Father Abbot Dennis
Abbot of the Eremitic Order of Mount Carmel
Regent-Elector of the Church
Member of the Holy Synod
THE VENERABLE Abbot Dennis, EOMC, BDiv* is the Regent Elector of the Church. Abbot Dennis was ordained deacon on 15 August 1995 by Archbishop Daniel de Mont-Carmel. He convenes and holds all canonical elections of the Church's senior officers and is a co-founder of the Eremitic Order of Mount Carmel. Hegumen Dennis was elevated and instituted an orthodox abbot by the Archbishop assisted by Bishop Stephen, Orthodox Bishop of Hawaii at Annunciation Monastery of Honolulu in the presence of his monastic community, in October, 2002, and thereupon became a permanent Member of the Holy Synod.
He was unanimously elected for a lifetime tenure as abbot-hegumen by his
religious community on 28 May 1994. Previously, he lived for three
years as a lay brother at the Trappist Abbey of Our Lady of the Genesee in
Piffard, New York. The abbot
coordinates the monastic activities of the Church and leads spiritually as
Hegumen, the Eremitic Order of Mount Carmel, which is a new communal
religious expression that combines active life, monastic practice and
professional work within a men's spiritual group-living cenobitic community.
As well, the Abbot oversees the women and men who are extern-members of the
Order. All of the members of the Eremitic Order are allowed
options of living as semi-eremitic monks, remaining laity or becoming
sacramental and ordained clergy.
The Eremitic Order was fashioned by its founders in the spirit of those early hermits who followed the Prophet Elijah and lived with him on Mount Carmel near Galilee pre-dating the birth of Christ and the spirit of the Carmelite Order in the West. Regulars of the Eremitic Order of Mount Carmel founded the Inclusive Orthodox Church in 1994, elect its bishops, live together in community and are financially self-sufficient.
The monks established Archangel Sanctuary of Waikiki (1995 -2002) and continue to sponsor Divine Liturgy and pastoral ministry from Annunciation Monastery of Honolulu. The Eremitic Order of Mount Carmel is in canonical association and spiritually united with the Inclusive Orthodox Church. The Abbot Dennis functions with total independence and global autonomy over all activities of the Eremitic Order.
* Honoris causa