Nomadic monks bring trail of troubles to Canfield

The monks’ school once awarded a degree in counseling to a golden retriever.

Associated Press

CANFIELD

The monks seemed to come out of nowhere.

They arrived from Cleveland last fall — Archbishop Timothy and Father Anthony and the cleric in charge, Metropolitan Stephen. In their billowing black robes, they were looking for a new base for the Syro Russian Orthodox Catholic Church.

It was Archbishop Timothy who first drove past the Canfield Colonial Motel Condotel, a crime-ridden, no-tell motel on a desolate portion of U.S. Route 224.

“My first thought was: This would make an excellent monastery,” says the archbishop, whose earthly name is Timothy Kjera. “The rooms in front are the perfect size for a monk’s cell.”

This would be a religious retreat center where “people can eat with the monks, pray with the monks,” Kjera explains.

Folks in Canfield were delighted when they heard that the holy men wanted to take over a motel long frequented by prostitutes and drug dealers. There was a ribbon-cutting ceremony with the Regional Chamber, and a cross was staked out front.

This was no small thing. The little, dirty white building with the threadbare rooms was now the official headquarters for a church and seminary that have thousands of followers around the globe — or so the monks claim.

But these monks have credibility issues.

They have left a curious trail across the middle of the country. The name of their church has changed numerous times along the way.

“They are hiding behind the guise of the church,” says Sgt. Tad Jazdzewski of Duluth, Minn., who spent more than a year investigating them.

Read the full story Monday in The Vindicator and on Vindy.com.