The Monastery of Christ in the Desert is a Benedictine monastery in Abiquiu, New Mexico. It belongs to the English Province of the Subiaco Congregation.
It is located in the Chama River Canyon Wilderness area 75 miles north of Santa Fe. It is accessible by Forest Road 151, a 13-mile dirt road off of US route 84.
History
The monastery was founded in 1964 by Aelred Wall, O.S.B., with monks from the Benedictine Mount Saviour Monastery in Pine City, New York. In 1983 the monastery was received into the English Province of the Subiaco Congregation as a Conventual Priory, and in 1996, it became an autonomous Abbey. As of 2019, there were about thirty monks. The web scriptorium was very successful and drew coverage from the Associated Press and The New York Times, Time, and other media outlets. The web scriptorium closed down in 1998 when it became apparent that their work as web designers distracted from their vocations as monks.
In 2006 the monastery was the setting for a Discovery Channel episode of the TLC documentary series entitled The Monastery. The series followed the experiences of five laymen who lived in the monastery and observed the monastic way of life for forty days.
The original monastery was designed by George Nakashima. It is powered by propane and solar panels. The brewery produces three beers: Monks' Ale, Monks' Wit, and Monks' Tripel. The beers are currently brewed by Abbey Brewing using facilities at Sierra Blanca Brewing Company in Moriarty, with an experimental brewery located at the monastery. Abbey Brewing Company currently has distribution in eight states, with plans for gradual expansion in the future.
See also
- Monastery of the Holy Cross
- NextScribe - an independent research project