St. Basil's House

“The bread in your cupboard belongs to the hungry; the coat unused in your closet belongs to the one who needs it; the shoes rotting in your closet belong to the one who has no shoes; the money which you hoard up belongs to the poor.” These famous words of St. Basil the Great inform the work of St. Basil’s House of Hospitality in Trenton, New Jersey, founded and principally served by members of Mother of God, Joy of All Who Sorrow Orthodox Church in Princeton, along with other Orthodox in the area. St. Basil’s is situated in the Stuyvesant-Prospect neighborhood of Trenton, where the closure of a large hospital several years ago has led to the shuttering of nearly all businesses and services. Only three bodegas and two liquor stores survive. A quarter of the homes are derelict. Major churches have closed or relocated.

With the impoverishment of the neighborhood has come a steady increase in crime and drug traffic. But amid this decline, from a small house on one of the neighborhood’s residential streets, St. Basil’s

House volunteers serve meals, host Bible studies and prayer gatherings, and offer groceries and household goods to neighbors in need. While these are services offered by many charities and non-profits, Matushka

Judith Komline, a lead volunteer for St Basil’s House, stresses the distinctive character of their work: “We strive to be a house of hospitality,” she says. She sees the work as a chance for Orthodox Christians to build relationships with people of different racial, ethnic, and religious backgrounds, “to listen to them, to come to recognize the image of God in them, to bear witness to them of the love of God in Christ.” In keeping with this vision, the volunteers of

St. Basil’s House make a point of not counting the number of people they serve, focusing on personal relationships rather than statistics. They borrowed this approach, and gained inspiration on many other fronts, from the St. John the Compassionate Mission in Toronto, Ontario. But recent events do point to the success of the ministry: With COVID-19 restrictions limiting attendance to half capacity, St. Basil’s volunteers have been turning guests away at weekly Wednesday breakfasts and prayer services.

They currently seek volunteers to support multiple meals and services each week, to accommodate all comers. While the purpose of the house is to serve rather than evangelize, those served are exposed to many treasures of the Orthodox faith. Meals begin with “O Heavenly King,” the Great Doxology, or the morning prayer of St. Philaret of Moscow. The Jesus Prayer has a place in art classes, which are also an opportunity for meditation. Prayers for the sick are offered as needed, whether for those visiting or for their loved ones.

Fr. Samuel Davis, Acting Rector at St. Simon of Cyrene Orthodox Mission in New Brunswick, New Jersey, has advised the ministry and occasionally serves at the house. He says American Orthodox have too often taken it for granted that our parishes will be filled with middle-class people. “But if we expect our Church to survive, to have a presence in America, we have to focus our interests here, in urban missions.” He sees St. Basil’s House and ministries like it as an opportunity for clergy and laypeople to get a glimpse of life in these neighborhoods.

Fr. Samuel, contemplating what St. Basil’s future might hold, notes that giving clothing and food is one tier of serving Black and urban interests, but there are greater—and more complex—levels of urban missions, as broad as addressing the disinvestment that has led to the hollowing out of urban neighborhoods. “This is not a community of people who can’t do anything for themselves,” he says, although sometimes both charity and government responses give that impression.

Mat. Komline and her fellow volunteers’ vision for St. Basil’s does indeed reach that far. While they have many practical next steps in mind, such as expanding their gardens to offer more fresh food, establishing AA or NA meetings at the house, and building a lending library (the local public library has been closed due to COVID-19), she says they aim to identify opportunities for small businesses in the neighborhood. St. Basil’s House could provide business advice and start-up funding. “The goal is to meet a need in the neighborhood while also teaching skills to people who have no significant employment histories, and to provide employment locally.”

Fr. Samuel cites Archimandrite Raphael Morgan of Philadelphia (c. 1870-1922), the first Black Orthodox priest to serve in America, who writes of experiencing personhood in the Church but not in his everyday life. Whether a ministry like St. Basil’s is meeting the daily needs of its neighbors or revitalizing a neighborhood, the unique character of an Orthodox ministry is in recognizing the personhood in both those who serve and those who are served.

St Basil’s House accepts charitable contributions by mail:

St Basil’s House 5 Valley View Ave. Gladstone, NJ 07934-2024

More information is available at stbasilshouse.org.

KATIE SORENSEN is the assistant editor of Jacob’s Well and a parishioner at Holy Ascension Orthodox Church in Albion, Michigan.