In its home in Rhode Island, Christminster had no room to grow. In fact, as it was, the monks could not live together under one roof and there was no space available for developing a monastic industry that would enable the monastery to be self-supporting. The monks all worked outside the monastery in order to support themselves.

Meanwhile, in Ontario, a small group of people were hoping for the establishment of a Western Rite Orthodox mission — the first of its kind in the Dominion of Canada. Led by Reader Polycarp Sherwood, this group converted two adjacent buildings in the City of Hamilton (a beauty parlor/café and an auto body paint shop) into an Oratory, fellowship hall, and residence.

After the group’s initial approach towards another jurisdiction failed to bear fruit, Reader Polycarp invited Dom James to consider moving Christminster to this facility and undertaking monastic life and the pastoral care of the mission on behalf of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia. With the blessing of His Eminence, Metropolitan Hilarion, the help of God, and the generosity of a benefactor, the monks of Christminster were able to accept this unexpected offer and with its new opportunities for growth as a community and English-language, Western Rite Orthodox mission.

Dom James arrived in Hamilton to take up residence in April of 2008.; Dom Joseph, who had remained behind in Rhode Island to complete medical treatments, rejoined Dom James in December of that year. Monk Michael (from the Monastery of St. John of San Francisco, Manton, California) joined the brotherhood in March of 2009.

On Sunday, 1 March/16 February 2009, notice was received from Metropolitan Hilarion of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia, that the monastery of Christminster and Our Lady of Glastonbury Orthodox Church, in Hamilton, Ontario, would henceforth be directly under the archpastoral oversight of the Metropolitan himself, assisted by his Vicar Bishop Jerome of Manhattan. His Grace Bishop Jerome, the former Father John Shaw, is a longtime friend of Christminster and a scholar deeply learned in western-rite liturgics.