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Monastery Schiermonnikoog
We are monks. We live on Schiermonnikoog in a small scale monastery to live with God in simplicity.
Come further to find out more and to be inspired.
Brother Alberic, Abbot
The monastery was blessed and opened on February 28, 2021.
A life with God
Being a monk is our concrete way to follow Christ, our whole life long. In Christ there is nothing that can keep us separate from God. Our rhythm of life is directed to live in Christ open and connected with God to the depths. Day in, day out, night in, night out, into the everyday. That is the hidden inside of our lives. The silence and the simplicity of the island fit in seamlessly.
A weekday
There follows below an overview of a normal weekday.
Matins, Lauds, Tierce, Sext, Noon, Vespers and Compline are the names of our seven daily prayer services.
Matins (04.15 to ± 04.45), followed by over two hours of silent time for personal reading and prayer and breakfast.
Lauds and Eucharist (07.15 to ± 08.00) after which the day begins, with for example chapters, tidying rooms, a walk, study and lessons.
Tierce (09.45 to 09.55), labour for two hours
Sext (12.15 to 12.30), meal and approximately one-and-a-half hours of silence
Noon (14.20 -14.30) labour for two hours
Vespers (17.30 -18.15, including sitting together in silence) evening meal and an hour of silence
Complines (19.30 to ± 19.50), night begins, the great silence.
Becoming a monk?
You do not become a monk, you are one. Deep inside there is something of a monk in every person. Until you recognize that this is your way, as inescapable as God. If your way leads to our monastery, you first come here to visit us for an encounter where we can get to know one another. We are Roman Catholic, you might be not. We can talk about such discoveries. More encounters may follow.
If gradually the mutual conviction grows that further orientation is worthwhile, then you can occasionally come to live in the monk community. In this way you slowly begin a process that runs from aspirant, postulant and novice to professed monk. But let us not look too far ahead.
However, let us not look too far ahead. First this, the realisation you wish to become a monk, that our way of life also appeals to you, that you want nothing more than to dedicate your entire life to God. You understand that if you come here, you come here to die, both in a spiritual as physical sense. The grandeur of this moment is satisfied by taking time to consider it. You can then slowly discover, possibly with us in our home, if this life really is for you.
Brothers on the island
brother Alberic
abbot
brother Jelke
economist
brother Paulus
novicemaster
brother Vincentius
icon painter
brother David
hermit
Hein en Jos, karmelbrothers on the island See: Ad Montem
Contact
Postal address
Klooster Schiermonnikoog
Knuppeldam 2
9166 NZ Schiermonnikoog
THE NETHERLANDS
Telephone
0031 519 25 24 05
Mail
info@kloosterschiermonnikoog.nl
Website
www.kloosterschiermonnikoog.nl
Guest house
Our guesthouse is open. Like the monks at the monastery, guests can use the time at the guest house as an opportunity to find their own personal way of living in simplicity with God. Guests are invited, but not required, to attend prayers and Eucharistic celebrations in the chapel.
We do not accept groups. This means that the guest house cannot be booked for group work, groups from parishes, a reunion or the like.
Monastery and guest house
The monastery is small-scale and can accommodate a maximum of ten monks and six guests. Monks and guests live separately in their own areas. The chapel is communal.
There is a living room for guests to meet or borrow a book from the bookcase.
The monastery is located on the edge of the village. Sea and beach, dunes, forests and salt marshes are nearby. Usually it is quiet in the immediate vicinity of the monastery, but not always. The monastery itself invites you to find inner silence.
Facilities for guests
Guests get a room with toilet and shower. There are only single rooms. Each room has a small kitchen, so that everyone can provide their own meals. The shops in the village are close by and well supplied. There are no joint meals.
The price
The price is sixty euros per day. This price is necessary to keep the monastery and guest house going, but should of course not be an obstacle to being a guest here.
To reserve
Mail to the guest brother for a reservation gastenhuis@kloosterschiermonnikoog.nl
Cistercian group Sion
The Cistercian group Sion consists of a few dozen people, who are touched and inspired by our spirituality. They are connected with us in prayer and tradition, but live ‘in the world’, have jobs, relationships, children.
Since 2003 they come together monthly in our former abbey in Diepenveen, the present Klooster Nieuw Sion. Now that we live on Schiermonnikoog we see each other a little less often, but the alliance is no less intimate.
If you are interested in a possible membership or are curious about the group, you can email Maria van Mierlo, via info@mariavanmierlo.nl.
The group has it’s own website.
Caring about the monastery
Warm and deep involvement with our monastery on Schiermonnikoog is becoming visible in many large and small gestures. We are happy with this, because our initiative is born from the same warm and deep commitment. We want to give monastic life a future, a real future for those who want to become monks. Our motivation for this is first and foremost the happiness to offer God place in our self-giving as every Christian. More specifically, we want to be present as a monk through our lifestyle, as authentically as possible, from a warm and deep commitment to people in the hope that they will feel some opening up to God in their own life, and thus – without having to become a monk! – find their way and deepen their lives outside of the monastery.
There are also people who want to do something. Among them, people who want to give money. We do not ask for that, but we think it’s a nice idea that people who feel so involved can contribute something in a very concrete way. Then our monastery becomes a rendition of the people around us. Our bank account is IBAN NL98 INGB 0000 821204 and BIC INGBNL2A and is on our old name: Abdij Sion. We are designated as ANBI, which means donations to us are deductible for the tax in The Netherlands. If there are any questions or problems when making a donation, our economist, br. Jelke, maybe can help you. His address is: br.jelke@outlook.com.