The Front Hall

On display immediately opposite the reception desk is a beautiful hand carving of the crucifixion made of boxwood from the Caucasus Mountains in Russia. It was carved by Brother Arsenius, a monk of the Brotherhood of St. Nichodemus, of the Kafsokalivion Monastery, Mount Athos, founded in 963 AD. Using only four simple carving tools, Brother Arsensius (b. 1860) spent a quarter of a century completing his two major works: a large "General Judgment" and this smaller "Crucifixion." Both works were brought to the United States in the late 1920's by Brother Agiorites, of the same monastery, and became the property of Mr. James E. True.

Another important piece hangs in the refectory. The "Descent from the Cross" was originally the property of Charles Carroll of Carrollton, a signer of the Declaration of Independence. It was presented by him to the Baltimore Cathedral where it hung until it was presented by the Right Rev. Bishop John Carroll, D.D., to Fr. Edward Dominic Fenwick, OP, who took it to Saint Rose Priory, Springfield, KY, the first foundation of the Dominican Order in the United States. When Fr. Fenwick, (later Bishop of Cincinnati) founded Saint Joseph's Priory and Church near Somerset, OH, he brought the painting there. When the Priory building was razed in 1975, the painting was brought to the House of Studies and restored for the bi-centennial of the United States.