The Rev. John Chryssavgis is author of Light Through Darkness: The Orthodox Tradition. He taught theology at Holy Cross Greek Orthodox School of Theology and serves as theological adviser to the Ecumenical Patriarch on environmental issues. Chryssavgis lives in Maine.

Michael Stillwater is the founder of Inner Harmony. With his partner, Doris Laesser, he led a group of Americans on a dark retreat in Switzerland in January 2006. He lives in Marin County, Calif.

Read a September 2005 Christianity Today article on New Monasticism.

Read an account of the New Monasticism movement in the fall 2005 issue of the journal Divinity from the Duke Divinity School.

A Feb. 18, 2005, New York Times article describes an Eastern Catholic Maronite monastery in Massachusetts that offers spiritual retreats. The story also has links to other monasteries around the country that open their doors to the public for spiritual retreats.

Read a Jan. 16, 2005, Boston Globe article on a religious retreat in Tucson, Ariz.

The Simple Way is a New Monasticism movement based in Philadelphia.

John Jefferson Davis is a professor of systematic theology and Christian ethics at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary in South Hamilton, Mass. He has expertise in world religions, theology, homosexuality, abortion, medical ethics, just war, bioethics, environmental ethics, intelligent design, business ethics and biblical ethics. He teaches a course titled “Christian Ethics: Issues Facing the Church Today.”

The International Islamic University of Malaysia is an educational institution in Kuala Lumpur.  The school has a variety of program courses and research, which include medicine, law, engineering, Islamic practice, and education.