the cross was erected at the eastern end of the planned church. Metropolitan Longin addressed the community and spoke about both the meaning of the Cross and the hope associated with the construction of the new church:
“A new church—a beautiful church. And I congratulate Father first of all, and your lovely community, on this special event and this special day, when you celebrate the Holy Archangel Michael, the Slava of this community.
We have just read a beautiful prayer about the Cross. In it, the Cross is called ‘the beauty of the Church, the confirmation of the faithful, the might of kings, the praise of the Apostles, and the wounding of demons.’ It is a powerful weapon against the devil.
This beautiful Cross, as we all know, is a powerful symbol. Before the Cross the demons scatter and flee. Whenever we make the sign of the Cross, we drive them away from us.
And I truly pray to God that this new church will be completed, with God’s help, with the help of St. Michael, and with the help of the good hearts of many people—all of us—in due time. Amen. Thank you, Father, for everything you are doing here.”
The ceremony marks an important transition for a project that emerged from the loss of the skete’s former chapel, destroyed by fire on November 7, 2022. The new church was conceived not simply as a replacement, but as a substantially larger monastic church rooted in the architectural traditions of medieval Serbian sacred architecture. The project received Metropolitan Longin’s archpastoral approval at the schematic-design stage.
The architectural concept is based on a deliberately solid and tectonic composition. The principal exterior walls are conceived in load-bearing limestone masonry rather than as a thin decorative stone veneer. The church follows the traditional west-to-east Orthodox sequence of porch, narthex, nave, choir areas, and altar with prothesis and vestry. A lower level provides an additional chapel, parish and administrative spaces, a hall, storage, and mechanical rooms. Above the principal volume rises an octagonal drum and central dome, while the western composition is completed by two smaller domed towers. The structural system combines traditional masonry with contemporary concrete, brick, and timber construction.
Particular attention in the site planning has also been given to the wooded character of the monastery grounds. The design seeks to preserve the existing tree canopy while providing the access and infrastructure required for a contemporary public and liturgical building. In this way, the future church is intended to remain closely integrated with the secluded landscape of the skete rather than stand apart from it.
After the erection of the Cross, the celebration continued with a common meal for clergy, monastics, parishioners, and pilgrims. The cross now marks the place where the future sanctuary will rise—a first visible sign on the site of the church that is to be built there.