A monastic outpost in Siberia near the Dubches river clandestinely housed “hermits” and peasants against government approval. In 1951 the illegal monasteries were sighted from the air and subsequently demolished, their possessions destroyed, and all associated with the monasteries tried and convicted. The Library of Congress maintains a Web site with photographs documenting the trial.
URL: http://frontiers.loc.gov/intldl/mtfhtml/mfdigcol/iicoll.html#ph3.
URL of photographs: http://frontiers.loc.gov/intldl/mtfhtml/mfdigcol/lists/mtfwduTitles1.html.
Armenian hermit
Article from ArmeniaNow about Samvel Gyulizadyan , an architect, married and with two children, who abandoned family and city life for an isolated village, taking up residence in an abandoned house. His motive of peace and quiet overrides other concerns, his chief challenges being laundry and bread baking. Gyulizadyan plays an accordion and tries bee-keeping for money, going to the nearest town twice a year for provisions. His wife visits once a year. Several well-done black and white photographs. URL: http://archive.armenianow.com/archive/2003/may09/features/landlocked/.
Athonite Hermits: photos
Orthodox Advices is an Orthodox Christian site in Romania that includes a page of photographs of two dozen “Athonite hermits” plus many more of “elders.” This collection of photographs is unique on the Web, and will take most viewers into a seldom glimpsed culture. URL: http://www.sfaturiortodoxe.ro/foto.
Nova Scotia hermit
This Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) report, complete with television news video, briefly describes the reclusive life of Willard MacDonald, who lived in a Nova Scotia woodland as a hermit since 1943, when he eluded military authorities conscripting him. Like most hermits, he was not without friends. He lived in a “shack” until 2003, then another building until his recent disappearance and apparent death at 87 years of age. URL: http://www.cbc.ca/stories/2004/06/28/canada/kitch040628
Sky Farm Hermitage
Sky Farm Hermitage, founded by Fr. Dunstan Morrissey, offers cottages for private retreats in Sonoma, California. The Web site offers photos of the grounds and facilities, information for reservations and directions, plus biographies of the resident hermits. URL: http://www.skyfarm.org.