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EUCLID, Ohio — Christ the Bridegroom Monastery, situated in Burton, Ohio, welcomed a new rasophore nun Feb. 1.
Sara Lynn Gafford was tonsured during a Vespers service for the feast of the Meeting of Our Lord with Simeon and Anna at St. Stephen Byzantine Catholic church in Euclid. She also received the black habit and the monastic name, Sister Petra.
Bishop Milan Lach, SJ, apostolic administrator of the Eparchy of Parma, presided. During the rite of tonsure, he cut four small segments of her hair as an expression of consecration and commitment to God. Bishop John Kudrick, retired bishop of Parma and founding bishop of the monastery, was also present.
The term “rasophore” means “robe-bearer.” It refers to the religious robe, called a “riassa,” in which a nun is clothed. A rasophore nun also receives the tunic, the veil, called the “apostolnik,” the monastic belt, and hat, called “skufia.”
About 200 people attended the tonsure, including friends and family of Sister Petra, who traveled from Indiana and Columbus, Ohio, where she spent most of her life.
Sister Petra met the community and began to discern her vocation in February 2016, when she had gone to the monastery for a poustinia retreat. She entered the monastery for a discernment year as a dokimos Feb. 1, 2017.
Caption: Bishop Milan Lach, SJ, cuts the hair of Sara Lynn Gafford during the rite of tonsure Feb. 1 at St. Stephen church in Euclid, Ohio. By this rite, Gafford enters Christ the Bridegroom Monastery as a rasophore nun. Also photographed (back row, l. to r.): Father Michael Hayduk, rector of the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist, and Father Moses Wright of Holy Resurrection Monastery; (front row, l. to r.): Sister Natalia Olsen and Mother Theodora Strohmeyer, hegoumena of Christ the Bridegroom Monastery. (Photo: Darlene Hritz)
As published in Horizons, March 4, 2018.
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