Gentle, Resilient Queens & Honey Bees from the Monks of Holy Cross Monastery
Experience the Hidden Work of Bees and Monks
The unseen labor of honey bees and monks fosters growth, balance and beauty as they quietly support the world around them. The monks of Holy Cross Monastery offer you fresh insight into the world of bees through the eyes of monks. We invite you to take part in our work that is subtly inspiring our local community. When you buy our high-quality queens and bees, raw honey, baked goods, handmade soaps, or local fair-trade apiary products you contribute to the development of micro-industries in rural Appalachia. Thanks for partnering with Bee Monks and creating inspiring opportunities one family and one beekeeper at a time.
Stewardship Breeding with the West Virginia Queen Producers
Taking care of the honey bees that God has given us is a matter of being good stewards. We work with fellow members of the West Virginia Queen Producers Co-op to evaluate, strengthen, and propagate lines of honey bees that bite, fight, maul, and groom the varroa destructor mite. When you buy queens from us and help us evaluate them, you are taking part in our stewardship of God’s beautiful creation.
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Building Upon the Legacy of Dr. Moe Sill
Peace Corps leader, dynamic professor and agricultural entrepreneur, Dr. Moe Sill, opened the way for us to establish our monastic community in rural West Virginia. His love for helping people find a way out of economic poverty through agricultural development inspires us to continue his legacy by helping others in our region learn how to become beekeepers. Connect with us and learn how you can help a rural family start their own apiary.
“Let’s see what God allows…” —Dr. Maurice Lucien Sill
“Go to the bee, and learn how diligent she is, and how earnestly she is engaged in her work; whose labours kings and private men use for health, and she is desired and respected by all: though weak in body, she is advanced by honouring wisdom.”
Proverbs 6:8 LXX
Save The Beekeepers
Check out our blog for good old fashioned tips on the art of beekeeping and inspiration from monastic wisdom.
The Old Log Chapel: Dr. Moe Sill’s Love for His Community
What are Y’all and How Did You Get Here? If you’re wondering how the monks came to West Virginia and what we’re up to nowadays, this article answers those questions and a lot more that you may want to ask when you run into one of us somewhere around town. The short...
Blessing of The Bee Hives
Every year the Bee Monks at Holy Cross Monastery bless the bee hives with holy water, prayer and hymns. This is a centuries old tradition in the Eastern Orthodox Church.
The Hidden Work of Bees and Monks
“My son, eat thou honey, because it is good; and the honeycomb, which is sweet to thy taste.” Proverbs 24:13 It is an age-old tradition in monasteries to keep honey bees. This is particularly true in Russia, where accounts of monastic pilgrims down the line of...