Spiritual Retreats
For Orthodox Christians a pilgrimage is a journey or search of great moral significance to the Orthodox belief and faith. The object of any particular pilgrimage can vary greatly, from pilgrimages of great meaning to all Orthodox believers to those that may have significance to believers in a local area. A person who makes such a journey is called a pilgrim….
Pilgrimages by Christians were first made to sites connected with the birth, life, crucifixion, and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ. Surviving descriptions, such as that by the pilgrim Egeria, of Christian pilgrimages to the Holy Land date from the fourth century, when pilgrimage was encouraged by church fathers like St. Jerome. Pilgrimages also began to be made to Rome and other sites associated with the Apostles, various saints, and Christian martyrs.
Over time it became common to make pilgrimages to the Reliquaries of the saints, Cathedrals and Monasteries as well.
Based on: http://orthodoxwiki.org/Pilgrimage
Upcoming Retreats
Orthodox LIFE School
Established in 2017 as a regular week-long retreat for young adults, the Orthodox LIFE School is an instructional and practical week-long experience. The “LIFE” stands for Liturgy, Inspiration, Faithfulness, and Experience. Students in this School will learn about and participate in private prayer and corporate prayer.
We will gather for the morning and evening services with the monks in the chapel. We will listen to inspirational speakers and interact with them and each other. They will work alongside the monks for in the daily monastery tasks. They will prepare themselves and “go to the streets” with the message of Christ and His Church.
Young people face many challenges in the world today. Knowing this, don’t let the world overwhelm you, sign up for the 2026 Orthodox LIFE School and expect great things to happen!
• Be inspired to live for Christ and follow Him
• Grow as a Christian and get a deeper sense of purpose
• Discuss and reflect on the big questions in life
• Get help to establish a personal prayer life
• Establish new and lasting relationships with people who desire to go deeper
Here’s what previous participants have said:
“When I arrived last year after my 9 hour road trip from Portland, Oregon, I felt absolutely terrified of what I was getting myself into. I had never been to a monastery before, I wasn’t going to know anyone, and I was very new to the Orthodox faith in general. It turned out I was in the same boat as a lot of other participants, as the group consisted of over a dozen seekers, catechumen, newly-baptized and longer-established Orthodox Christians who came from parishes in California and Oregon, but also as far as Phoenix, Arizona.
Fr. Innocent and the other organizers—Fr. Theodor Svane from Norway and Fr. Andreas Blom from Ashland, Oregon— made it a point to help us feel comfortable, explain the customs of monastic life, and guide us in spiritual conversations that, beyond our lively daily lectures, sometimes became late-night heart-to-hearts with our fellow participants and guest speakers. We explored topics of prayer, chastity, community service, marriage, monasticism, and overall how to live an inwardly prayerful, spiritual and obedient life in a distracted secular world.
The daily lectures were both very helpful and relevant: Fr. Innocent demonstrated prayer life to us in a thoughtful and unique way; Mother Melania of St. Barbara Monastery spent two days talking to us about marriage, monasticism and living our true Christian selves in a secular world; and other speakers shared their conversion experiences and talked about service and sharing our faith with others.
The lectures culminated in a day-long service and learning project with the homeless community in Redding, California. This was a very challenging and rewarding way of both reminding us that our faith is not just confined to our parishes or a contemplative monastery visit, but needed to be lived out in how we listen to, learn from, and serve others in the real world as well.
It was also fun and rewarding to do some work for the monastery: our group split into teams that either painted one of the main buildings, weeded in the gardens, planted trees or helped make beeswax candles. One of my happiest memories from last year is watching Fr. Theodor spray his sons and the children of another participant with a fire hose after they covered themselves in mud from the garden!
LIFE School also gave me the opportunity to fall in love with the Monastery of St. John itself. Because we learned so much about how monastery life there operated, I could participate in morning and evening services without anxiety and lean into the peacefulness, solitude and quiet of the tiny church in the Manton woods. Finally, I could hear myself pray and experience the rest and peace God had provided me with a week away from the rest of the world.
I’m very blessed that my home parish offers vespers services every night of the week, and often when I go and the church is dark and almost-empty and quiet, I imagine myself back in the tiny white church at St. John’s and I can taste the peace and rest I felt there last year.”“I greatly enjoyed being able to be a part of Orthodox Life School this past summer, and God-willing will be able to do so again. Getting to work alongside my fellow students, as well as the monks was a beautiful experience and tied together everything we talked about throughout the week. Each day we would listen to and ask questions of a speaker, work in the garden, or candle shop, and most importantly were able to attend Liturgy and/or Matins daily. We were given a unique look into monastic life and a better understanding of what it means to live out our faith. I made many friends while partaking in all that this week entailed, and I hope that Orthodox Life School will continue on helping young adults progress in understanding and love of God, our Church, and each other.”
“Words cannot describe how important that week was for me. I can honestly say that the very course of my life has been changed. Now instead of wasting my time on unimportant subjects, I can focus my attention on the Only One Who matters. This week changed the way I see myself; it explained my inner struggles and brought me closer to God. I went through a true re-birth in Orthodox Faith, something I thought was never possible. Thank you for your guidance, your kindness, and all the laughs you shared with us.”
Speakers for 2026:
- Father Paul Damian Kuolt
- Abbess Melania of Holy Assumption, Calistoga, CA
- Igumen Innocent of St John Monastery, Manton, CA
Join the discussion on Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/events/981539407682571/
June 14-20, 2026
The Monastery of St. John of San Francisco
Ages: 18 – 35 (men & women)
Cost: $ 250
Application due by: June 7th
Click on the link below to apply:
Sample Schedule:
Friday:
Pilgrims arrive in the afternoon and evening
5:00 Vespers
6:30 Supper
7:30 Introductory Session
8:45 Compline
Saturday:
7:00 Service in Chapel (Jesus Prayer, Hours, Divine Liturgy)
9:30 Breakfast
10:30 Second Session
1:00 Lunch
2:00 Third Session
4:00 Free time
5:00 Supper
6:00 Q & A, or one-on-one meetings
7:00-10:15 Vigil
Sunday:
8:00 Service in Chapel (Jesus Prayer, Hours, Divine Liturgy with Homily)
10:30 Breakfast
11:30 Wrap-up Session
12:30 Pilgrims travel home
$125 per person, Couples $200 (subject to change, please contact!)
Please contact us to make your reservation
For directions to the monastery please go to the “Contact Us” page.