O Holy Great Martyr Barbara, pray to God for us...

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, giving retreats, producing icon  greeting cards, and operating a small bookstore and online gift shop where local honey is sold. 

We strive daily to live out the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ in community, seeking to love God and neighbor through prayer, hospitality and labor.

Latest News & Posts

***Sunday, March 24th, 2024: Join us to celebrate the Feast of the Annunciation tomorrow, Monday, at 10am for the Vesperal Divine Liturgy. Blessed Feast!
***March 18th, 2024 Blessed Clean Monday and the beginning Great Lent! Please see our Lenten Schedule of Service posted here

***March 15th, 2024 We will have the Rite of Forgiveness immediately following the Divine Liturgy this Sunday at the monastery. Liturgy begins at 10am, preceded at 9:30am by the Hours.

***March 8th, 2024  

Join us this Sunday for 10 am Divine Liturgy at the monastery. Fr. Jude will be serving. 

Daylight Savings Time:
Don't forget to turn your clocks forward an hour!

Note: The monastery remains open even though the road from Highway 150/ Ojai Rd from the city of Santa Paula is currently closed. Access to the monastery is still possible from the city of Ojai.
***March 2th, 2024 The sisters hope to join St Herman Church in Oxnard for the Divine Liturgy tomorrow, Sunday, March 3rd. Please do not come to the monastery for a service tomorrow morning. If the roads are clear, we will see you at St. Herman then.
***February 21st, 2024

UPDATE:  
We regret to announce that this Sunday's Friends Gathering is cancelled due to a landslide a few miles down the road from the monastery.

Ojai Road/ Highway 150 where the monastery is located will be closed for the few weeks as road workers work to clear the mud from the recent torrential rains.

Please help us spread the word. 

You may view aerial footage of the sizeable mudslide here.  

We hope to reschedule our speaker, Fr John Tomasi, for a future Gathering.
***February 21st, 2024
The monastery's latest newsletter is available here.  
***February 10th, 2024  
The sisters will join Fr. Jude and the parishioners of St. Herman Church in Oxnard for the Divine Liturgy this Sunday, Feb. 11th.  You are invited to attend there!

As such, there will be no Sunday Divine Liturgy at the monastery tomorrow. However, we will resume services with Vespers on Sunday evening at the monastery.
***Sunday, February 4th, 2024 
Liturgy is cancelled as Fr Jude is sick. The sisters will be attending St Simeon Church in Santa Clarita. We hope to see you soon!
***February 1st,  2024 Blessed Feast of the Meeting of our Lord! Fr. Jude will serve the Divine Liturgy at the monastery tomorrow at 10 am, preceded by the Hours at 9:30 am.
***January 25th, 2024 Please enjoy our January Newsletter here.
***January 25th, 2024 This month's Friends Gathering will be this Sunday, January 28th, featuring Fr. Symeon Halsell speaking on "The Gift of Our Bodies: Man & Woman in Christ." 4pm presentation, 5 pm Vespers, 6 pm potluck.  Please bring some food to share.
***January 8th, 2024 Join the sisters for the Divine Liturgy at St. Herman Church in Oxnard on Sunday, January 14th and Sunday, January 21st. There will be no Divine Liturgy on those Sundays at the monastery, however, there we will resume services with Vespers at the monastery at 5:30 pm. 
***January 6th, 2024: Blessed Feast of the Theophany of our Lord!

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