St. Barbara Orthodox Monastery
LATEST NEWS & POSTS
July 2024
***July 25th, 2024
Read the July Newsletter.
We regret to announce that the planned July Friends' Gathering will be rescheduled for the end of August.
Even though Caltrans projects the opening of one lane from Santa Paula past the mudslide blocking Ojai Road/ Highway 150, this will likely not happen until after the scheduled date of the July gathering-- the last Sunday of this month. We hope to see you all in August for a long-awaited Friends' Gathering.
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***July 4th, 2024 Happy Fourth of July! Remember to pray for our country, for its leaders, and for its people: Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on us and on our country!
ST. BARBARA ORTHODOX MONASTERY
LIFE OF PRAYER
St. Barbara Orthodox Monastery is a women's monastic community of the Diocese of the West of the Orthodox Church in America, under the omophorion of His Eminence, Archbishop BENJAMIN. The Monastery was founded in 1992 and has been located in Santa Paula, California, since late 2005.
The Sisters maintain a regular cycle of daily liturgical services and partly earn their living growing lavender and producing lavender products, selling solid wood caskets, and operating a small bookstore and online gift shop.
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In our daily pursuits, we at St. Barbara Orthodox Monastery strive to embody the teachings of the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. Through living in community, prayerful devotion, hospitality, and diligent labor, we seek to deepen our love for God and neighbor, endeavoring to make our monastery a prayerful haven for all who visit.
THE LIFE OF ST. BARBARA
St. Barbara, a 4th-century martyr, embraced Christianity while sequestered in a tower by her wealthy pagan father, Dioscorus.
While gazing out of her tower and pondering what she saw, Barbara marveled at the inspiring beauty of nature she beheld, and reasoned rightly that there must be a loving Creator who was responsible for the beauty that thrilled her soul.
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She learned about the Christian faith (possibly from her faithful attendants). The more she drank in the truth of the faith, not only was her heart was captivated by God's marvelous creation, but also by Christ's wondrous love and sacrifice on the Cross.
She was secretly baptized in the name of the Holy Trinity in her father's absence by a traveling priest disguised as a peddler.
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So strong was her love for Christ that she was willing to suffer greatly and give up her own life for the truth of her newfound faith.
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LIFE AT THE MONASTERY
SCHEDULE OF SERVICES
Weekdays
7 am Matins
12:15 pm Sixth Hour and Memorial Service
5:30 pm Vespers
7 pm Small Compline and/or Spiritual Reading
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Saturday
7 am Matins
12:15 pm Sixth Hour and Memorial Service
6 pm Vigil or 5:30 pm Vespers (please inquire ahead)
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Sunday​
See note below.**
5:30 pm Vespers
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**This summer, the Sisters will be visiting local parishes on Sunday for the Divine Liturgy except for Sunday, July 7th and August 4th, where there will be a 10 am Divine Liturgy at the monastery celebrated by Fr. John Robinson. Hours at 9:30 am.
PLAN A VISIT
If you would like to visit the monastery, please contact us ahead of time via email or phone. Everyone is welcome to attend the liturgical services in our chapel and to share in our common meals together.
There is no fixed fee for overnight accommodations, although free-will donations are gratefully accepted.
We ask that you dress modestly.
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