St. Barbara Orthodox Monastery
LATEST NEWS & POSTS
April 2026
Please note:
Except for the holy services,
the monastery will be closed to pilgrims for all of Holy Week, 4/6-4/11. As Holy Week is a time for increased prayer and fasting, interaction with the sisterhood should be kept to a minimum. Prayer services remain open to all.​
April 4 Lazarus Saturday Liturgy tomorrow,10 am.
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March 25 This Sunday: Friends of the Monastery Gathering, 4 pm. Father Benjamin Garcia will give a talk entitled Giving a Cup of Cold Water: Caring for Those in the Desert.
Bring some Lenten food to share at the potluck, especially if you are a young adult and will come with an appetite!
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March 24 Tomorrow, 10 am, Feast of the Annunciation Liturgy. Read our latest newsletter here.
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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 His Grace, Bishop VASILY, bishop of San Francisco and the West.
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 prayerful devotion to the Holy Trinity, living in community, hospitality, and diligent labor, we seek to deepen our love for God and neighbor, endeavoring to make our monastery a prayerful and peaceful 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 truths of the Faith, not only was her heart captivated by God's marvelous creation, but also by Christ's wondrous love and work of salvation on the Cross in our behalf.
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 this young maiden was willing to suffer greatly and give up her own life for the truth of her new found faith.
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LIFE AT THE MONASTERY
SCHEDULE OF SERVICES
Lazarus Saturday, Palm Sunday, Holy Week & Pascha:
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4/4 Lazarus Saturday
9:40 am Hours
10 am Divine Liturgy
6 pm Vigil
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4/5 Palm Sunday
9:40 am Hours
10 am Divine Liturgy
6 pm Bridegroom Matins​
HOLY WEEK:
4/6 Holy and Great Monday
8 am 6th Hour
12 pm Vespers
6 pm Bridegroom Matins
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4/7 Holy and Great Tuesday
8 am 6th Hour
12 pm Vespers
6 pm Bridegroom Matins
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4/8 Holy and Great Wednesday
8 am 6th Hour
12 pm Vespers
6 pm Matins of Holy Thursday
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4/9 Holy and Great Thursday
10 am Institution Liturgy
6 pm Matins with the Twelve Gospel Readings
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4/10 Holy and Great Friday
8 am 1st & 3rd Royal Hours
10 am 6th & 9th Rotal Hours, Typika
3 pm Vespers- Taking Down from the Cross)
6 pm Matins of Holy Saturday- Lamentations
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4/11 Holy and Great Saturday
10 am Holy Saturday Divine Liturgy
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4/12 PASCHA-- The Resurrection of Christ
5:30 am Midnight Office, Paschal Matins, Divine Liturgy
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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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