Abbot General Isaac Simon

Cuyahoga Community College – Associate of Applied Science in Nursing – May 2010
Cleveland State University – Bachelor of Arts in Psychology – September 1995
St Paul Bible Institute and Seminary – Master of Biblical Theology June 2021
St Paul Bible Institute and Seminary – Doctor of Biblical Theology July 2022

I have been blessed to walk with others on their spiritual journey, as they sought the Lord God Almighty. I have performed weddings, funerals, house blessings, baptisms, confirmations, ordinations, and consecrations.

I have helped others discern whether they truly have been called into ordained ministry. I have provided spiritual direction, visited the sick, been a volunteer hospital chaplain, celebrated the Eucharist weekly, taught bible study, and provided biblical counseling.

As my faith deepened, I began to realize that I needed greater spiritual awareness, to hear God’s voice more clearly. This need led me to explore a dispersed religious life. The myriad examples of individuals who “thrived” as religious aligned with my need for greater spiritual awareness.

Ultimately, this journey brought me to the Cistercian Order of the Holy Cross, Common Observance. Here I was inculcated in the way of Benedict (as reformed by the Cistercian movement). Entering making vows to God, Abbot Oscar Joseph, OCCO and the Order helped me achieve that greater spiritual connection, I was desperate to find.

These several years later, I am thrilled to call myself a Cistercian. I am overjoyed at what living the religious life has helped my life to become. I earnestly believe I am several steps closer to God. I believe God has called me as a laborer in His vineyard. Indeed, the harvest is plentiful.