There is a monastery in Copper Hill, Virginia. Just south of Roanoke, the Blue Ridge Parkway opens into a wide green meadow. At the back of the field looms a surprising sight, a huge stone building, an ancient monastery transplanted from old Europe. In 2001, a small order of monks that follows the rule of St. Benedict purchased over 200 acres of farmland at the edge of Franklin County.
Rising on the ridge of Five Mile Mountain, the monastery is visible from miles away. You cannot see it in June, however, it is hidden by the trees. This causes speculation and small talk among the local residents in Callaway, a rural community situated below the mountain. The monks building the abbey have not publicized their presence, and the monastery is not open to the public. That's not their goal, said the Rev. John Sebastian, a priest and monk who spoke for the order in interviews. "What a monk feels drawn to is to leave the cares and the noise of the world at large."
Syon Abbey, the name for the monastery and the order, is independent of any diocese. The monks at the Abbey will make wine for their communion and grow their own food. The religious order high up in the Blue Ridge Mountains follows their spiritual leader, St. Benedict. He performed some miracles, which are listed on Catholic websites. There's a lot of psychic phenomena going on in these medieval monasteries, some monks have even levitated (floated in mid-air by psychic means). Hildegard de Bingen, founded an abbey in the 12th century. She saw wondrous visions, which she painted, and she wrote beautiful music for her convent sisters to sing.
For more on the Benedictine order, see the BBC video below. Caution: it contains very dry British humor.
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