Who We Are

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Our Vision

Peoples Monastery is an interspiritual and intercultural sanctuary that uses artistic offerings, educational forums, universal rituals and holistic services to perform as both mirror and guide. We graciously affirm that we are not alone, that our stories matter, and that self-actualization happens when we allow ourselves to be open, witnessed, and willing to evolve. A monastery for the 21st Century without walls and open to all, we combine conventional spiritual practice with unconventional complex expression that reflects the times in which we live. This circle of modern monks, artists, educators and spiritualists creates a sacred environment where wisdom from many walks of life is shared openly, where creativity and contemplation meet, and where personal transformation is not forced, but gently invited.

Peoples Monastery serves a diverse population with individuals as unique as their fingerprints We draw from many lineages—Eastern, Western, Indigenous, and more—to create respectful, open-hearted spaces where every person’s story, background, and ancestry is shared, told, and honored.

Artistic Offerings are in the form of theatre, music, dance, cinema and multimedia projects where participants live mindfully, meditatively and monastically for the duration of them. They become Theatrical Liturgies that embody the ceremonial place customarily reserved for sermons in a church, dharma talks in a sangha, or cosmological parables in Ifá. Smaller gatherings with this framework are experienced in Circle Sessions, Ritual Readings and Root Roundtables.

We aim to expand the circle of universal truth where each person’s light shines the brightest and believe:

Healing happens through loving connection and honest reflection
Every person carries a unique light and story
Art and ritual are gateways to living wisdom
Past limitations can be transformed into future liberation if we’re willing to truly see, feel and listen—to ourselves, to each other, and to the Divine

BROTHER DYRON HOLMES
Founder & Peoples Monk

BROTHER DYRON HOLMES is an ordained interfaith minister, writer, actor, educator and interspiritual monk. His lifelong devotion to spiritual service, healing, and creative expression led him to create Peoples Monastery.

As a spiritualist he has practiced and/or intensely studied Christianity, Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism, Judaism and the Indigenous African traditions of Ifá. He attended One Spirit Interfaith Seminary and became an ordained minister in June 2011. His journey has taken him into sacred spaces across the world—from chanting at the Siddha Yoga Ashram for Maha Shivaratri, to building Advent wreaths with Trappist monks in Kentucky, to honoring ancestral wisdom alongside Malidoma Somé at the Indigenous African Spirituality & Ritual conference, to a year-long residency of discernment at an Anglican Benedictine monastery in upstate New York . These moments shaped his devotion to creating spaces where people feel safe, seen, and spiritually connected. He has created and officiated original weddings, memorial services, baby blessings and rituals for people from all walks of life. (Learn about his Services and Gatherings)

As a writer he has written over thirty plays. His first play, Brothers of Time, was a winner of The National Young Playwrights Festival. Subsequently, he received the Young Playwright’s Scholarship to NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts. His plays have been presented at Playwrights Horizons, The Lark, HERE Theater, Genesius Guild, CONNECT NY, Church of St. Paul the Apostle, The New School, Baltimore Theater Project (MD), Warehouse Theater (DC), Wild Goose Festival (NC), and Off-Stage Bookstore Theater in London. Recently, his play, “Safe Words” was a winner of the 2024 Fade to Black Festival and produced in Houston. His play, “Sensitive Time” was a 2025 semi-finalist for the Bay Street Theater’s New Works Festival. (Learn more about his Artistic Work )

As an actor, he has been seen in productions at Actors Theatre of Louisville, Kennedy Center, Syracuse Stage, Crossroads Theatre, Joe’s Pub/Public Theater, Triad Stage, Crossroads Theater, Barrington Stage, St. George’s Theater in London and the Al-Bustan International Arts Festival in Beirut, Lebanon. His screen credits include principal television appearances on Law & Order, The Job, Law & Order: Criminal Intent, New York Undercover and the films Breaking Point and The Hurricane.

As an educator he has created and taught curriculums in religion, the arts, life skills and community building at a diverse range of organizations that include All Souls Unitarian Universalist Church, NY Departments of Homeless Services and Transportation, Jewish Community Center of Louisville and Interlocken/ Windsor Mountain’s European Traveling Minstrels (France, Switzerland, Italy, Spain & Portugal). Working with various populations, cultures and communities—including homeless shelters, long-term school suspension programs, domestic violence centers and LGBTQ/SGL organizations—shaped his commitment to a multifaceted approach to education in the manner of a service-oriented village teacher. (View Student Video Projects)

Whether leading community rituals, officiating sacred ceremonies, producing artistic projects or offering one-on-one counsel, Brother Dyron brings clarity, support, compassion, and a grounded presence. He walks alongside others as they reconnect with what divinely calls them. He currently resides in Brooklyn, NY, and continues his evolving work through Peoples Monastery.

(You can watch a video where Br. Dyron discusses the early part of his monastic journey here.