Visit

General Info

Visits can be arranged through out the year except during the four major fast periods. Requests should be made at least a month in advance. After you submit your request we will contact you to let you know if we can host you on your preferred dates.

Limited Accommodations

Our accommodations for guests are very limited. We have only a few rooms at our Guest House, and our small church is often overcrowded. We want your visit to be as peaceful and grace-filled as possible, so we closely regulate how many guests visit the monastery at one time. This allows us to show you more personal hospitality.

What to Wear

The Monastery is a place of repentance and prayer for the fathers and also for the faithful who are our pious guests. In honor of the saint whose monastery this is, and out of love and respect for this sacred ground, we humbly ask that you be properly attired at all times.

Orthodox clergy are respectfully asked to wear a cassock (rason) in the monastery; and to wear also an outer cassock (exorason) in the church services. Clergy are asked to wear a clerical head covering at the appropriate times.

Women are kindly asked to wear long-sleeved, loose-fitting shirts that fully cover the chest up to the neck; long skirts (or dresses) without deep slits; scarves that cover the head and wrap under the chin and around the neck, so that the neck is also covered. Please refrain from wearing lipstick when venerating icons and receiving Holy Communion. Please remove any visible face or body piercing jewelry.

Men are kindly asked to wear long pants and long-sleeved shirts. Please, no baseball caps or clothing with inappropriate words or images. Inside, especially in church, men are asked to keep their heads uncovered. Please remove any visible face or body piercing jewelry.

For both men and women, socks (at least ankle high) with shoes or sandals are to be worn at all times. Please do not wear sheer stockings. Please wear practical and comfortable flat shoes while at the monastery since it is desert terrain and the pathways are of rough flagstone. Please do not wear high heels, platform shoes, or open-toed sandals.

We humbly also ask our guests to refrain from wearing perfumes, colognes, scented lotions, etc.

Photographs

Please ask before taking photographs of any of the monks or guests. Photographs and videos are not allowed during the services without a blessing from the abbot. Apart from these restrictions, photographs and videos may be taken freely.

Divine Services

All pilgrims staying at the monastery are expected to attend all scheduled church services. Non-Orthodox visitors are asked to participate in the services from the narthex. Also, catechumens are dismissed from the services at the appropriate times.

Monastery Environment

Due to the sanctity of this holy place we kindly ask that you respect the quiet and solitude of the monastery while on the grounds.

• Cell phones must be left on the silent/vibrate mode while on the grounds.

• Smoking anywhere within the holy grounds is strictly forbidden. Loud talking and laughing are always inappropriate.

• Children should not roam freely on the holy grounds but should remain under parental supervision at all times.

• Pets are not allowed on the monastery grounds with the sole exception of guide dogs for the blind. (Guide dogs are not allowed inside the churches).